An Alternative Beginning

by ultrapoknee

The Alternative Epilogue

Gregory was exhausted, but in the best way possible. Ever since he and Ember had spent a long night of love and intimacy together, she had been putting some good use to the two way teleportation and communication ring system he’d commissioned for them. To him, it had been the best experience of his life, and each time was quickly getting better. With Cozy around, they had to be sneaky, but they made it work, although Gregory doubted she was unaware. She was rather…knowledgeable for a filly of her age. Cozy had even started looking at Ember as if she was the filly’s new mother. 

Another thing about their first and subsequent times together was that it seemed to really help Ember mellow, if just a little bit. He saw her smiling just a bit more and she wasn’t as prone to outbursts. It only deepened their connection, and afterwards they would find themselves lying in bed just talking. It was an amazing feeling, and both began slowly opening up to the other.

“I’m kinda doing this a bit backwards, aren’t I?” Gregory chuckled dryly as he straightened his tie and looked at himself in his bathroom mirror. He was dressed as well as he could be for this double date he was going on. It was going to be an unusual one, considering the four of them were planning on going to a rather lovely restaurant that had just opened up in Haven City, one that was surprisingly high class for such a small town. It was owned by none other than chef Gustave le Grand and was operated by various chefs and cooks from different species. Tonight was opening night and he and Jason had scrambled to get reservations for the place. Fortunately, they’d gotten their spots just in time.

He stepped back from the mirror and put his hands on his hips, smiling. His now longer white hair was combed back and his face was clean shaven. He had showered rather thoroughly and had sprayed a small dab of some of his cologne from Earth on himself. He felt good about how he looked. A knock came at the door as Gregory went to open it. There, Jason stood in a black suit with a green undershirt.

“Looking spiffy there, Jace,” he grinned.

“Yeah, you too,” Jason replied, “Although I thought it was women that took their sweet time getting ready. The girls are waiting outside.”

“You do realize our girlfriends are normally naked, right?” he retorted.

“Yeah, and if you want to keep it that way I suggest limiting how much you tell them about human social norms.”

“Well, I have noticed Ember’s been wearing clothes more often,” he admitted. “She looks amazing in tight jeans and a t-shirt. Anyway, let’s go.”

The two walked out the bathroom and into the living room where their dates were waiting. Ember wore a sparkling red dress that hugged her frame while a sapphire colored heart shaped fire ruby hung around her neck. Chrysalis was in her human form with a silk green dress and golden accents. She had a tiara with an emerald gem in the center. Ember crossed her arms and frowned a bit. “About time. I thought it was the human females that took forever,” Ember stated.

“Ha,” Jason laughed at the fact that she thought the same as him.

“Well, I like looking good for a date,” Gregory replied. “Hell, you’ve seen me at my messiest, so I wanted to dress to impress.” Turning to Jason, he gave him a friendly middle finger. “Say one more word, I dare you.”

“One. More. Word.” Jason smiled cheekily.

He created a large sphere of ice. “Oh, look at that, some ice,” he grinned. “It would be a shame if it were to melt and ruin that lovely suit of yours.”

“Uh buh bup,” To Gregory’s shock, Jason’s eyes morphed to green as magic glowed in his hands. With a quick wave, Jason dispeled the ice. “You’re not the only special human anymore.”

“Um, Gregory is very confused,” Gregory said.

“That is thanks to moi,” Chrysalis gestured to herself. “See, when a mommy ling and daddy ‘ling love each other and the daddy ‘ling takes his ovipositor–”

“Chrysalis!” Jason shouted, a tint of red appearing on both his cheeks.

“Right, sorry, when the human takes his penis–”

“TMI, bug horse,” Gregory grinned.

“Regardless, the act of coitus between a changeling and any creature will result in that changeling sharing their genetic code since our DNA is so malleable,” Chrysalis explained. “Now, Jason here has some magic of his own. It’s still in its early stages as he can only do low level spells and change his eye color.”

“Huh…and it somehow works with a magicless human?” Gregory stroked his chin. “I bet Purple Book Horse would love to hear about this.” A cheeky grin spread across his face. “Especially when she learned how it was done. I’d love to be a fly on the wall to see her blush.” Gregory loved to tease his magic teacher as he thought of Twilight. The two of them had formed a unique bond as master and student during his training sessions, and he loved to tease her.

“Let’s hurry and go, you big doof. I want to see what the big fuss is about this fancy restaurant,” Ember said with a shake of the head.

“Hey, it’s Gustave le Grand’s restaurant, le Château de Tranquillité,” Gregory replied as they walked to the door. “Sweet. I’m just glad it’s a sunny winter day so we can all fly there.”

“Flying is still above my pay grade, I’m afraid,” Jason said as he gestures for everyone to follow outside. “The changes are gradual, but we got a ride.” As they stepped outside, the four saw a chariot with four changeling guards in front. “Evening, boys.”

“The chariot is awaiting your return, my liege,” the guard said.

“Good, good. We’ll be having two others with us. I hope that is not an extra burden for you.”

“With the flanks on the Dragon Lord, I would say that this may lead to a work related accident,” Chrysalis said in a snide tone.

Ember snarled at the remark. “Please. If that form represent human females than you have what Gregory calls a dumptruck back there!”

Gregory groaned. “Oh dear God…”

“Ditto,” Jason agreed.

After they got into the chariot, they began flying above the snow covered landscape towards the ever expanding village. Gregory turned with a somewhat serious expression on his face. “Did you ever think that something like this would happen to the two of us?” he asked. “I mean, two of the three series finale villains reformed, both of us in relationships with practical royalty, and now both of us with magic?”

“Since when was Ember a villain?” Jason asked.

“I meant Cozy Glow,” Gregory replied. “I mean, in this world, she was just a poor abused filly who wanted to make a difference. Now she’s actually living the life of a happy child. One she deserves. Not being encased in stone.”

“To be honest, I always asked myself ‘how did things turn out like this?’ during the first three years,” Jason admitted. “I never thought I would meet another human, make amends with the former elements or find love. It’s all so surreal. Sometimes, I’m afraid it's all a dream…”

“Dude, same,” Gregory said, “but if it was, then wouldn’t Luna be here with us?”

“Old dream horse couldn’t handle the nightmares I had, not that I would let her in my head.”

Gregory nodded. “Luna’s visited me a couple times, and she says human dreams are unique, unlike anything she’s seen before. I may have even converted her into Gamer Luna.”

Jason shook his head at that. “You just couldn’t resist bringing aspects of the fandom here, huh? I probably would’ve done the same.”

Gregory stuck his fist in the air, a serious expression on his face. “Gamer Luna is best Luna! Prove me wrong!”

“Honestly, you two have the most beautiful females in your company and you’re talking about another mare? How insulting.” Chrysalis scolded.

“Yes, I’m inclined to speak with the princess about what she’s been doing in your head when your only thoughts should be about me,” Ember gave a warning growl.

Gregory chuckled. “Ember, you know my eyes are only on you.”

“Your eyes, yes, but your mind seems to be on those foalish distraction devices.”

“There was no way I could completely give up human entertainment,” Gregory said. “Besides, I’ve definitely been using it less than I would have back on Earth.”

“I don’t think you can count it since there are no games here.” Jason stated.

“Only the game systems and games I brought with me from Earth and some Sunset got for me,” Gregory replied, “and to be honest, Sunset’s played them more than I do. I’m busy with schoolwork, magic practice and taking care of Cozy, so I can’t play as often as I used to.”

“Why the hell am I just finding out about this now? What consoles did she bring?”

“She brought me something called a Ycube,” Gregory replied. “It’s a lot like an Xbox. I did bring some handheld stuff from Earth with me, like a Nintendo Switch with lots of games installed, including Skyrim. Sunset also got me a SportsTower 5, something like a PlayStation. Hell, she even brought the Tirek’s Revenge series which is a lot like Skyrim in a lot of ways.”

Jason adopted a serious expression. “We’re having a gaming session next week! No excuses!”

“Prepare to get owned, then. For now though…” Gregory pulled Ember closer as they enjoyed the ride. “I think our dates have been more than patient with us, don’t you agree?”

“More than you probably deserve,” Ember said while grabbing his arm. “So to make up for this slight against your Dragon Lord, you’re only to wait on me and heed my every command.”

“As you wish, my lady,” Gregory said with a grin.

“I expect you to not be outdone by the dragon simp over there, Jason,” Chrysalis said, mirroring Ember’s actions.

“I wouldn’t dream of it, your highness,” Jason said.

“And you say I should stop teaching Ember human culture,” Gregory smirked. “‘Simp’? Really?”

“Fuck you.”

The chariot landed in front of a lavish new building near the center of Haven City. Like most everything in the town, it had a remarkably medieval style to it, although there were definitely signs of more modern technology available. There was a veranda outside which would be used during the warmer months whenever customers wanted to sit outside, while there was smoke coming from a large chimney. There were places for plants hanging from the windowsills, but since it was still winter they were bare. A crowd of many different creatures all had gathered outside the door, each one holding an embroidered piece of paper which ensured that they were the first guests. The moment the four landed, they could smell incredible scents wafting from the as yet unopened restaurant. To the two humans, the food smelled a lot like French cuisine, and their mouths started to water.

“Is this what heaven smells like?” Jason asked in awe as he inhaled deeply.

“Just wait, you’ll get a taste of true heaven later tonight,” Chrysalis cooed.

Ember scoffed at Chrysalis gently scratching Jason’s chin. “Urgh, we’re in public. Try not to act like a pair of lovestruck children.”

“Play nice, Ember. Besides…” Gregory drew her in by the waist and lightly nibbled on her neck. “I’m more of a down to earth kind of guy. Down and dirty, if you know what I mean.”

Ember had the decency to look away as a blush formed. “Let’s just get our table…”

The party of four made their way inside where they met the teller. He was a kirin dressed in a black suit. He held his head high and his eyes closed as one would expect from a sophisticated restaurant employee. “Welcome to le Château de Tranquillité. Reservations?” 

“Yes. Party of four for the royal suite under Gregory,” Gregory said.

The teller seemed to scrunch up at the name. “Tsk. Monsieur, this eatery is a sophisticated establishment. We do not reserve the royal suit for a name as unremarkable as that.”

“Oh, he’s one of those,” Jason groaned.

“And here I thought kirin would be a bit more accepting,” Gregory said under his breath.

Chrysalis looked over at Ember. “Shall I take this or do you–?”

Ember marched up to the teller, pushing past Chrysalis in the process. “Stand aside.” She looked down at the teller who still had yet to open his eyes as she snarled. She slammed her fist down on the podium, destroying it with ease and gaining not just the teller’s attention but the whole restaurant. “When you are addressing the Dragon Lord, you look me in the eye! My company and I have the royal suite booked. Bring us to our table!”

The teller gulped as he went over the list again. “Oh, how foolish of me. Your name is right here. Please forgive my rudeness–”

Ember bared her teeth as she leaned down to the kirin. “Table. Now!”

“Y-Yes, of course, right this way.”

Ember smiled at this and looked back to her party. Gregory walked to her with a grin and kissed her cheek. “God, I love it when you’re assertive.”

“K-Knock it off. You’re ruining my image,” Ember said despite bringing him closer with her tail.

Jason and Chrysalis share a glance. “Simp?” Jason asked.

“Tsundere?” Chrysalis added.

They both turned to Gregory and Ember and spoke at the same time. “Yep.”

“Fuck you, I will put ice cubes in your person,” Gregory threatened, holding up his hand menacingly.

“Wait, don’t you mean on my person?” Jason asked.

“You heard what I said.”

As the royal dates moved through the building, many of the other patrons whispered softly about the new arrivals. “Urgh, how rude! They shouldn’t let that brute strong arm their way to a prestigious suite.”

“That’s the Dragon Lord. She must have a reservation.”

“She’s still a brute!”

“But, who is that female human?”

“I thought there were only two.”

“And why is she with one of those human males?”

Gregory sighed. “Well, this is going swimmingly.”

The kirin brought them to the best suite in the new restaurant, a round booth made for any race. The cushions were plush and comfortable. Jason and Gregory let their dates sit first before both taking seats. Quickly the kirin placed four menus down. “H-Here you are,” he said nervously.

“Thank you,” Gregory said.

“C-Can I start you off with something t-to drink?” the kirin stammered.

“Four waters for now,” Gregory said.

“Add lemon in mine,” Chrysalis said.

Jason smirked. “Lemon’s aren’t in season right now, you know?”

“Yeah, I don’t care,” Chrysalis replied, looking up at the kirin with a narrow eyed stare. “It’s the least this one can do.”

“Right away!” the kirin said as he galloped away.

Jason grinned as he put an arm around his date. “Heh, at least you didn’t have to raise your voice or destroy anything to get him running.”

Ember growled at that. “Hey!”

“Ease up, ease up,” Gregory said soothingly.

“Say, would you all like to play a game?” Chrysalis asked.

“What kind of game?” Jason asked.

“First, we’ll pay the waiter a bunch of compliments. We’ll make him feel fulfilled and pride in his work. Then, after we get our food untampered, we’ll switch things up and berate him.”

Gregory raised his hand. “Yeah, I’m gonna stop you right there. I used to work in the service industry. I don’t like the idea of torturing them.”

“Oh, lighten up,” Chrysalis said with a smirk. “I’m not saying we destroy the poor sod. We’ll only stick to jabs about the poor service and a few remarks about poor hygiene. He’ll be so confused by the end of the night that he won’t know up from down.”

“Count me out,” Gregory said with a stern frown. “I know what goes on in places like this. Ease up on them, okay? It’s their first night open. They don’t need a group of Karen customers.”

“Hey, Karen’s are mean and spiteful by choice. We won’t be stooping to that level.” Jason looked to Chrysalis. “Right?”

“Nevertheless, count me out,” Gregory said. “We’re all adults and better than this. Especially Chrysalis. You’re older than all of us combined.”

“Every party needs a pooper. That’s why we invited you.” Chrysalis sighed. “Just sit there and watch.”

He flipped her off, but there was a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. “That’s not a nice thing to say to the person paying for everything here, now is it?”

“Uh, I paid half, remember? Besides, between the Dragon Lord and Changeling Queen being loaded, this wouldn’t even be a drop in a bucket to them.” Jason reminded him.

“Damn right. I have more rubies in my hoard that are twice as expensive than this place.” Ember said.

“I’m still not going along with this,” Gregory said. “They deserve a nice night for their first night.”

“Gah. Fine. Let’s not prank the waiter because of Debby Downer here,” Chrysalis sighed.

“Yeah, Buzzkill Larry over here,” Jason said.

“Rotten egg,” Ember added with a smirk.

He held up his hands and a bolt of lightning shot from one hand to the other. “Don’t test me,” he said as he put his hands down, folding them.

“Ha, you’ve been a little too liberal with your magic in my presence. Are you looking for another sparring match?” Ember grinned.

He started to look genuinely upset now. He sighed. “I don’t care anymore. Do whatever you want.” He leaned back and looked up at the table.

Ember leaned over and licked his cheek. “We all love you, Gregory. If you don’t want to mess with the servants, we won’t.”

“Yeah, we’re here for a good time. We can’t do that if we’re all not enjoying the night,” Jason stated. He elbowed Chrysalis in her side discreetly.

“Yes, we’ll do this at a later date. No need to ruin our reputation this early,” Chrysalis said.

Gregory sighed. “Alright…thanks…”

Chrysalis could feel that Gregory’s mood was still rather down. She decided to extend an olive branch towards the younger human. “I never knew you could use lightning magic. You never showed it in front of me or Jason.”

He sat back up. “I’m still kinda new to it,” he said, “and besides, I didn’t want to bring back bad memories for your future husband by showing it.”

“I’m not made of glass, kid. Getting possessed was about the least horrible thing that happened to me,” Jason said.

Gregory held up his hands again, shooting small bolts from one finger on one hand to another. “Electokinesis,” he said. “It’s one of the magical abilities I have. Right now, this is about all I can do.” He put his hands down. “The more I use it, the stronger I become in it. I think I have other abilities too, but I haven’t been able to do much with them. I can stand on clouds, though. That’s fun.”

“At least you can make a decent hand taser,” Chrysalis said.

He smirked. “It doesn’t work on ponies or dragons. Other races? Probably yeah.”

At that moment, the kirin returned with their waters. “H-Here are your drinks. Would you like any appetizers before ordering?”

“What kind are there?” Gregory asked.

“Check the menu, kid. It’s right here with the drinks,” Jason said while looking at his menu.

Gregory did so, and to his delight he saw that one of them were small bread rolls. “Prench bread rolls, eh? I hope they’re baguettes. I haven’t had a good baguette in years.”

“You’re preaching to the choir,” Jason chuckled before turning back to the kirin. “We’ll take the Prench bread rolls.”

“With some butter on the side,” Gregory added.

“I would like polka dotted frog legs,” Chrysalis said.

“Gimme the gems,” Ember stated.

“Oh, and one more thing…” Jason fished out a bag of bits and gave it to the waiter. “It’s your first night. Try not to sweat too much.”

“That reminds me,” Gregory said as the waiter scampered off, “with Ponyville wiped off the map, how is that monetary punishment thing gonna work out? The one you used the Gjallarhorn for?”

“It hasn’t been that long since the last collection,” Jason said, “but I figured since there were little survivors that I’d rethink my position on that.”

“Not that long? Jason, it happened this past spring. It’s winter now.” He chuckled. “Ah, time passes when you’re in love, I guess. Hey, you’re the one in possession of the horn, so it’s your call.”

“It’s something I want to discuss with the girls personally,” Jason said. “I might do that tomorrow.”

“Good call,” Gregory replied as he picked up his menu. “Now, let’s look and see what they have to-they have chicken?!” He looked up. “Why didn’t anyone tell me chicken was acceptable to eat!? I need to make some fried chicken soon!”

“It’s not the chicken you might be familiar with since the ones at the farm have some sentience. These birds look like quasi-chicks, a subspecies of the poultry fouls and significantly less self aware,” Chrysalis informed him.

“Do they taste the same?” Gregory asked

“I don’t know,” Chrysalis said with a shrug. “I’ve never had Earth chicken.” 

“Well, I may try that just to compare,” Gregory said. “If they taste the same, I know the next culinary project I’m gonna try.”

The four fell into silence as they looked over the menus. To the eyes of both humans, the menu was very similar to French restaurants. The restaurant served escargot, prench onion soup, boeuf bourguignon (made out of some other form of bovine creature that was less self aware than normal cows) and more. At one point while they were waiting, Gregory was talking about future plans since that was the topic at the table.

“I’ve been thinking about creating a smaller school for mages like me,” he was saying. “Twilight and I have been using pieces of metal and bits of smaller mana cores to create magical artifacts that let non-magical creatures use certain magic, and I think creating a mage order of sorts would be worth the investment. I’m not sure if I want it to be kind of like some sort of magical Jedi Order where we go and try and keep the peace all around the world with our magic, or if I just want to make it so that we learn more about magic and novel ways to use it. Still, it’s a project I might look more into when I have the time.”

“Why not just make it another class instead of a whole school?” Jason suggested. “Seems like a waste to build another when you have the space.”

“I was thinking it might start out that way,” Gregory said, “but if the class gets too big, well, I’m not sure if even our biggest classroom would fit everyone.”

“And the massive school of Yggdrasil wouldn’t be big enough already? I doubt you’ll get a new influx of non-magical creatures that aren’t already attending the school,” Chrysalis said.

He considered. “I might need to ask other teachers to step in and help,” he thought. “Either that, or split classes apart. Yeah, that might work better. I’ll talk with Starlight about it and see what she thinks. Right now, I don’t think I’m ready to teach magic. I still don’t know much about it other than how I use it.”

“Hmm, knowing one's limits is a good sign. I shudder to think what havoc you would cause with other novices running around. Master your magic first before considering passing down knowledge,” Chrysalis stated.

Gregory grinned, then bowed, and in a strange but familiar gravely voice he said, “Master it, I will. Hmm, yes.”

“Nerd,” Jason said.

“There are no nerds at this table,” Ember said while waving her hands, “and these aren’t the droids you’re looking for.”

“Oh God, he’s infected you!” Jason said in fake exasperation.

Gregory laughed. “You should have seen her reaction when Darth Vader revealed who he was to Luke!”

“You really should have warned me!” Ember snapped back.

“Hey, I wanted to see a genuine reaction,” Gregory chuckled.

“Hey, look, our food is here. Right on time,” Chrysalis said. “Now we can eat and not hear about cheesy movie trivia.”

Soon the table was full of delicious smelling and delicious looking delicacies and the four began eating rather heartily. The rest of the night went on swimmingly and the food was immaculate. Gregory left another tip while the two royals promised to leave a stunning review about the service. However, as the party was leaving for the evening, a group of several minotaurs began to approach them from a nearby table. “Hey there, I couldn’t help but notice you were coming from the royal suite,” one of them said. “A new establishment like this is very particular on who books it. You said you were the Dragon Lord, correct?”

“Yes, what’s it to you?” Ember asked.

“I’m Bow Twinhorn,” the minotaur said by means of introduction. “I’m a high ranking junior council member of the Minotaur Kingdom. I tried to get those same reservations for my entourage here.” He gestured to the other three bulls behind him. “I was rather disappointed that some other creature beat us to it, but I am honored it has gone to someone as prestigious as yourself. That was quite the display you showed at the entrance. So fierce, commanding, and dominant. I was hoping you and your other radiant beauty would join us on our restaurant tour.”

“You’re bar hopping but with restaurants?” Jason asked.

Bow snorted in disgust. “Sorry, I don’t talk with servants. Besides, I am sure you two would like company more suited to your stature.”

“He’s laying it on thick, don’t you think?” Chrysalis asked while scrunching up her nose. “Also, I’m almost drowning in the lust permeating from them. Maybe this form worked too well? Hmm.”

“I can feel that too,” Gregory whispered to the changeling queen. He slipped his hands into his pockets for a few moments then brought them back out, now wearing his magic rings. He didn’t like where this was going, but he didn’t want to cause a scene if it was at all possible. Reaching over, he intertwined his arm with Ember’s. “Come on, we can find some good dessert elsewhere,” he said.

“I’m afraid I must insist,” Bow said. “I shudder to think what will become of your reputation if you continue associating with these…” Twinhorn spun his wrist at Gregory and Jason, “hairless hornless calves.”

Knowing the peaceful option was quickly growing farther and farther away, Gregory leaned in towards Ember and whispered, “Are minotaurs susceptible to lightning?”

“Their hides are too tough. You’d be better off with fire or ice,” Ember said.

“And, I think a little telekinesis goes a long way. I have been meaning to get more exercise with it,” Jason said while cracking his knuckles.

“Noted.” Gregory turned back to the minotaurs. “We really have to get moving,” he informed them. “My friend and I, along with both our dates, are pretty exhausted and would like to wind down for the evening.”

“Gregory!” Ember called out forcefully. “These minotaurs just challenged your honor and called you weak! Are you going to let that stand?”

“Yes, defend the honor of your dates. I’m in the mood for dinner and a show,” Chrysalis smirked.

Jason looked at Gregory before shrugging. “You heard the ladies.”

Gregory looked at Ember, then back at the minotaurs. Without warning, the ground beneath the first minotaur glowed brightly and soon Bow was encased in said ice, frozen in place. He made sure to leave his head above the ice so he could breath, but other than that his body was frozen in place. He looked at Bow with a snarl as he said, “You will never speak about my girlfriend like that again, you pathetic cow!”

One of the minotaurs tried to rush them, but was stopped cold by a green aura encasing him. “Is that racist? Sexist? Or both?” Jason asked before waving his hand and tossing the bull into another one.

Gregory, not wanting to do much damage to the brand new restaurant, blasted the door to the outside open with a gust of ice cold wind, which surprised even him. “Lead them outside!”

“Ah, right. Property damage. One sec,” Jason said before flexing his aura around all the minotaurs  and flinging them outside.

Gregory lifted the still frozen Bow Twinhorn out into the snow, setting him down and making him face the group. “Alright, now we can let loose,” he said, grabbing an empty hilt on his belt and holding it out, creating a glowing ice blade that seemed to hum a bit with energy. 

“Argh! W-What are you oafs waiting for? Get them!” the frozen minotaur demanded.

“I’d rethink that order if I were you, boys,” Jason replied. “This could’ve been considered a small disturbance from the inside, but now we’re out in the open. What would your reputation be like when this gets back to your kingdom thanks to all these witnesses.” Jason gestured to the occupants in the restaurant and the citizens watching in the street.

Gregory sprouted a pair of his ice wings, spreading them wide. “Not only that, but you basically insulted the Dragon Lord and the Queen of the Changelings along with their dates. You think either nation will want to do business with you after this blatant insult?” He held out his ice blade towards the group, its hum clearly audible. “I know you boys aren’t as stupid as your leader. Or at least I hope you’re not.”

The minotaurs all stopped advancing and looked amongst themselves. Seeing the two surprisingly capable humans making valid points made them reconsider their options. “Um, we’re sorry for the trouble,” one of them said. “We were just told to come with Bow as a favor to his father. We’ll take him off your hands.”

“Can you unfreeze our leader now?” another minotaur asked.

“No,” Ember suddenly said. “It will be a good lesson for the calf to respect his betters. Let him thaw out naturally.”

Gregory lowered his blade and the ice blade vanished. “Take him back to his father and tell him what he almost did.”

The minotaurs nodded in agreement as they moved to Bow and hoisted him and his ice prison up. “W-Wait. I can't be seen l-like this! What would father say? P-Put me down this instant!”

Gregory sighed. “That’s not our problem. Take him away.”

The minotaurs didn’t need to be told twice as they hurried down the street while the junior council member continued to complain. “Well, that was fun,” Jason said.

“Yes, an admirable showing,” Chrysalis said, wrapping her arm around Jason.

“There should have been more blood. There wasn’t a single lasting injury among them,” Ember said before turning to Gregory. “I expect broken bones the next time someone insults your Dragon Lord.”

“I’ve spilt more blood in this world than I want to,” Gregory said with a shudder, and it wasn’t from the cold and his lack of a coat. He had a slightly haunted look in his eyes before refocusing them. “Come on, let’s go grab our coats. I think we all deserve something sweet and really bad for us. I’ll grab our coats.” With that, he headed back into the restaurant.

Chrysalis could sense what Gregory had briefly felt and nudged Ember towards him. “Go.”

Ember quickly jogged in after her date. She found him gathering their coats from where they’d hung them earlier. She exhaled slowly and approached. “Hey, I’m sorry about that,” she said sincerely. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Gregory looked back at her as he was grabbing their coats. “It’s not your fault. I’ll be alright.”

Ember shook her head vehemently. “No, it’s not alright. I have to learn to curb my more violent desires. It won’t do us any good if I want to spend our lives together. Couples learn to compromise.”

Gregory smiled, impressed by how mature she was being. He nodded in agreement. “Agreed. I think we’ve been doing good so far. We’ve been together for a while and I think we’ve gotten closer. You have been calmer than I remember you being, at least most of the time.” He wrapped her up in her coat. “Come on, let’s get something sweet to eat. Mrs. Cake’s desserts are the best in town, and she can make her hot chocolate scalding hot like you like.”

“Right, but, before that…” Ember rubbed her arm in awkwardness. “I have something for you.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What is it?”

“You might be familiar with it because of that show of yours, so it saves me a lot of explaining.” She reached for her sapphire heart ruby that was hanging around her neck, removed it, and presented it to Gregory. “Gregory Graystone, will you have my heart?”

Gregory instantly remembered his view of The Trial and what Ember had explained about the fire ruby that Spike had grown. The show had never touched on it, but he knew about it from that and from some research he’d done on it once he’d begun to date her. He’d even asked Smolder about it. His eyes went wide and he smiled wider. He reached over, took the sapphire colored gem and looked at her. “Yes, now and forever,” he replied as he placed the necklace around his neck.

The rest of the restaurant occupants gave a round of applause as Jason and Chrysalis came back inside. “Ah, fresh love is so delicious,” Chrysalis said.

“We should start planning a double wedding,” Jason joked.

Gregory proudly displayed the heart shaped gemstone as he touched it lovingly. “Just as long as we invite no minotaurs, or at the very least polite ones,” he joked back. And with that, the four headed off to get some sweet treats.

When Jason walked into the library, he saw Spike doing a little bit of dusting on one shelf. Nearby, Twilight was using her wins to do the same thing near another shelf. When the bell on the door rang, Twilight turned and her eyes widened when she saw who it was. “Jason! Hi! Happy New Year!”

“Hey, Twilight, Spike. You know about New Years, huh?” Jason asked.

Spike looked up and waved. “Hey there, Jason! Of course we know about it,” the young dragon said. “We learned about it from Sunset. It’s not a holiday back in Equestria, but Twilight’s thought about proposing it as a holiday here.”

“Really? So, what’s your New Year's resolution?” Jason asked.

“I guess it’s to keep improving on myself and broadening my horizons,” Twilight said. “We’ve been through a lot this past year, and it’s been a real eye opener. I was thinking of going to different kingdoms and doing more hooves-on learning rather than getting my information from a book.”

“I wanna spend more time with Gabby and other kids my age,” Spike added.

Jason chuckled. “Good call. Bet Gregory will miss having his teacher around, though.”

“Oh, he’ll be fine,” Twilight said with a smile. “I left plenty of study material and Starlight is just as good a teacher as I am. I actually wanted to have a New Year’s party with my friends tonight before I start packing. I want to fully emulate the experience of starting a new year.”

“You’re a little late considering the ball has already dropped. But I see no harm in it.”

Twilight tilted his head. “Ball dropped?”

“Every New Year’s Eve - right before the stroke of midnight - humans gather around to count down the last ten seconds of the current year and usher in the New Year with a bang, so to speak.” Jason smiled at the many parties he had back on Earth. “Then people try and work on keeping their New Year's resolutions. Or, like the saying goes, New Year, New Me.”

Twilight wrote this down on a piece of parchment. “We can do that here next year!” she said excitedly.

“New Year, New Me, huh?” Spike said thoughtfully. He smiled. “I like that.”

“It’s a lot harder than you might think by trying to keep that promise to yourself. Most people quit after a month. Then, if you fail, you lose your ring finger.”

“Wait, what?!?!” Spike and Twilight exclaimed.

“I’m kidding,” Jason smirked.

Spike punched Jason in the shins. “You’re awful.”

“Guilty as charged,” he chuckled. “It’s one of the resolutions I’m working on right now.”

“What are your solutions, if you don’t mind me asking?” Twilight asked.

Jason sighed softly. “Being more open with others. Moving past the trauma of my arrival here and making amends with all of you…” Jason donned a melancholic expression. “I want to talk with you girls about something at the party tonight.”

“That’s fine with me, Jason. Do you want me to send them all a letter?”

“Nah, I’m going out to tell everyone personally. That’ll give you a chance to get everything ready.”

Spike nodded, then looked up at Twilight. “Hey, can I go out for a bit? There’s someone I wanna talk to.”

Twilight smiled and nodded. “I think I know who. Go ahead, Spike.”

Spike beamed, grabbed his jacket and boots and rushed out. Jason watched as he went, a bit confused. “Where’s he going?”

“Probably to see Gabby,” Twilight said. “I’m pretty sure he has a crush on her now.”

“It’s not another Rarity thing, is it?” 

Twilight shook her head. “I think she likes him too.”

“Isn’t there a bit of an age disparity? Gabby’s got to be in her early twenties.”

“I sat down and had a long talk with her. She finds Spike’s company good, but they won’t do anything adult orientated until Spike’s body matches up. Yes, he is technically old enough by pony standards, but he’s barely into his teen years in terms of dragon aging. Everything should be right as rain after another five years,” Twilight stated.

“Well, I’ll give the little guy this; he has fine tastes. Gabby is a fan favorite back on Earth. Before I head out, do you need any help with anything?”

“I’m glad you said that…” Twilight then pulled out a large scroll with her pens she got from Gregory. “Since I have an expert on celebrating New Year’s here, I’d like all the relevant information for throwing the party.”

Jason chuckled ruefully. “I had to open my mouth. Well, you have more than one expert in town, but sure.” He sat down at one of the nearby couches. “Fire away, purple book horse.”

Twilight gave him a pout. “I already get called that by Gregory. I don’t need it from you too.”

He laughed. “Sorry. Go ahead and ask away.”

“It was only an hour, but it felt like forever,” Jason muttered to himself as he trudged through the snow towards Rarity’s boutique. He walked up to the building that served as both Rarity’s shop and home.

Rarity’s new boutique had a more simplistic design than her old one, but there was still a touch of class to it. She had designed clothes for other races besides ponies since setting up shop, and her place had become pretty well known. Winter was her busiest season, meaning that even today her shop was busy.

When he stepped inside, he almost ran into a young pink maned filly. She looked up at him and smiled. “Mr. Wright! Hi!” The unicorn Cutie Mark Crusader waved.

“How are you doing, Sweetie. Have you seen your sister? There’s a party tonight at the school and I’m giving the invites,”  Jason said.

“I’m alright,” Sweetie Belle said. “Did you say a party? Can the girls and our friends come?”

“Well, I don’t see why not? I know your friend Cozy Glow’s going to be there. You’ll need to get your parents’ permission, though.”

“Alright!” She then pointed to where Rarity was standing with a customer. “Big sis is over there.” She then bolted towards the door. “See you later, Mr. Wright!”

Waving goodbye for now, Jason walked over to Rarity. “Hey, Rarity. I see you’re hit with more than just the snow.”

“Oh, hello, darling,” Rarity said with a tired smile. “I simply cannot tell you the stress I’ve had all morning. With all the dragons, kirins, and every other creature sensitive to the cold gathered in town, I’ve been swapped with orders. I mean, look at my hooves. My perfect manicure is ruined form all the sewing I’ve been doing.”

Jason looked around to see various boxes of completed and incomplete orders. “I do not envy you,” he chuckled.

“Oh, sure, laugh it up,” she said with a bit of indignation. “You know, when you put that stipulation on me to not sell my wares in Equestria, I think I’d be finished, but it turns out I have more work than ever before! I’m not even getting paid for half of it.”

“Hey, at least you can make money since you’re technically in Equestria,” Jason said. “I mean, that was the stipulation. You couldn’t make money in Equestrian borders. We’re not in Equestrian borders, are we?”

Rarity slammed her head on the desk. “I hardly call that a good thing, darling! But I shall soldier onward. Thanks for listening and letting me vent.”

“Hey, not a problem,” Jason said before his smile faded a bit. “Hey, there’s a party at the school tonight, and I was hoping you’d be there. There’s something I wanna talk with you and the other girls about.”

“Oh?” Rarity smiled a bit. “That’s wonderful. Although, I am afraid I might not make it. I’m already behind on some orders. Most of them are emergencies for the cold and I absolutely must get those out before anything else.”

“Then, how about I help you with the workload. I got a decent handle on my magic and I’m pretty good with a needle.”

“You sew? You have magic now?” Rarity pulls up a chair and a desk for Jason. “I sense a tale ahoof. I appreciate the offer darling. If you can help with the emergency orders, I should be able to clear out my backlog.”

Jason chuckled. “Yeah, I sewed a few things for my niece before she passed away. I got pretty good at it, too. I’m a bit out of practice since I haven’t had much to work with for all the years I’ve been here, but I can easily pick up a skill I had. As for my magic, well that’s thanks to my relationship with Chrysalis.”

“Oh, now you have to tell me, darling. I often had thoughts about how changelings court one another. Especially their royalty.”

Jason couldn’t miss the opportunity if he tried. “So, you had thoughts on changelings getting down and dirty? Do you fancy my fiancée?”

Rarity’s already white face seemed to go whiter for a bit, then a blush formed on her face. “Whoa whoa whoa, no no! I-I would never interfere in the relationship of another!”

“Oh, I don’t mind. Changelings are very open minded. See, it all goes like this when a daddy ling and a mommy ling love teacher other very much–”

“I-I know the birds and b-bees, you cad!” Jason smirked as he leaned into her ear and whispered the rest. Rarity’s face went a shade deeper. “Th-That’s how it w-works?!” she asked in surprise. “I…um…phew…” She brought out a hoofkerchief and patted her forehead profusely. “Oh dear me…”

Jason couldn’t hold himself back. He laughed hard, much to the consternation of the unicorn. “Aaahahaha! Ahaha! Whoo boy…the look on your face! Priceless!” He wiped a tear from his eye as he looked down at her. “Well, enough teasing. Let’s get some work done, shall we?”

Rarity frowned before summoning her magic and dumping more of her unfinished orders on top of Jason’s head. “Well, since we have a lot of time before this evening, I believe you can take on more of the work. It’s the generous thing to do after all.”

He snickered. “Worth it.” he said before he picked up the first paper he saw. “An antler cover for a deer…okay…here we go.”

By the time he was finished helping Rarity, it was past lunchtime, and he was famished. He decided the next stop would be Pinkie since she worked somewhere that served food.

Sweet Cakes Shoppe was a bakery/sweet shop run by three pony mares. Cup Cake and Pinkie Pie ran the bakery side of the business while Bon Bon ran the sweets side of the shop. It was a popular destination for everyone in town and it was normally rather busy. It was the same now. Jason even saw Gregory sitting alone at a corner table, proudly wearing his sapphire colored fire ruby. Pinkie was sitting in Gregory’s lap, eyes closed in contentment as the younger human gave the part pony headpats. When his fellow human saw Jason, he brightened and waved. Pinkie opened one of her eyes and looked over. She smiled wide and waved Jason over to their table. “Hi Jason!”

“Sup, old man,” Gregory said. In front of him was a plate with a half eaten chocolate pie and some chocolate mint chip ice cream on it along with what looked like French toast. “Sit down,” he said as he resumed stroking Pinkie’s mane.

“I’m barely a few years older than you,” Jason said before turning to Pinkie. “And shouldn’t you be working?”

“You call me kid, so I get to call you old man,” Gregory said with a smirk.

“I’m on my lunch break, silly filly,” Pinkie giggled, “and I don’t ever miss out on headpats!”

Jason blinked at this. “Stop corrupting her with your evil pats. She’s not a dog.”

“Hey, this is comfy for me too,” Gregory said as he scratched behind Pinkie’s ears. “Did you know some ponies actually purr? Or maybe that’s just Pinkie being Pinkie.”

“Well, Chrysalis has done that when she takes pony form,” Jason said, “so it might be both. Anyway, there’s a New Year’s party tonight at the school. You’re invited, Pinkie.”

“I knew there would be something special about today. I got a new comb from my Pinkie sense that I never had before. So, what’s New Year’s?”

“You don’t have that here?” Gregory asked, surprised.

“Nope,” Pinkie said, “and I double checked all the dates in each month.”

“Basically, it’s a human holiday that celebrates the coming of the new year,” Jason explained. “We also make promises to improve ourselves.” Jason said.

This time, Pinkie blinked once. Twice. And then three times. “You mean to tell me that there’s another human party at the end of the year where humans make promises?” Pinkie turns her head a full one hundred and eighty degrees to face Gregory. “Why am I only just now finding out about this?”

Gregory raised his hands defensively. “I thought it was a holiday here already. Although, now that I think about it, it makes sense why everyone’s treating today like another normal day.”

“Unbelievable,” Pinkie said, shaking her head as she turned back to Jason. “You are all so lucky I didn’t know about this years ago. What happens when you fail to keep this New Year's promise?”

“We call it a New Year’s Resolution. And, if you fail, you’re supposed to lose a finger,” Jason said.

“Hmm, I guess I better make up for lost time then.” Pinkie said as she pulled out an absurdly large pair of scissors. “So, has anyone here broken any resolutions?”

Gregory grabbed the scissors. “He’s kidding about the finger part, Ponks,” he replied, glaring at his fellow human. “Were you really gonna have innocent Pinkie cut off our fingers? Dude…”

“I mean, it’s not hard to keep a promise. It will give you that extra incentive to succeed,” Jason smirked. Gregory shot him a flat look. “Alright, alright, calm down. Pinkie. Don’t go giving everyone the Lorena Bobbitt treatment.”

Gregory shivered, put the scissors down and resumed giving Pinkie headpats. “Besides, if I lost my fingers, you wouldn’t get headpats from either me or Jason. And I’m sure he gives great headpats.” 

“You make a good point. Fine, you may keep your digits. For no other reason than you appease your pink, fluffy lord.” Pinkie said.

At that moment, Bon Bon came up. When she saw Jason, she stiffened, but more out of nervousness than anything else. She’d been one of Jason’s tormentors, after all. “Oh, um, good afternoon,” she said. “C-Can I get you anything?”

Jason stared at her as she flinched. He remembered Bon Bon well. She turned him away too when he’d gotten desperate and sought out Lyra. He was hoping that she would be like her fandom counterpart and be a human fanatic, but she wasn’t. He remembered her screaming in terror and alerting Bon Bon. He remembered the one time when Bon Bon and Lyra had been part of the crowds that chased him out of town mercilessly. He remembered all of them, but he didn’t come here to reopen old wounds, so he extended an olive branch. “Yes, Bon Bon. I’d like a chocolate milkshake, please and a couple of glazed donuts. How’s Lyra?”

“Sh-She’s doing well,” Bon Bon replied, swallowing a little bit.

“What’s she been doing lately?” Gregory asked. “I haven’t seen her around as much.”

Bon Bon shifted uncomfortably. “She’s actually spent a lot of time doing some research,” she said.

“What about?” Gregory asked.

“Humans.”

Gregory’s lips curled up a bit. “Is that right? She’s been reading the books I brought?”

“How do you corrupt every pony you touch?” Jason asked with a sigh. “First it was you turning Luna into a gamer, and now human loving Lyra?”

“That was not my fault,” Gregory said.

“I-It was recently after The Trial,” Bon Bon stuttered. “Lyra and I saw the worst version of ourselves and we didn’t like it, so after Ponyville got destroyed and we learned the school had human studies, we wanted to learn all we can to change. I-I saw you visit the school a few times and I wanted to come up and apologize, but how could I after what I did? What would I even say?”

“You can start with ‘I’m sorry’,” Pinkie said, “but it goes a little deeper than just that. You have to look at yourself and identify the problem that led you to do what you did. You have to understand that you are capable of doing something bad. And once you do that, then the apology will mean something. Jason just told me about a human holiday at the end of the year. It’s supposed to be about self improvement. I’ve had mine. I think it's time you had yours. You and Lyra.”

Bon Bon stopped and considered this. Slowly, she nodded her head. “Y-Yes, that’s a good idea. I’ll tell Lyra about it later.”

“For now, I’d still like my drink. I can help you get it right for future visits. If that’s cool with you.” Jason said, holding out his hand.

Bon Bon smiled a little at this and accepted the handshake. “O-Of course!” she  said as she wrote down the order. “So that’s a chocolate milkshake and two glazed donuts. Anything else we can get for you?”

“Hmm, a hug would be nice,” Jason said. Bon Bon was surprised and gladly accepted as the two embraced. There was a bit of tears in Bon Bon’s eyes that she wiped away. Pinkie and Gregory watched this, smiling.

A few seconds later, after the hug ended, the moment was ruined by a cheeky human. “Awww, how sweet,” he chuckled. “The hardened former secret agent and human hugging. Pony hugs are something else, not gonna lie.”

Bon Bon’s eyes went wide before she rounded on Gregory, holding the pencil like a knife and pointed it at him. “Who told you that?! How much do you know?!”

Gregory had already had an ice shield up before him, apparently anticipating some sort of attack. “Only what the show told me, which was very little.”

“Really, do tell!”

Jason stepped in between them, hands raised. “Easy, easy. My friend here doesn’t mean anything by it. The show never revealed anything outside you being an agent. Although it would help if my friend would be a bit less liberal with said show!” Jason shot Gregroy a glare.

Gregory chuckled nervously and his ice shield vanished. “Fair enough, fair enough. I honestly don’t know much about it, but Celestia and Luna both know that I know your identity, and they won’t tell me anything else, which works for me. I don’t need to or want to know.”

Bon Bon put her pencil down and relaxed. “Alright, I’ll trust what you say, for now. But I’m watching you.” With that said, she headed in the kitchen to relay the order all the while keeping her stern narrowed eyes on Gregory.

Jason smirked as he looked between him and Bon Bon. “You know what, I’m beginning to like her already.”

Pinkie reached up and gave Gregory a healthy thwack on the head. “Ow!”

“Bad boy,” she reprimanded him.

“Can’t help it, sorry.”

She sighed, then gave him a reassuring smile. “I’ll go talk to her and calm her down for you. It wouldn’t do if you were kidnapped or something.” She reached up and gave his head a few pats, then climbed off of his bed and sauntered off, giving him a grin and a wink. “Just behave,” she added.

“It’s stuff like that which gets Ember jealous of you!” Gregory called out.

“Yeah, you totally deserved that,” Jason snarked.

“Fuck you.”

After his small and unhealthy midday meal (along with some more jabs at Gregory for his recklessness), Jason decided it was time to find Fluttershy. She ran an orphanage called the Children’s Cabin alongside Discord and a couple other creatures. It was located near the western side of town and, true to its name, was designed like a large log cabin with a large fence surrounding a yard where the children could play. It had three stories and was capable of holding about fifty to sixty children in its rooms, although at the moment it only had twenty or so children. Currently, most of the children were ponies, most from Ponyville, although there were a couple of other young children there from other races.

Jason stood in at the gates, taking a moment to marvel at the little ones playing around in the snow. He spotted Discord coming out the front door with a tray of snacks and hot chocolate for the kids and figured now was the time for greetings. “Alright, kiddies, gather around. Uncle Discord has some nice treats for you.”

“Thanks Uncle Discord,” the kids replied before devouring all the treats on the tray and gulping down the hot chocolate.

“Yeesh, and I thought Susie had no manners,” Jason said.

“Oh, hello Jason,” Discord said with a friendly wave. “You must be here for Fluttershy. She’s in the kitchen.”

“Thanks, but I have to admit that I never imagined you as a den mother.”

“Neither did I but looking at these little munchkins reminds me of my youth,” Discord said with a chuckle. “I never realized how similarly chaotic the younger generation are. Such a missed opportunity.”

“Figures you would still be causing mischief,” Jason chuckled.

“Oh, pishsaw,” Discord said with an exaggerated wave of his claw, “I only offer small suggestions to the little tikes. A little stink bomb and whoopee cushion in strategic places. The angle to throw a water balloon for maximum splash damage. But it’s best to let the little ones come into their brand of chaos.”

“Do you miss your powers?”

Discord sighed contentedly as he watched the kids pull a cart full of prank items. “Sometimes, but only when I try to do something for convenience sake like snapping a glass of chocolate milk. I never really appreciated anything since anything I could want was a snap away, but I’d say I’m better off now.”

Jason nodded his head. “Hmm. Then I’ll let you get back to it.”

When Jason entered the kitchen, he saw Fluttershy near the kitchen counter making some more snacks for the children. Dinky, who had thankfully actually survived thanks to being out of Ponyville, was helping Fluttershy out. Fluttershy had adopted Dinky formally after the young pegasus was found after the destruction of Ponyville. “Mom! Mister Jason’s here!” the gray unicorn filly said.

“Oh my,” Fluttershy said as she put a tray down, “I wasn’t expecting any guests. I’ll be right there.” 

“Take your time, Fluttershy,” Jason said, “I came by unexpectedly, after all.”

Fluttershy came down and Jason was taken aback by her appearance. Her mane was now in a small bun with a ponytail. There were also some flowers woven into it. Her apron was a bit dirty, but she had a smile on her face. She was the picturesque visage of a mother now. “Good afternoon, Jason,” she said kindly.

“New look?”

“I felt it was time for a change. Can I get you anything? Some tea and cookies?”

“No thanks,” he replied, “I just stopped by to invite you to a New Year’s celebration at Yggdrasil tonight.”

“New Year’s celebration? I didn’t know there was a party tonight.”

He shrugged. “It’s a human thing that I wanted to share with you all. And besides, I’m inviting all the other girls because I wanted to talk to you about something important.”

“Oh, alright then, I just have to take the foals to pay their respects to their parents,” Fluttershy said sadly.

Jason nodded solemnly. “Of course,” he said, “I understand.”

“Would you like to join us? It’s just a short trip to the town memorial.”

He pursed his lips. “Well…if you don’t mind me coming, sure. I’ll come.”

Fluttershy was right about the trip being short. The memorial was right near the town entrance. The memorial was a simple stone obelisk covered in enchanted unmeltable ice courtesy of Gregory. Inscribed on the stone were all the names of the deceased from the Windigo attack. The children who had parents that perished knew where their parents’ names were. Some of them softly cried, including Dinky who found the name of her mother fast. She hugged Fluttershy tightly, who hugged back, telling her that everything was alright now and that her mother was in a better place.

Jason knelt down and placed a hand on Dinky’s and Fluttershy’s shoulder. “I’m sorry for your loss…”

“T-Thank you, M-Mister Jason,” Dinky replied through tears, “b-but, why did this have to happen?”

“It was our ignorance to the festering hatred that did this,” Fluttershy said somberly. “We pretended it wasn’t there. We acted like we could do no wrong and because of that, a lot of innocent ponies were punished as well.” 

“M-Mom was the nicest mare in the world,” Dinky said as she wiped a tear away, “She…she didn’t deserve…” Dhe broke out into a bawl, burying her face into Fluttershy’s chest, sobbing loudly.

“Shush, I know, Dinky,” Fluttershy nodded as she stroked Dinky’s mane with her wings. “That’s why it's important that we don’t forget these names and strive to be better ponies for their sake.”

Dinky continued to sob, but she nodded. “O-Okay, Mom…”

After spending an hour playing with the orphans with Fluttershy and Discord, Jason decided to make his way over to where Rainbow Dash was. She normally spent her time in the gym at the school. Now that she had lost the use of her wings she had decided to work out her other muscles, hoping to use her strength to better help defend her friends and the town in case of some emergency. Currently, she was doing some foreleg pull ups when Jason walked in. Sweat poured down her face as she saw the human walking in. “Heya,” she said as she did one more pull up before falling down, panting heavily. “Phew…ten more than yesterday!” She walked over to a bench that had a big water bottle on it, grabbed it and swallowed before dousing her mane in the rest of the water. “What’s up, Jason? Come to work out too?” she dabbed at her face with a towel before she flashed him her cocksure grin and flexed a hoof, showing off an impressive amount of muscle. “I’m doing awesome. This is just a typical workout for me now. I want to save some strength to whip these slacker students of mine into shape. You look like you could go for a few laps.”

Jason gave her a small chuckle, which died out after a bit. “Yeah, maybe…”

She then finally saw how somber Jason looked and paused. “Hey, you okay?” she asked, her ears moving down a bit in worry.

“Yeah…actually not so much…”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Just got back from Fluttershy and her orphanage. We visited the memorial in town.”

Rainbow’s ears went flat. “Oh…” She looked down and pawed at the ground a bit with her hoof. “Yeah, I find it hard to visit there too…I knew a lot of those ponies…”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s okay, I guess,” she said. “I mean, yeah, I’m bummed out about their deaths, but at the same time, we didn’t do ourselves any favors. Urgh, I hate talking about this. It feels like I’m disrespecting the dead. But more than that, it’s scary to think about how my name could’ve been up there…”

“You were fortunate that you were up here,” Jason said, “and you’re not disrespecting them. Tell me, when ponies die, where do the bad ones go? Their souls?”

“I, uh, I’ve never been the type to think about that kind of stuff,” she said as she scratched the back of her neck. “The best I know is what my parents told me about the Elysian Fields. You’re better off asking Twilight.”

“Well, I was trying to make the point that in situations like this, it’s an unfortunate truth that the innocent and guilty will suffer side by side,” he said somberly. “I wish it wasn’t like that, but that’s the way things are. Back in my old world and here. My advice to you is to live to honor the memories of the innocent and learn from the sins of the guilty.”

Rainbow nodded in understanding before she smacked her cheeks and got up. “Alright, enough of all this sad talk. I got some foals to toughen up. Let’s go, Jason. You’re coming along for this session.”

“Before you do, I wanted to talk about something else, and no it’s not something sad,” Jason said.

“Oh? What is it?”

“There’s a New Year’s party happening here tonight, and I’m inviting you and the other girls to come,” he explained again. “I wanted to talk with you all about something important.”

“Huh, well if it’s a party, I’m already there. Now move it, string bean.” Rainbow said as she goe behind Jason and starts pushing him to the bleachers.

He rolled his eyes and let her push him towards the court. “The things I do…”

As a tired and freshly showered Jason walked over a hill on the eastern side of Haven City, he spotted an all-too familiar sight. Just like Twilight and Spike’s home, New Acre’s farmhouse was pretty much a carbon copy of Sweet Apple Acres. The apple trees were bare of leaves and snow covered the entire orchard. There were farm fields as far as the eye would see past the orchards. There were more farms than just New Acres, but this was the only orchard in town. Below, he saw Big Mac walking from the barn back to the house.

“Hey, there, Big Mac. Working hard?”

“Eeyup,” Big Mac said simply.

“You wouldn’t happen to know where Applejack is, would you?” Big Mac pointed toward the fields with his hoof. “Ah, thanks.”

“Eeyup,” Big Mac said as he continued walking.

Jason did not have to travel far as he heard the grunting of a mare and thuds of bucking. He found Applejack surrounded by buckets of apples with Wyonna laying beside her. Jason calmly approached as he saw the dog’s nose twitch. Wynonna lifted her head and the two locked eyes before Wyonna fully stood up and approached him. Jason stiffens slightly, expecting an attack, only for Wyonna to calmly sniff around him before excitedly barking and hugging his leg. The sound of her dog barking caught Applejack’s attention as she smiled at the sight. “Well howdy, Jason,” Applejack said, looking down at her dog clinging to the human’s leg. “Ah see the trainin’ did her good. She seems tah like yah now.”

“Yeah, I see that.” Jason bent down and patted the dog on the head. He then looked back up at Applejack and gestured to the small patch of apple trees. “How in the world are there apples growing this far north in the middle of winter, anyway?”

Applejack held up her hoof as a green shimmering aura appeared around it. “A little bit of earth pony magic to speed things along. It still doesn’t help with gathering and transporting though. Do ya mind helpin’ out with these ones?”

“Right, I keep forgetting about that sometimes,” he said as he gently pried the dog off of his leg. “Sure, I don’t mind helping out a bit.”

“Thank ya kindly, partner. So, why the visit? Not that yer not welcome, of course,” Applejack said as she carried some buckets on her back.

“Just swung by to give you an invite to a New Year’s party we’re having at the school later tonight,” Jason replied as he picked up a smaller bucket.

“I’m guessin’ that some human shindig ‘cause I never heard of this New Year’s.”

“Yeah, just a little celebration to bring in the change of the year. You’re welcome to bring the family too.”

“Ah think we’d all love tah come,” Applejack said. “Should we bring anythin’?”

“How about some vintage cider if you have some?”

Applejack shot him a mock glare. “Why, If ah didn’t know any better, ah’d say ya forgot who yer talkin’ to. We still have the first brew back since Ponyville’s founding. It’ll knock ya out of those fancy galoshes ya got there.”

“Looking forward to it.” 

It took a few trips but eventually, Applejack and Jasoon got all the apples in the house for storage. When they finished, Applejack smiled at him. “Thanks fer the help. See ya at the party tonight!”

“Same to you.”

The auditorium was completely packed full of creatures. A large table was set up on one side, all covered in various foods and desserts. Sunset had even brought some desserts from the human world, including what looked to the two humans there to be a Twinkie knockoff and various bowls/platters of confectionaries, candies and chocolates. There was also a large number of alcoholic drinks in barrels, including some various apple based alcoholic beverages like whiskey and wine made by the Apple family.

Amongst everyone having fun, Jason spied the former elements. He took a deep breath to strengthen his resolve, believing that now was a good time to discuss what he had planned. He walked over to them and waved as they waved back. “Sup, Jason. Sweet party. I haven’t seen a turnout like this since Pinkie’s last party,” Rainbow said.

“You are well on your way to mastering the art of the party planner, young apprentice,” Pinkie said sagely. The look was diminished by the New Year’s glasses she was wearing.

“Okay, I know Pinkie is an enigma, but where'd you get those?”

“Sunset provided them from the human world,” Twilight said with a blower in hoof. “She supplied it for all the guests when she found out the type of party we were having. She was even able to get that ball you mentioned.”

“That’ll be good for later,” Jason chuckled a bit before donning a serious expression. “But I wanted to bring up the reason for the invites earlier.”

“Well, we’re all ears darling,” Rarity said while wincing a bit from the background noise. “As much as the crowd will allow anyway.”

“We could go outside,” Fluttershy offered. “It’s cold, but it’s quieter.”

“Ah’m alright with that. The doors right there.” Applejack stated.

They all went outside. The night was cold but there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky. The stars were ablaze in the heavens as the moon was waning and hadn’t yet risen. The sounds of the party inside were much quieter now. Jason straightened, then turned to them all. “I’ve been doing some thinking - and we’ve made some grounds these past few months - so, do any of you want me to lift the punishments I placed on you?”

The ponies were all shocked by this. There was silence among them as each of them thought long and hard about the question. “...You’re asking us if we want our punishments to end?” Twilight said carefully. Jason nodded in response. The girls seem to deliberate on this internally before sharing a nod. “That’s a kind offer. Jason. It’s probably more than we deserve. But we refuse.”

Now it was Jason that was shocked by this. “Are you sure? Out of all my punishments, you, rainbow and Applejack have it the worse.”

“Silly Jason,” Pinkie said, “how else would it really stick if we got off scot free?”

“She’s right, partner. We messed up big when we hurt ya. Ah’m glad we’re on the way to becoming proper friends, but one thing that will never change about us Apples is that we ain’t quitters. Ah’m going to take my just desserts on what ah did.”

“That’s right, I never ran from any challenge,” Rainbow said, puffing her chest out. “Besides, I found out that while my flying was awesome, I’m just as awesome on the ground. You’re going to see a brand new Rainbow at the end of my three years.”

“Truth be told, I think we all benefited from these punishments as well. I was far too codependent on my critters to really be sociable with any creatures outside my group of friends.” Fluttershy said.

“And I’ve been learning a lot about how to live without access to magic,” Twilight said as she spread her wings, moving some of them an awful lot like fingers. “I’ve learned how to use these a lot more and I have a lot more time for my friends, my family, and for study!”

“Such an egghead,” Rainbow said teasingly.

“The term is well-read, thank you,” Twilight replied while sticking her tongue out.

“As difficult as the year has been and with how much my workload increased, I have to say that I’ve grown and gained more perspective. Thinking back, I was rather limited since I was only making clothes for ponies and mares. Now, I’m the talk of New Haven and word of mouth is the best for any business.” Rarity beamed.

“The bearers of harmony were meant to represent the elements. We failed that three years ago, but we won’t be making that mistake again. Our New Year's resolution will be to fully embrace the tenants of harmony and share them with everyone,” Twilight said resolutely.

Jason couldn’t help but chuckle at this. It had been all the talk of friendships and creeds that made him a fan of the show. Only now, it wasn’t a twisted nightmare or a lie. It was real. He bent down and opened his arms for a hug which the former elements gladly accepted. They stayed like that for a time before finally breaking away. “Alright, let’s get back to the party. It’s almost time.” Jason smiled.

At that moment, the doors opened and Trixie of all ponies came trotting out. She had a bunch of fireworks on the back. She gave a nod to them all before heading towards the field where she began placing the fireworks down. “Come along, students and friends. Bask in awe of the Great and Powerful Trixie’s prowess in the art of fireworks!”

“Make sure not to set them off earlier. We want this done at the stroke of midnight,” Sunset said while using her magic to hold a ball.  

The party goers came walking or flying out to countdown to midnight. Everyone gathered around the large ball. Lights shone on it and everyone waited. Eventually, midnight began to approach, and everyone began counting down. “Hey, Starlight, want to help with the honors?” Sunset asked.

“Sure thing,” Starlight smiled as she summoned her magic. Together, the two powerful unicorns levitated the ball high into the sky. “Ready when you are.”

Gregory looked at his watch as it read 11:59:40 “Twenty more seconds, kiddoes,” he said as he held a sleepy looking Cozy Glow in his other arm. He smiled down at her. “We’ll get you to bed soon enough, sweetie.”

“Okay, daddy. But, I really want to see this,” Cozy said before she yawned again.

He smiled, leaned down, and gave Cozy’s cheek a kiss. “Of course.”

“This better be worth missing my beauty sleep,” Chrysalis complained. 

Jason came in from her right and pulled her closer. “You’re beautiful at your worst, so quit complaining.”

Gregory saw Ember flying down towards them and raised an eyebrow. “I thought you weren’t gonna make it,” he told his new fiancee, touching the sapphire colored gem that hung around his neck.

“I find this holiday similar to my goal in straightening out the dragons. Of course I would be here.”

Gregory put an arm around her and pulled her close to him. “You’re just in time then, because here we go! Ten!” Sunset and Starlight took that as their cue to lower the ball.

“Nine!” Jason called out.

“Eight!” Pinkie shouted.

“Seven!” Rainbow said.

“Six!” Rarity joined as well.

“Five!” Flutterswhy exclaimed.

“Four!” Twilight added.

“Three!” Cozy, Spike and the CMC’s shouted.

“Two!” Sunset, Starlight and Trixie said.

“One!” the royals stated.

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!” everyone called out as the ball finished its drop, landing on the snowy landscape before them. 

Trixie lit her fireworks and many shot into the air, illuminating the snowy landscape with multicolored glows. The crowd cheered and applauded in their own way. And at the stroke of midnight, both humans caught both their lovers in their arms and kissed them deeply, catching both of them off guard. Both very quickly returned their respective kisses back under the fireworks.

And then, as the kisses ended, Cozy giggled. “Want me out of the house so you and Mommy can have fun tonight, Daddy?”

Jason and Chrysalis burst out laughing at the remark. Gregory looked down at the filly in his arms with shock. “How old are you again?” he asked, failing to notice that Ember was a bit flustered at being called ‘Mommy’. 

As the laughter and cheering died down, both couples hugged each other, Gregory and Ember holding Cozy in their hug. “This year’s gonna be a good one for us all,” Gregory said. “I can feel it.”