//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Junctions // Story: The End Of The Line // by autobotfan15 //------------------------------// [Yggdrasil - Starlight’s Office] The mood  in Starlight Glimmer’s office could be described as ominous. One moment she was reading a newspaper, the next moment, Princess Luna was in her office and gave her news that would be nothing like the papers. “Your soldiers saw this?” the unicorn asked. “Yes, two of them from a squad of five came back to me and confirmed it,” Luna said. “We don’t know what they want, but judging from that cannon that Captain Striker saw, they could be hostile. Our nephew Blueblood volunteered to negotiate with them in case they wanted an audience with royalty. “Are you sure about that? Because I doubt he can represent Equestria in a good light,” Starlight said. “Do not despair, Starlight. That act of a royal buffoon is something he dropped after the Spring Purge,” Luna said. “Our nephew will be more than adequate to-” But before Luna could continue the door opened to reveal Flash Sentry followed by Gregory and then, to the shock of the Princess and Head Teacher, two more humans. Their eyes widened at this. “Well, this is quite a turn of events. How are you Professor Graystone?” Luna asked. “Well, seeing as I’ve just encountered two more humans on Gaia, I’m doing alright,” he said. “And who are these two?” Starlight asked. “Are they with that group of humans we just now learned about?” Andrew and Stacy went slightly pale as one thought shot through their skulls. ‘That was fast.’ The air in the office began to drop in temperature as Gregory turned back to the two humans. “Another group of humans, you say?” he asked, his tone even as he faced them. “I trust now you can explain your current hostility towards Jason Wright now, then?” The air around them began to move as if an icy wind was surrounding Gregory. Stacy shivered and hid behind Andrew. The engineer sighed and looked at Gregory. “Listen, it's a long story and it can be described as hard to shorten. But would it be ok with you if we discuss this over dinner? It's getting late and we haven’t eaten since arriving. But I can assure you. Our reasons for being here are not as dangerous to your community as you may think.” From behind them, Ember suddenly stepped into the room. Seeing Gregory’s mood, she walked up and put a surprisingly tender claw on his shoulder. “Sheesh, and I thought I had a bad temper,” the Dragon Lord said, leaning in and kissing Gregory’s cheek. Gregory turned, then smiled at Ember before the temperature rose again and the wind ceased. He put an arm around her and pulled her close before turning back to the two humans. “First, I think we can do that,” he said, “and second, are there any other humans on the train?” “Just us two,” Andrew replied, somewhat surprised about Ember’s appearance and affectionate approach to Gregory. Gregory pursed his lips and nodded. “That, at least, was the truth. Alright, you two will come with me to stay in my apartment.” Ember turned towards the two humans and frowned. “More of them? And that one looks different from you and Jason,” she said, pointing to Stacy. “That’s a human female, right?” “A real one, yes,” Gregory replied. Stacy snapped out of her fear and turned to the couple, “You never taught them human anatomy? I feel so offended.” “I think it was something else about you that gave it away.” Said Andrew. “There were only two humans here, both male,” Gregory replied, “so I didn’t feel the need to teach it. However, it’s time you two came with us.” The two followed Gregory out the door as they now wondered how the others were doing. The room they reached was up a number of stairs in a northern tower. It was huge, with a loft where the main bed was. There were large ceiling to floor windows that looked out onto the landscape below, along with a large dining table, a desk with a computer on it, a flat screen television, a full kitchen, full bathroom and more. Gregory pointed to the large couch. “Go ahead and sit down,” he said as he headed to the kitchen and opened the fridge. “You want something to drink?” “Water would be fine,” Stacy said. “Got any cola?” asked Andrew. Gregory nodded and brought them a glass of water and a can of genuine Coca-Cola. “I can’t replenish the genuine article, but there’s a drink in the other human world that tastes the exact same,” he said as he handed them both their drinks before sitting on a nearby loveseat. Ember sat down next to him. It was then that it registered to the two newcomer humans that she was actually wearing clothes. She wore a pair of jean shorts and a white mini-T. She kept a somewhat suspicious eye on the two, but kept close to Gregory. When the two were settled in, Gregory cleared his throat. “So, the truth now.” Stacy looked away, feeling scared. Andrew, however, perked up feeling determined. He took a deep breath and spoke. “I’m sure you and everyone else are aware of the TV show right?” “Everyone in the world here knows about that child show of yours,” Ember replied. “Well then you say you came here in 2027? I don’t know how it’s possible but are you aware of the Pony Broadcast Incident of ‘23?” “No, no I’m not,” Gregory replied. “Explain it to me.” “It was around the fall of that year,” Andrew began. “The Discovery Family Channel just aired the recent episode of G5. The Bumblebee movie was supposed to be premiering next but instead something else aired in that time slot.” “And what was that?” Gregory asked. “Some people called it the G4 Lost Season. For a whole day, these new episodes of Friendship Is Magic aired. These episodes were different. The first episode only showed what looked like Twilight Sparkle announcing her plans to open a new school. But that couldn’t be right since she already opened a school back in Season 8.” “Hmm…lemme guess…The Trial against them was shown including all the crimes of the Mane Six against Jason Wright,” Gregory said. “Yes, it was horrifying. We didn’t want to believe all that was possible.” Ember growled. “Believe it,” she snapped before she pulled up Gregory’s shirt to reveal a scar. “Some damned pegasus attacked him and nearly killed him because of his species!” Gregory put a hand on Ember’s shoulder, calming her down. Ember relaxed and released his shirt. He then turned back to the two humans. “Believe it, because when I arrived in Ponyville before its destruction by the Windigos I saw everything that Ponyville did against any nonpony. The death of Matilda thanks to neglect, the zebra slavery during the beginning of its history, all the abuse against Jason, Zecora, Spike and many others.” Stacy perked up in confusion while Andrew raised a brow. “Windigos?” Andrew asked. “Everything?” Stacy asked. “Yes, the Windigos wiped Ponyville off of the map,” Gregory replied. “And yes, I saw every single time that a pony from Ponyville abused a nonpony. I can remember every single sin they committed as if I was there myself. Not only that, but I know that there are many more examples of abuse against nonponies by the ponies of Equestria. Like you just saw, I bear the scars of an attack that nearly killed me when I was staying in Ponyville.” Stacy pondered for a bit but then realized something. “How long was it between the trial and your attack?” “Just over a year,” Gregory replied. “Well, I can see why that pegasus attacked you,” Stacy replied. “The first human practically crippled your-” Suddenly Andrew jabbed her in the sides. “Quiet!” Gregory’s eyes narrowed and the air around them began to cool again. “Oh no, you don’t. Explain yourselves right now. If I find you want to harm my friend Jason Wright for seeking justice against those who wronged him so horrendously, then I will be forced to take action.” Stacy stood up even though Andrew tried to stop her. For some reason she practically had more determination. “We all believe Jason crippled the entire nation. Creating distrust with the heroes who gave their lives to save them. After the Broadcast the show got pulled from airing and G5 was canceled along with it.” Gregory stood slowly, as did Ember who had smoke coming out of her mouth. “The Mane Six are no longer the Bearers of Harmony,” he explained evenly. “They were deemed unworthy of such titles. The Young Six are now the new Bearers of Harmony. And besides, the Mane Six have accepted their punishments with honor and dignity. Jason even offered to rescind those punishments after he began reconciliation with them, but they refused.” “What?? how on earth could Rainbow and AJ live those pains. If I was suffering with that kind of punishment I would jump off a building.” Andrew said. “Did you even see what those two did to Jason?” Gregory asked. “Applejack attacked him without provocation and Rainbow Dash was pretty sadistic with her attacks on him for trying to live his life. Rarity betrayed her element by chasing him out. Fluttershy betrayed her element by refusing to be kind. Twilight Sparkle let her fear of humans cloud her judgment. Pinkie, well, she was being Pinkie, but she was the only one to try and fix what she did at The Trial even when the others were denying their actions as heinous. This is not the world of sunshine and rainbows you think it is. It’s a real flesh and blood world full of prejudice and hatred, but also one of hope and kindness.” “Just like our world is going through, especially with Ukraine and Palestine,” Andrew said, looking down at his drink. Gregory nodded. “I’m close friends with the Mane Six. They’re all doing very well for themselves despite their punishments. I’ve actually gained a lot of respect for them for not asking Jason to lift their punishments. They easily could have, but they didn’t.” “As reassuring as that sounds, a lot of fans back home never saw it that way. When I saw Rainbow in the aftermath I didn’t see a sadistic monster. I saw a broken pony who lost everything just like my mom had.” Said Stacy “Then those fans are all naive idiots,” Ember snapped.  “You do realize what lightning does to a human, right?” Gregory added. “Jason lost his sight and is in constant pain because of the actions of those ponies. And because of their hatred, more than half of Ponyville’s citizens were killed in the Windigo attack, including ponies like Derpy who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.” “What?!” Both humans exclaimed “Oh, Robbie’s not gonna like this,” Andrew said. “And that brings us both back to the current question. What are you doing here?” Gregory asked. “Many of us have different reasons. But mostly to confront Jason,” Andrew said. A small electric bolt shot out of Gregory’s left hand, hitting his right hand as he glared at them. “And what about you two, now that you know the truth?” he asked. Andrew was silent for a moment before standing up and lifting the sleeves on his shirt. Both his shoulders had tattoos. One had three red apples on the right and the left had a rainbow lightning bolt coming out of a cloud. “I wanted to help those two. I know what they did was horrible but I believe a different punishment would’ve been the right call instead of pain.” The air around them warmed up as Gregory calmed down. “Hmm, then perhaps you should meet them.” He pointed to the large town to the east. “See that town there? That’s called Haven City. All of the Mane Six live there happily. If you want to see them, I will take you there.” “You trust me to do that after everything you learned?” Andrew Asked with confusion. “I think it’s best if you hear it straight from the horse's mouth, as it were,” Gregory replied. “Now, why don’t we go and see them now? Rainbow Dash is probably still in school teaching PE.” [Yggdrasil Gym - Several Minutes Later] When the four arrived, Gregory pointed out Rainbow Dash, who was standing on the sidelines with a baseball cap on her head and a whistle in her mouth. She was blowing it and barking orders to the younger children of multiple races as they ran around a track. “Come on, you can do it!” she shouted, “move your butts!” Gregory laughed as he approached the prismatic pegasus with the two humans and Dragon Lord beside him. “Sup, Crashie?” Rainbow flinched, but then turned and narrowed her one good eye at Gregory. “Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in!” she chuckled as she held up a hoof towards him. Gregory hoof/fistbumped her as he grinned. “Keeping these young whippersnappers in shape, I see?” “Hey, they can’t all be as awesome as I am, but they’re definitely close. Especially the squirt over there.” She pointed to Scootaloo, who to the shock of the other humans was actually flying. “My little sister’s amazing.” “Scootaloo is really coming along well with her flying lessons,” Gregory said with a chuckle before he became serious. “Dash, I have someone here who wants to talk to you.” “Oh?” Rainbow looked past Gregory and her eyes shot open wide. “Whoa! Another human!?” “So much for Scoots being flightless, huh Andrew…? Andrew?” Andrew stood there nervously. He couldn’t believe that he was actually standing in front of the actual Rainbow Dash. ‘I can’t believe it's her. Geez, that scar looks disturbing in real life.’ Rainbow saw him tense up, and she rolled her one good eye in amusement. “Lemme guess, you’re a fan of the most awesomest pegasus this side of the Canterhorn?” she asked. “Oh he’s really a fan,” Stacy teased as he raised one of his sleeves to reveal the tattoo. Rainbow’s eyebrows shot up. “And here I thought Gregory and Jason were hardcore fans. You got my cutie mark tattooed on your skin??” Andrew shook off his shock and regained his composure. Shrugging and smiling sheepishly he raised the other sleeve.“Well you're tied for first place with my other favorite.” “Eh, you could do worse, I guess,” Rainbow shrugged.  “AJ’s one of my favorites, too,” Gregory said, “but that’s mostly because I used to work on a farm when I was a teen and I like a strong farmgirl.” “I’m right here, dumbass,” Ember snapped. “Oh, I know, my strong and sexy Dragon Lord,” Gregory purred in response, which caused the blue dragoness to blush. Stacy rolled her eyes and muttered, “Scaly.” “What was that?!” Ember replied, snapping her head over to Stacy. “Calm down, sweetie,” Gregory replied, “she doesn’t mean anything by it. Anyway, Rainbow, this guy’s name is Andrew, and he wanted to talk to you about something.” “Oh? Well shoot,” she said, planting herself into a sitting position. “Did you really accept the painful strikes and aches for the rest of your days?” He asked. Rainbows’s ears flattened a bit. “Ah, it’s about that, eh?” Her ears perked up a bit and she gave a sad smile. “Yes, yes I did. To quote Jason and Gregory, I fucked up big time. I need to be a big mare and accept my punishment like one. Besides, some of my punishments won’t last the rest of my life.” “Oh yeah I thought I heard about one of them being on a timer.” Stacy realized. “Yeah, I’ll feel the same lightning strike I gave Jason again for three years, although it’s been two years since then, so one more year to go.” She took a deep breath. “Jason offered to release us from the punishment last New Year’s, but we all said no.” Andrew was processing all this information but Stacy spoke up. “Really? If I was constantly being hit with no end I’d go Pinkie crazy.” “Trust me, I wanted to do that some days,” Rainbow replied. “During my first year, I became a drunkard. I drank myself silly, my old cloudominium was a pigsty, and my parents came by to clean it every week because I was acting like a little filly. I hated Jason with a passion, but Pinkie knocked some sense into the rest of us.” Andrew thought long and hard. “I can understand what you're saying, but believe me there are others that won’t see it the same way even if we all saw the crimes. We only heard the sounds. Your strikes were censored.” Rainbow looked confused, but Gregory raised a hand. “I’ll tell you and the girls later,” he said. “Right…” Rainbow turned back to Andrew. “I don’t know what’s going on, but is it too much to respect what we want?” “Uh…I’m going to have to sit on that question,” Andrew replied in an unsure tone. She sighed. “I’m not the smartest pony in the shed, but I’d like to think I’ve learned a lot these past two years. Respecting what other creatures want is important.” She snorted. “Ah geez, I’m starting to sound like Twilight.” “Speaking of her, where is she?” At that moment a young colt came up. “She said she wanted to get a better look at your fancy train,” he said. Gregory snorted. “That’s my magic teacher. Nerdy to the end.” They all let out a giggle until Stacy's eyes widened with alarm. “Oh no!” “What?” Andrew asked. “We forgot to lock the doors on our engine!” Gregory shook his hand. “Twilight’s gotten a lot better at not being so nosy, so I doubt she’ll be trying anything. Besides-” and here he suddenly stopped. “Nah, never mind. She won’t be able to do much. She’ll just be writing down everything she sees until she meets you.” “It’s not Twilight we should be worried about. Do you know what happens when a curious child tries to drive something so big?” Gregory nodded, then turned to Ember. “Ember, you mind taking a look?” “Yeah, sure,” she said as she turned towards the open door and ran towards it, wings spread. When she left the room, she shot up into the air, heading east towards the train station. When she had left, Gregory turned back to the two humans. “Now, you both want to meet Applejack?” [Ponyville- The Same Time] Prince Blueblood stepped out of the tent feeling pleased with himself at his successful talks with these new humans. “I appreciated the hospitality, Mr. Marison,” he said to the bald human who followed him outside. “You’re quite welcome, Prince Blueblood. And I deeply appreciated the information you gave to me. Something tells me we might get along well,” Howard said. Blueblood chuckled. “Is that so? Well, I dearly hope so. I must confess, Equestria’s track record when it comes to how we’ve dealt with humans has been horrendous. Not to mention our track record with other nonponies.” “Oh don’t you worry, your Highness, I can understand but don’t worry. What we have planned will certainly benefit society in a way unseen by any in your world.” “I look forward to it,” Blueblood replied as he extended his hoof towards the human. “I understand that humans have what’s called a handshake. In lieu of this, I offer a hoofshake.” Howard accepted it but also offered him a scroll with his other hand. “And I trust you'll see to it this letter will be delivered to the changeling hive?” “I will have to consult with Princess  Luna about that, but I assure you I will make the effort to see that it’s delivered,” Blueblood promised. “Perfect,” Howard said. “Please also let Princess Luna also know we send our best greetings to her as well.” “I will,” Blueblood said. “Is there anything else you wish to speak about today?” “No, nothing else. Just please make sure that letter gets sent, that's all we ask.” “Of course. Well, if there’s anything else you would like, tell one of the pegasi guards and they can deliver the message to Canterlot.” “Of course, your Highness. Safe travels home,” Howard said. Blueblood said his goodbyes and then departed on his flying chariot back to the distant but clearly visible Canterlot. Howard’s smile quickly vanished and turned to his big ally that was standing by the entrance. “Bubba, don’t leak a word about what you heard today to anyone. This could put our plans in jeopardy.” “Yes, boss,” the aforementioned Bubba said. [Changeling Hive- Hours Later] Jason was sitting on a small couch with Chrysalis snuggled up in her human form beside him. Both were watching a television show on his old PC, the same one that Gregory had given him for Christmas. He was enjoying himself after a long day of helping with a minor accident that had left a few changelings injured, but not seriously. They’d make a complete recovery. The peace was interrupted with a knocking and a voice calling out, “Excuse me, your majesties, It's Thorax.” Jason reached over and paused the video he was watching. “What is it, Thorax?” he asked. “Didn’t I say we were not to be disturbed during our private time unless it was an emergency?” Chrysalis asked in an annoyed tone. “I'm sorry for disturbing your rest, but we received a letter from Equestria. This letter came from a group that Prince Blueblood described as human.” Jason immediately stood, walked to the door, and opened it, looking down at the nervous looking changeling. “Let me see it,” he said, holding his hand out. Thorax gave him the letter, saluted then flew off. Chrysalis came up and stood next to Jason. “More humans in Equestria?” she asked. Jason took the scroll and opened it, reading its contents. Dear Jason Wright, We hope this letter finds you well. We are human travelers who have recently come to learn about your misfortunes and the justice you delivered to the ponies. However, we would like to meet you and your friend Gregory in person. Please come to our camp near the Everfree Forest furthest away from Ponyville and meet us. However, some of my members aren’t huge fans of changelings. We ask that you refrain from bringing any with you. -Howard Marison Jason’s eyes narrowed a bit at this. He began slowly pacing the room thinking. Chrysalis held the piece of paper in her hand, looking it over. There was silence for a bit before she turned back to Jason. “This smells like a trap.” “Hmm, probably,” Jason nodded in agreement. He held up his hand, watching the green glow of his new magic surrounding it. “Still, if they really want to meet me and Gregory and they spring a trap on us, they have another thing coming.” “What are you going to do?” Chrysalis asked. “Not be an idiot, that’s for sure,” Jason replied.  The room was so quiet that even an ant could be heard skittering across the room. “I’ll write them back,” Jason said after a while, “but if we’re really going to meet them, we’ll do it on neutral ground. Feel like taking a trip back to Equestria? We could even visit Haven City after we’re done.” “And miss a chance to tease that simp and tsundere?” Chrysalis asked with a grin. “What’s that human phrase you use? Ah, yes! Sign me the fuck up!” Jason smirked. “And there’s no way we’re going in without any changelings. Just make sure you’re all disguised as small animals or insects or something.” “We’re changelings, dear,” Chrysalis said, “we know the art of stealth. I’ll assemble a team of our best. But later.” She dragged Jason back to the couch. “I want to see what happens next.” “Okay, okay, we’ll watch it.” The two sat and continued watching. Little did the two know, their lives were about to change, and not in a good way.