[Badlands - Early Morning]
Gretyl glared over at her flight partner, an older griffin named George, as they flew together over the desolation that was the Badlands. “I swear to Faust, if you fucking tip me one more time, I will claw you!” Gretyl didn’t particularly care for George. He was a horse’s ass, as the saying went. She would much rather have preferred going on extended patrol with somegriffin like Gilda. She was a grouch, sure, but she at least had some respect for her flying partner.
George gave Gretyl a withering look and waved a claw dismissively. “Then how will you learn to stay on your TOES!” he shouted as he suddenly dove towards her, back legs extended to try and push her off balance.
Gretyl, however, used her youth to evade. At the same time, she swiped at him with her claws, not holding anything back. She caught some of his arm, causing a slight gash to form. “FUCK!” George bellowed in pain as he held his arm and gave Gretyl a spiteful glare. “What was that for?!”
“I did warn you, didn’t I?” Gretyl said satisfied with her swing.
George was about to retaliate when something on the ground caught his eye. He looked down, eyes wide. “Faust’s Plumage…” he swore.
Gretyl flew away from him, not believing his actions for a second. However, when she looked down, her eyes went as wide as his. They had been flying for so long that they’d managed to fly into changeling territory. They were hovering over the changeling hive, but something about it was off. There were strange looking objects spread around, long metal tubes with holes in them that were pointed up towards the sky. But that wasn’t the strangest part. There were signs of an impending party of sorts. Gretyl squinted her eyes, using her enhanced griffin vision to see what was going on. On one edge of the hive, she saw a small figure standing still. Moving slowly down, the features could be seen fairly easily.
Gretyl had seen The Trial enough to know what Twilight Sparkle, former Princess of Equestria, looked like. The alicorn stood on the edge of the party, looking like a statue. However, it was her clothing that confused her even more. She was wearing what could only be described as a wedding dress. Next to her stood a strange looking creature that looked like somecreature had pushed a number of creatures together to create something monstrous. It was wearing a black suit and tie but the most terrifying part about this creature was how it was gently stroking Twilight’s mane, almost in a creepy manner.
Gretyl flew back up. “Time to go,” she said, grabbing George by the arm and flying quickly away.
[Canterlot - Later That Morning]
The four humans, along with Chrysalis, Ember, Luna, and the former Elements of Harmony were in a conference room enjoying a light breakfast. The mood could be described as serious, but Luna was giving Stacy a rather judgmental stare. “I would ask how you slept last night but judging from your dreams and Flash Sentry’s face earlier, I assume it went well.”
Stacy just smiled nervously. Andrew gave her a confused look before his eyes widened in realization. “Girl, I know you’d jump at an opportunity like that but daaamn.”
“I think we all needed that sort of adventure last night,” Gregory said.
“Okay let’s not talk about the passion of last night. We need a plan now,” Jason said.
Gregory nodded. “Yeah, time to focus on the here and now.”
Jason looked over at Gregory. “How are things in Haven City? I know a refugee train came here an hour ago but what about the mirror and shelter?”
“Things went as well as could be expected,” Gregory said. “Lyra almost got caught when she exited the portal to the human world, but Sunset and the other Humane Seven diffused things.”
“What about the bomb squads you dispatched?” Andrew asked Luna.
“They managed to find and defuse the bombs in Manehattan, Las Pegasus, the Zebrican capital and Kludgetown,” Luna said. “There’s been no word yet from the other cities or nations,”
“Let’s hope they find the bomb in Haven City…” Andrew said hopefully before turning to Stacy. “Do you have any ideas? You’re a good strategist.”
“Yes, actually,” Stacy said, “and it just might work. In fact, I doubt Howard would even see it coming. But we need his location first.”
“The guards said he’s no longer where Ponyville used to be,” Luna said.
“Then where in the world could he possibly-?”
But before Andrew could finish two griffons charged through the door looking exhausted and scared. Everyone looked at the newcomers surprised. Flash Sentry followed behind them. “Forgive the intrusion, but these griffins have vital information about the whereabouts of Twilight Sparkle.”
Everyone turned their attention to the two griffins. The younger one, a female griffiness with a dark purple fur and teal wings, stepped forward, inclining her head. “Princess Luna, my companion here and I saw something unusual near the changeling hive.” She glanced at Chrysalis a bit warily.
“Former princess Twilight Sparkle was standing on the edge of the hive with some strange looking fucker.” the older male griffin said. “She was wearing a white dress, like a wedding dress. The weird fucker had a black suit and tie.”
“Well that's what I call convenient timing,” Andrew said before turning back to Stacy. “We have his location now, so what's your plan?”
“We don’t know how much power he has now but our best chance to get him is when he’s distracted from Twilight. So in order for this to work we’re going to need bait,” Stacy explained.
“Bait? Howard already has Twilight, what else could he possibly want that could lure…him…away…” Andrew trailed off as he then looked towards Jason everyone soon followed suit.
Jason looked around at the stares. “What?” he asked before putting the pieces together in his head. He then facepalmed. “Oh you’ve got to be kidding me,” he groaned.
“No, we aren’t using Jason as bait,” Gregory said, standing and looking at Stacy, before a grin spread across his face. “Not in the way you’re thinking…”
“What do you think I'm suggesting we tie him up like a sacrifice in a monster movie?” Stacy asked.
“No, I’m suggesting this.” He turned to Chrysalis, who nodded and floated a ring that looked familiar to two very new couples over to Gregory. He slipped the ring on, and immediately a green flame erupted from the ground, passing over him. Instantly, a second Jason Wright appeared before them, scars and clothes and all. “Testing, testing, is this thing on?” Gregory said in a perfect mimicry of Jason’s voice. He grinned wider, then cleared his throat. “No, I am your father.”
“Seriously? Do I really sound like that?” Jason deadpanned.
“It’s gotta sound weird hearing your own voice, eh?” Chrysalis giggled as she nuzzled him.
Flash, who was in the room with them, looked at the ring on Gregory’s finger, then back at Stacy who he was sitting next to. He slowly held up the bracelet that was now hung around his neck by a gold chain. It matched the one that he’d used the night before. Rainbow Dash also looked at Andrew, a similar necklace around her neck. As one, both the mare and stallion pointed at Chrysalis. “It was you!” they shouted in unison.
“Guilty as charged,” Chrysalis chuckled with an evil smile before the smile faded. “And before anyone asks, this was all his idea,” she added, pointing at Gregory.
“Jason’s magic is still relatively weak,” Gregory said as he removed the ring, returning to his normal form in a burst of green flames, “at least when compared to mine. Not only that, but his body is not in the best shape thanks to the past six years of his life. I won’t risk his life.”
“I wasn’t saying that we use him as a sacrificial punching bag,” Stacy repeated, “just a small distraction to lure Howard away from Twilight so Luna or Starlight can break her of her mind control.”
“I know,” Gregory said, “but I can at least give a longer distraction. I doubt the disguise will fool him for long, but I can keep him busy enough.”
“Can you even do a good Jason impression? Howard may be insane but he’s not an idiot,” Andrew said.
Gregory put the ring back on, then struck the exact same pose as Jason was doing, his expression becoming much more serious. “You got an issue with me doing this shit, just say so,” he said in a perfect imitation not only of Jason’s voice but his inflection.
“Huh…that might actually work. Are you a graduate of some fancy acting school?” Andrew asked.
Gregory once more removed the ring, returning to his normal form. “I took an acting course or two in community college, but that’s not the big issue here. He won’t be fooled for long. The issue is how long I can fight him and keep him from returning to Twilight before someone extracts her.”
Ember scowled. “I don’t like this at all,” she said, looking over at her mate. “You could be hurt.”
“Have some confidence in me, love,” Gregory replied, looking over at her. “You’ve taught me a lot of various dragon martial arts, and I took human self defense classes before coming here as a precaution. I’ve been getting pretty good with my magic and swordsmanship, and I have guns and knives that can permanently disrupt the magical flow of anyone it hits.”
“Right,” Stacy said with a nod, “Anyway, once Howard is far enough away, Luna will teleport and either get Twilight out of there or at least break the spell in her mind. Luna, you know a spell for that, right? Or do we have to use Starlight’s hypnotherapy?”
“I may know a few spells, as does my sister,” Luna said, “but if that doesn’t work, we may have to seek the aid of the Elements. If the spell cast on her is anything like that which was cast on the former Elements when Discord first returned, there’s little we can do.”
“If not, maybe we can help!” Rainbow said.
“We could help git through her noggin,” Applejack added.
“That could work, but once that phase starts so does the ultimate surprise,” Stacy said. “Dragons and changelings will attack from above while griffins and the Royal Guard will attack from either the north or south. My tanks will also aid in this as well.”
“Who died and made you chief strategist of the world?” Chrysalis asked with a frown.
An American Abrams popped into existence with its barrel pointing at the changeling queen. “You got a problem lady?” it asked.
“My problem is her coming in and making commands without thinking about things,” Chrysalis snapped back. “I’ve already lost too much this week. I don’t want to lose any more of my changelings.”
“So you want to do what Queen Novo did and hide from the problem?”
“No,” Chrysalis growled. “I agree that we should save Twilight, but going in like that will result in death. Have you ever had to send anyone into battle, knowing that they’ll likely die? I lost my daughter in the Canterlot Campaign, and not only that, but I lost several other changelings! Can’t you see that if we follow your plan, you could be responsible for the deaths of hundreds!?”
“Funny,” Stacy said, “I said the exact same thing to my Dad’s commanding officer.” She looked down.
“And what did he say, huh?” Chrysalis asked darkly. “Good soldiers follow orders? Good soldiers lay down their lives for the good of their nation? I don’t have many warrior drones! I’ve lost my home already! I was lucky to escape with my people!”
Stacy was silent before looking up to the queen. “He told me everyone is capable of sacrifice. Even when we don’t want to know the inevitable, it's best to know something good came from it.”
Chrysalis gritted her teeth before freezing when Jason’s hand gripped her shoulder. She looked over at him, and her expression turned from anger to a calm demeanor. She turned back. “I will not order anyling to go. If they want to volunteer, that’s their choice.”
“That's what I was hoping for.” Stacy said before smiling. “You really are more benevolent than the fandom makes you out to be.”
Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “Don’t lump me with that foolish show of yours. I am me, not some human interpretation of me.”
“Griffonstone will likely not be able to send much, if anything,” the younger griffiness said, raising her claw. “We have our own problems and we have no standing military.”
Stacy then turned to Luna. “Any more word from neighboring nations about sending aid?”
“Like I said before, we informed them of the danger, but because of The Trial most are not as open to helping us. Some even said that this is a mess we created and we have to fix it.” Luna sighed. “They did thank us for informing them about the danger of the bombs, so they will be looking for those in their nations.”
Andrew was deep in thought for a moment. “Then how about we reignite the flame of friendship Twilight sought after. If there’s one thing you should know about war, it’s that the greatest leaders and soldiers made the best speeches.”
Luna chuckled at this. “War does not make one great, I believe the saying goes from an ancient fictional creature from your world,” she said. “I will be bringing as many of the Royal Guard to bear as possible.”
“You can count on help from hundreds of dragons!” Ember added proudly.
“And there’ll probably be more changelings coming than you know,” Jason said, rubbing Chrysalis’ back.
“Then we have our mission,” Andrew replied, “so let's inform the troops. In fact, I think I have the perfect speech to boost morale.”
“Gonna knock something off from some Earth media?” Gregory asked with a smirk.
“Let's just say what I have in mind is a combination of what Walt would say with some inspiration from another project,” Andrew said with a chuckle.
“A Disney quote, huh?” Gregory snickered. “This I gotta see.”
[Canterlot Exterior- A While Later]
Many groups of different races stood outside wearing armor and carrying weapons of many kinds. Dragons were standing to one side while a surprisingly large group of changeling volunteers stood next to the dragon group, all armed. On a platform near the city gates, Andrew and Gregory stood near a podium. Gregory held a microphone in his hand. “Ladies and gentlebeings,” he began, “Thank you all for coming. As a lot of you know, recently a new group of humans arrived from the human realm into ours. They, like Jason and myself, know about the show, but they also knew something that I at least didn’t know when I came here. They knew about The Trial.”
Murmurs of surprise went through the crowd before Gregory held up his hand for silence. “These humans all came seeking revenge against Jason for what he did, but one of them in particular has become too dangerous to be ignored. The other humans who came with him have been subdued, but he remains. Not only does he have an arsenal of human weapons with him, but he now has the magical abilities of the former lord of chaos, Discord. Only, unlike Discord, he is using his newfound magic for much more evil than even Discord used his magic for.”
“I’d be insulted if that wasn’t true,” Discord muttered from nearby.
Gregory continued. “The human I speak of is a man named Howard. He has kidnapped the former Princess of Friendship and has clouded her mind to be subservient to him alone. Not only that, but he holds the world hostage in exchange for killing Jason Wright. Now, we will not let that happen. Those of us close to Jason and/or Twilight will be going to rescue her from Howard’s clutches. I now give the floor to one of our new human allies, Stacy.” He turned and handed the mic to her.
Stacy took the mic and stepped forward a bit nervously. However, she took a deep breath and steadied herself. “Our plan is to first lure Howard away from Twilight Sparkle at this makeshift altar in the ruins of the changeling hive.” This got the changelings all riled up at the mention of their former home. “Howard wants Jason Wright, so we will be sending a disguised Gregory here to pose as Jason. Once Gregory has lured him away, a team will rescue Twilight. When that happens, we all strike together. For the dragons, Ember will give you a fight briefing while enroute. The rest of you will be quickly debriefed when we get closer. We need to subdue Howard before he decides to cause more harm.”
“Why can’t we just kill him?” a dragon asked.
“His chaos power could be unstable,” Stacy explained, “so killing him would make him a bomb capable of destroying the whole planet.”
The crowd went silent at this before someone else asked, “So how do we stop him?”
Gregory fingered Grogar’s Bell that still hung around his neck. He had initially thought about taking it with him, but he couldn’t risk the magic within being taken by Howard and thus making him a true draconequus and not the pale imitation he was now. He also couldn’t just return the magic to the humans in the medical ward because they still couldn’t be trusted. “I’m one of the few capable of fighting him to a draw at the very least,” he explained. “If I can fight him into a standstill, perhaps these two here, who are on our side and possess some chaos magic of their own, can help.” Here, he put a hand each on Stacy’s and Andrew’s shoulders.
Stacy snapped her fingers and a couple of random tanks popped into existence. Andrew just picked up a small rock and within seconds it became a snowball. The crowd looked impressed. “So we’re going to put our faith in these two newbies?” a changeling asked.
“HEY!” snapped Andrew and Stacy in unison.
“That’s a fair question,” Gregory said, his grip on their shoulders tightening, “but at the moment, they are all we have. We don’t have the luxury of taking our time to train them in any form of magic. Trust me, though, they seem to be getting the hang of things rather quickly.”
Andrew took the mic and took a deep breath. “I understand why you might not trust us. We humans haven’t been painting ourselves in a good light. And I know what some of you are thinking: we humans might as well be angry justice seeking sociopaths that cause destruction to seek a bad guy, but we humans are still capable of doing good. However, while some of us came here for a confrontation with someone we thought was a villain, most of us came here to make a better world and life here. I promise you all we will help and should this story come with a happy ending.”
He paused before taking out a paper airplane and throwing it. It immediately burst into fireworks above the crowd as he continued “Gaia will forever be a place where magic comes to life. It will forever be a place where hope never dies. And when it's time to fight you fight. And when you give it your all you give it but you never give up.”
There was silence after that but a few seconds later there was a clapping of hands. Followed by the stomping of hooves. Andrew turned to see Rainbow and Stacy applauding along with Gregory, Flash and Luna. Soon, others began to join in, and the applause became deafening. Meanwhile somewhere in the crowd, Celestia held up a crystal transmission orb. She smiled at the scene and hoped this live broadcast to the other leaders could influence them.
Soon everyone was making final preparations. Andrew was in the trainyard getting ready. Gregory came to see him. “How was that? I think even Walt himself would be proud.”
“And they call me a nerd,” Gregory chuckled before nodding. “You did well, my young apprentice. And he’s back! Nerdiest human award goes to this guy!” he snickered as he pointed at himself.
“Right, I think I’m about ready,” Andrew said. He then looked up to Connie. “Don’t try and follow even if we…don’t make it. I want you to know you’re just as great as any workhorse.”
Gregory, having been the first to speak to her upon her awakening, nodded. “Some trains here might need to be pulled by ponies, but you’re so strong it would take an army of them to pull you.”
Connie chuckled. “If this world ever makes diesel fuel, I’ll be glad to be useful here.”
“A really useful engine, huh?” Gregory smiled. “You’ll be great here.”
“You’ll be fine Connie,” Andrew said. “You’re a survivor of the past like the steamers.”
“I know… Good luck engineer Andrew, and good luck to you as well, Gregory,” she said softly.
“Hehe long live the Iron War Horse,” Andrew said.
“We’ll be back,” Gregory said confidently.
They both left, closing the shed door. Andrew then ran to a nearby garbage can and jumped in. A second later the can turned into a suit of armor. “Now I’m ready.”
“The garbage can warrior,” Gregory chuckled. “The enemy will be defeated by the stench alone.”
“Relax,it was empty,” Andrew replied, “although I think somepony was throwing out some old scented candles. It actually smells refreshing.”
“Well, now that you’re ready, it’s time for me to get ready too.” He pulled out the ring and held it up. “Time to go. We have an insane megalomaniac to thwart.”
[Changeling Ruins - A While Later]
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the holy matrimony of the Real Howard Marrison and Twilight Sparkle,” one of the clones said, standing in front of a wedding alter and dressed as a priest. In the crowd below were other clones, all well dressed and eagerly watching with bated breath. Twilight stood motionless, staring ahead with a blank expression on her face. The real Howard stood, actually looking a bit nervous as he tugged at his collar.
“If there is any living soul here that believes these two shouldn’t wed let them speak now or forever hold your piece.”
“I’ve heard of an ego, but this is a bit much, even for me,” a familiar voice called out from behind the crowd. Everyone turned to see Jason Wright standing at the beginning of the aisle, looking ahead at Howard with a frown.
“You! I’ve been waiting for this chance but I didn’t think you would come.”
Jason opened his arms. “You’re threatening the world over me, so I really had no choice in the matter,” he said.
“So you’re sacrificing yourself for them? How noble of you.”
“They’re my friends, and besides, I live in this world too. I can’t just let you senselessly destroy the world.” Jason then turned. “But first, there are terms to my surrender. Let’s talk somewhere else.”
“Terms? No, if we’re going somewhere, it's where I’ll be finishing you once and for all. Of course I won’t let my bride see blood on our day.”
Jason turned back. “So be it,” he said.
“Very well but are you protected by the horn?” Howard asked.
“You’ll just have to find out, I guess,” Jason replied.
Howard kissed Twilight on the cheek before walking up the aisle. In a flash, the entire crowd plus Jason were teleported somewhere else, leaving her alone. There was silence for a bit before a pony peeked her head out from behind a stone near the altar. Pinkie Pie quietly snuck onto the altar and carefully grabbed Twilight, who didn’t resist. In fact, it seemed as if she willingly let herself be dragged away. She was soon behind a rock with her best friends.
“Twilight? It’s me, Pinkie. Remember me?” She asked.
Twilight didn’t respond for a bit, but slowly, methodically, the alicorn nodded, still staring ahead blankly.
“Twilight darling tell us who do you love?” Rarity asked.
“I love Howard,” she said emotionlessly. “He is my everything.” Despite those words, however, a very small tear fell from her eye, moving down her cheek and falling to the ground.
“No he’s not, Twilight! Snap out of it!” Rainbow said as she lightly slapped her.
“She's crying,” Fluttershy said worriedly.
Twilight continued staring ahead, not saying a word and not moving. “Duh, it’s because her groom left her standing there,” said Rainbow.
“No, no it’s not,” Pinkie said, approaching Twilight cautiously. “Twi? Are you there? Really there?”
“Come on out, sugarcube, we ain’t gonna give up on ya,” Applejack pleaded.
With bated breath, the ponies watched the seemingly emotionless alicorn. Moments turned into minutes, until finally, with what sounded like an extreme effort, Twilight opened a trembling mouth. “Save…me…” she croaked out with the most emotion they’d heard from her.
“Twilight!” her friends shouted as they hugged her for dear life. Twilight felt her emotions come back as she slowly sank into the embrace of her friends. There was a cracking noise that came from within her. It sounded like ice cracking and melting. The more time passed, the more the cracking noises could be heard. Finally, an explosion of noise came from her as did a burst of magic. Fully revived, she wrapped her wings around them, sobbing as she went weak in the legs.
Meanwhile an old arena, once empty, was suddenly filled with the jeering and cheering of the Howard clones. In the center, the real Howard and Jason appeared, facing each other. Jason looked around, then turned back to Howard. “Here, huh?”
“Yes, here. What were you expecting a medieval torture chamber?” Howard asked.
“Frankly, yes,” Jason said.
“Oh please, those toys are too practical. I like a good challenge where I can use my bare hands and not chains. Any last words. Wait a minute…” Howard then sniffed the air as his nose became a dog’s nose. “Wait a damn minute…” He looked down at him suspiciously.
Jason tilted his head. “Last words? How noble of you,” he said, repeating the words back to him in a mocking tone.
“Something fishy’s going on here and something tells me you’re not my catch.”
Jason’s grin widened. “I did say you were a yandere for Twilight Sparkle,” he said before swiftly reaching down and touching a green gem on a small ring on his middle finger. Green flames surrounded him, spreading upwards only to reveal Gregory Graystone. “Surprise, motherfucker.” Without a hint of hesitation, he reached out and blue lightning shot out of his fingertips, sending Howard sprawling back as the Windigo magic he possessed hurt the human turned draconequus intensely.
“Oof!” Howard said, slowly standing in pain as small sparks of magical electricity shot up his body. “Oh, very clever.”
“Why thank you,” Gregory said with a dramatic bow. “I will try.” He held out his hand and more blue lightning shot out, but this time at the nearest clones. However, unlike before, the clones he hit inflated, then exploded as their remaining essence shot into the sky, heading north. Gregory looked at them briefly before facing Howard. “Well, what do you know? It did work.”
Howard looked up in fear before turning to his clones. “Don’t just hover there, you buffoons! Destroy him!”
Gregory spread large ice wings from his back and shot into the air, shooting lightning and ice shards at the clones. He struck his targets, all of which disintegrated and returned to the mirror pool from whence they came. He was relentless in his attacks, and soon over three fourths of the clones had been destroyed.
The real Howard managed to slip out of the fight only to go towards a treasure chest. “Time to break out the better toy.”
When he returned to the arena, it was empty save for Gregory who was sitting in what had to have once been the throne for the queen. He leaned forward and looked down at Howard. “So, you’ve finally returned,” he said with a grin.
“Had to get something.”
“What about this bare hands shit you mentioned?” Gregory asked as he stood.
“That was meant for Jason,” Howard seethed, “but for you…” He then revealed a huge glowing sword. “Ah’m gonna wipe that grin right off yer stupid face,” he said with a southern accent.
Gregory reached down to his belt, pulling out a golden hilt and holding it in his hand. “Are you threatening me, young draconequus?” he asked in a menacing tone.
“Yes, I’m threatening the one thing standing in my way. Go ahead, call one of your ghost horses down here.”
Gregory inhaled and smirked. “I have a better idea.” From the hilt, a glowing light blue blade made of ice formed, humming slightly. He held it up, then leaped up. Opening his mouth, he released a massive windigo howl that would deafen anyone who was in close proximity to it. Not only that, but it would disorient most any creature who heard it. Gregory leaped down, using his wings to fly towards Howard at super fast speeds.
Unfortunately it didn’t do either of those things to Howard as the sword he held up practically absorbed it. The swords clashed together with a mighty ringing and explosion of chaos and windigo magic. Gregory’s eyes were glowing a pure white as he locked blades with Howard. The draconequus grinned, “You know what they say we gotta fight fire with fire on in this case holy power vs holy power.”
“Oh, but you’ll find that I’m full of surprises,” Gregory said, lifting his boot off of the ground and kicking Howard in the chest. He was wearing a boot with metal inside, human made metal. This sent Howard flying back again, and Gregory took advantage of this to launch himself forward. He swung at Howard, who parried, but just barely before he recovered. Gregory then noticed a small bandage wrapped around one of Howard’s hands. “I see Discord left you a little present,” he taunted him.
“Yes, and a little relic healed some of it, but I too am full of surprises,” Howard said as a third arm emerged from his body, the new hand on it wearing a gauntlet.
“Heh, what are you, General Grievous?” Gregory said as he blocked the strike from the gauntlet, which sent him back a bit. He held up his glowing ice blade, its hum reverberating throughout the arena.
“Why are you holding back? I know you're only using a small percentage like me.”
“Then why are you holding back?”
“Just thought I’d test your skill as a learning experience. If you show me all you got I’ll show my one hundred percent.”
Gregory held up his hand to his mouth, eyes wide in faux shock. “Why Mistah Howard, how forward of you,” he said, imitating a southern belle accent. “Whatevah shall ah do?”
“Pray for my mercy,” he said as his sword glowed brighter.
Gregory gripped the golden hilt of his sword. “I think that should be your line, cuckboy.”
“Grrr when I’m done with you, Ember won’t even recognize your body.”
“Promises, promises,” Gregory said in a mocking tone, further getting under Howard’s skin.
“Oh, you think you’re a real comedian, don’t you?” he said as another arm emerged from his body. “Have at thee!” he yelled as he charged again.
As the two continued to exchange blows, Howard’s being aggressive and full of rage while Gregory’s were defensive, calculated and precise, the latter continued to get under Howard’s skin. “‘Have at thee?’ Really?”
“You got a problem, scaly boy?” Howard insulted.
Gregory’s face betrayed no anger as his smile grew. “So nerdy.” With that, he jumped back and pulled another hilt from his belt, igniting a light green ice blade which also hummed. “Ahh, much better.”
Howard stopped in his tracks and sighed. “Okay, I think I can take a hint.”
Gregory raised an eyebrow. “I sincerely doubt that,” he said. “If you did, you’d have actually done the mature thing and listened to the truth and accepted it.”
“Oh no, that's not what I meant,” Howard said. “As Andrew would say, I have to go full steam ahead. If I were you, I’d get back.” His body began glowing brighter than the sun.
Gregory created a windigo magic shield around himself and waited for Howard to do whatever he was about to do. What Gregory wasn’t prepared for however was what Howard was about to say. “Sword of Eris, Grant me the true form!”
The arena began shaking like an earthquake as building remains began crumbling. “Oh, shit…” Gregory muttered. He knew a bit about the Sword of Eris, and he knew he would have a big amount of trouble with its power. However, all he could do now was stall until Twilight was safe and until the makeshift attack force arrived.
A blast struck his shield, causing Gregory to be forced through the walls as an explosion rang out. The shield around him protected him, but the blast shattered said shield, leaving him vulnerable to attack. He got to his feet quickly and held up both of his icesabers.
However, he found himself outside and was looking up at a massive figure emerging from the rubble. It was practically the same size as a kaiju, maybe bigger. Howard stretched his four arms and looked down at Gregory.
Gregory stuck both icesabers together, creating a double bladed saberstaff. He held out his free hand and a misty portal opened. The metal staff jumped out into his hand. “The bigger they are, the harder they fall,” he muttered to himself as he held up his staff towards the heavens. The once clear late morning skies began to darken with storm clouds.
“Oh? What's this? finally calling your pets down?” Howard asked in a demonic voice.
Gregory inhaled, then let forth an even mightier windigo howl, only this time, Howard could hear the howls of hundreds coming straight from his opponent’s mouth. He spread his wings and flew up into the darkening sky, his eyes glowing brightly as the only source of light aside from his saberstaff and the crystal on his staff. Soon, he was at eye level with Howard. “You want a real fight? Then come.”
Howard looked up to the sky and squinted as the clouds swirled around, seeing no windigos. He grinned and shrugged. “I wasn’t one for animal abuse,” he said “but I think there’s one thing about Eris you should know, tiny warrior.”
“And that is?”
Howard thrust an arm into the sky and suddenly as if it was real, an actual windigo came down in his grip. It squirmed as if it was trying to escape. “She eats beings like these for breakfast.”
Gregory frowned. “Thing is, that’s not a windigo.”
“Really? Then what is this ghost horse?”
He shrugged. “No clue.”
“Oh well, bottoms up.”
However, just as he was about to bite the creature’s neck a set of large explosions could be heard from below and suddenly Howard felt something hot hit his hand. “YOW!” He released the flying ghostly horse.
Gregory flew and caught the strange looking windigo-like creature, which looked over at Gregory, gave his face a quick lick, then began to vanish, heading straight into the glowing crystal of his magic staff. “The cavalry has arrived!” he shouted as he moved away from Howard.
He was right, of course. Stacy had a line of big tanks below, all aimed up at Howard’s hulking form. “Ready another round and fire!”
Multiple bangs erupted as they all struck Howard. Ember then came out of nowhere and flew up to Gregory. “Mind turning down the AC?”
“Aww, but you love it when it’s cold,” Gregory said sweetly. “Gives us an excuse to snuggle.”
“Not when we have company needing a warm welcome,” she said pointing to the swarm behind.
“How true,” he said. He raised his hand, and while the clouds didn’t vanish, the snow turned to a torrential downpour. The wind vanished and lightning flashed in the heavens, illuminating the battlefield.
Howard could only watch as growing armies came in all directions. He looked in the distance. “What the hell? Minotaurs? Hippogriffs? How?!”
“Power of friendship, bitch!” Gregory shouted triumphantly as he held up his staff towards him. A massive bolt of lightning struck Howard’s forehead, causing a very familiar and very permanent looking lightning scar to form, going down his eye down to his chest.
“YOW! Why you little bastard!” he shouted as multiple little arms jumped out and tried to grab Gregory by the throat.
“It’s not the size that counts,” Gregory taunted, ducking and dodging as if flight was second nature to him, “it’s how you use it!” He fired two more bolts at Howard, this time at his chest.
Howard winced as he stumbled, his huge legs nearly squashing a few soldiers on the ground. “Hey, Gregory! Watch where you got him going!” Ember shouted.
Howard’s upper left arm then glowed and something metallic appeared on it. Stacy instantly recognized the parts. “Gregory watch out! He turned the K5 into a hand cannon!”
Gregory reached out his hand and something appeared on the arm. A very familiar looking shield, one that had once belonged to a certain Flash Magnus, materialized on his left arm and he brought it up. When Howard fired the cannon, Gregory deflected the shot, but the force flung him backwards, tumbling in the air.
“Gregory!” Ember shouted before she suddenly froze in the air as if something was holding her still. She then felt metal chains wrap around her body.
“I’ve had enough of this,” Howard said as he stomped the ground, causing a shockwave that made everyone on the ground trip and fall. The tanks either fell over on their sides or got flipped upside down. Howard then snapped his fingers causing all the flying fighters to stop swarming and freeze in the air too.
The moment Gregory recovered he saw his fiance in chains in the firm grip of one of Howard’s hands. Another hand had his canon aimed at her. “It seems we’re at an impasse. How about a trade? Your wife to be in exchange for your retreat and Grogar’s Bell- wait wasn’t that bell on your person?”
Ember eyes widened and snapped towards Gregory. “Hey, he’s right, where’d it go?!”
Gregory looked down and his eyes snapped wide in terror. The chain that held the bell has been snapped.
Meanwhile a good distance away a human was flying through the sky screaming. One moment Andrew was assisting the ground troops the next moment a small but powerful kick sent him flying. “This is not how I wanted it to end!” Andrew screamed.
Suddenly he found himself landing on something hard and metallic. “OW! My back,” he said before regaining his bearings.
“Well that’s one way to drop in,” a familiar female voice said.
“Connie!? What are you doing here?” Andrew asked surprise as he stood up on her cab roof.
“I’m here to help. Lucky you’re here, can you make tracks to the battle?” she asked.
“I could, but I need more-” Before he could finish, something landed on Connie’s roof. Andrew looked down at the bell and grinned. “This could work.”
Gregory, meanwhile, was being held tightly, Howard’s thumb and index finger pressed against Gregory’s head and squeezing. Unable to concentrate on casting any magic, the human’s features twisted in silent agony as he was unable to scream. Ember’s roars of despair were heard throughout the arena, but she couldn’t do anything. Howard looked Gregory dead in the eye. “Tsk tsk, such a shame, but I do applaud you. Yet against my chaotic might you never stood a chance.”
Despite being in complete agony, his body being crushed, Gregory couldn’t help but croak out, “So…fucking…cliché…”
Howard chuckled. “I would think of better last words because I think Jason would top his better than you when I find him.”
Gregory’s pained face suddenly twisted into a grin. “How…about…something that…Sayori would love to say…?”
Howard now just looked at him confused. “What, pray tell, is that? A rope joke?”
Taking a deep breath, he shouted as loud as he could, “EVERYONE! THE NEW MEMBER IS HERE!”
A distant horn sounded and Howard looked back, still keeping a tight grip on his captive. “What is…”
“CHOO CHOO SUCKER!” Andrew yelled as he and Connie were launched in the air by some ramp that came out of nowhere.
Connie then transformed while in midair. Her new robot form had more features than it did. Like the twin blades on her arms and the jetpack on her back.
The moment Howard dropped Gregory in surprise, Ember shot forward, catching him and holding him bridal style. The human was coughing and there were several broken bones, but he still managed out a weak, “And here I thought…the man carried the woman like this…”
Above them, Howard was struck by Connie’s metal foot. Despite being bigger than Gregory she was still small, she was soon flying around him landing heavy blows on him. Howard tried fighting back, but his massive size was now his undoing as Connie was too fast. “Ow! How are you doing-OW! Damn you!”
After a few more blows Connie just hovered behind him. Her chest then opened to reveal Andrew controlling her like a mech. Ember then noticed something else. “Looks like train boy found your bell.”
Gregory looked over and saw the bell hanging from Andrew’s neck. He grinned. “Fuck yes,” he said before coughing up a small amount of blood. “Ah, shit…”
Howard then looked towards the mech and saw the bell glowing. Howard then looked scared. “Uh…hey Andrew, heh, we don’t have to do something rash here.”
Gregory inhaled, then said in a menacing voice, “Dew it!”
Andrew looked at the bell and smiled. “You know, I guess one man can make a difference, enough said.” Then the sound of the battlefield was filled with the sound of a bell and a scream.
[Half Hour Later]
“You should take the time to rest, Sir Gregory,” Moonlight said beside him as he walked towards a small crowd gathered around something.
“She’s right,” Swift said. “Your broken bones may have been healed by Princess Luna and Miss Celestia, but your body still needs rest.”
“Don’t bother trying to convince him,” Ember said as she flew above the group, “He won’t listen. He's stubborn like that.”
As he approached the crowd, everyone saw him and parted. Kneeling in the middle of the crowd was the now very human Howard, with Andrew and Stacy facing him. Gregory locked eyes with Andrew, then looked down at Howard. Looking back up at Andrew, he held out his hand. “The bell, please.”
Andrew handed him the bell, which was vibrating and glowing. “Careful it’s hot and overloaded like a battery.”
Gregory put ice around his hand, taking the bell and slipping the chain over his neck. He leaned on his staff for support. His body had been healed, but he was still exhausted from his duel with Howard. He looked down at the kneeling human. “What do you have to say for yourself?” he asked pointedly.
Howard said nothing at first but then he raised his head only to spit on Gregory’s boot. “Wow, what a waste of moisture,” a new voice said from behind the crowd. They once again split as Jason Wright walked towards them. He looked down at the now powerless human. “I surrender,” he said in a mocking tone.
Howard was silent but then he smiled and started giggling which turned into laughter. “Ha ha Surrender? You?”
“This is him?” yet another new voice called out. Twilight Sparkle, along with the rest of her friends, came through the crowd towards them. Her eyes were laser focused on Howard, with no hint of affection for him. “Huh…thought he’d be taller.”
“Sick burn,” Rainbow snickered.
Howard noticed her eyes were back to normal. “Let me guess the magic of friendship broke my mind manipulation spell didn’t it.”
Twilight didn’t answer. Instead, she looked past him, acting like he wasn’t there. She looked at the rest, sparing them all a grateful smile. When she saw Gregory, she walked up to him and stood on her hind legs, hugging him gently. “When they told me what happened to you, I was worried. I don’t want my first human student being killed by nothing.”
Gregory weakly hugged Twilight back as she nuzzled his cheek. “You’re not just my teacher,” he said, “you’re one of my best friends in the world. My first friend in this world.” He broke the hug and looked into her purple eyes. “You mean a lot to me.”
Ember stepped forward, looking a bit jealous at first, but then her jealousy melted away and she sighed. “Eh, you can have this one.”
Gregory and Twilight chuckled before resuming their hug. “Good to have you back, Twinkle Sprinkle.”
“Stop giving me weird nicknames,” Twilight replied with a giggle.
“Never gonna happen, Purple Book Horse,” Gregory said, ruffling her mane playfully.
“Hate to break the tender moment but we have something else going on,” Andrew said, pointing to Howard. Without breaking their hug, Gregory and Twilight both looked towards the still kneeling human. Andrew looked him dead in the eye. “Howard, if you want to have any chance of seeing the sun ever again, you'll just give in and reveal the location of the rest of your bombs.”
Howard just grinned. “Too bad. If I can’t have Twilight’s hoof in marriage or Jason’s head on a stick then there can only be fire.”
“Oh, very well then, you had a chance to be peaceful,” Andrew said as he snapped his fingers only for a pile of explosives to be revealed by his feet, all disassembled and disarmed.
“Teleportation magic, eh? Damn,” Gregory said, impressed. “You’re a fast learner”
“Actually while I was on my way back with Connie I may have taken some chaos magic,” he admitted. “It’s how I built the track and ramp so fast, not to mention Connie’s new hardware.”
“Clever bastard,” Gregory grinned, then looked around. “Where is Connie, anyway? I wanna thank you and her for saving me from Godzilla’s ugly cousin over here.”
“Oh she’s right over…” Andrew trailed off as he noticed Connie hadn't shown up yet. A few seconds later a huge figure limped into the room. Andrew immediately recognized the body language. “Oh no…” he said before running to her.
Gregory made his way over with Twilight, the other former elements, and Stacy. “What’s wrong with her?” Rainbow asked.
Connie grunted before getting down on one knee. “I’m sorry, everyone,” she said. “I used the last of my diesel fuel. My electrical system will soon shut off.”
“Connie, please just hang in there,” Andrew begged. “We’ll find something to keep your power on.”
“Without a constant supply of fuel, it is like no oxygen to a human brain,” Connie explained.
Rainbow walked up to Andrew, putting a hoof on his thigh. “Andrew…” she said.
Connie just angled her head down at Andrew. “We did all we could, like my crews before you. Thank you for taking me on this last ride. I’ll miss you. The same goes for you Gregory.”
Gregory’s expression was somber as he walked up, putting a hand on her. “Safe travels wherever you end up,” he said sadly.
Connie just gave a thumbs up as her cab lights flickered off and she collapsed in a heap. Andrew said nothing but took a piece of rock and within seconds it turned into a shotgun. He then walked to Howard who was trying to crawl away. “Someone get him!”
Gregory moved faster. He extended his hand and created ice right where Andrew was about to step, making the other human fall flat on his ass, only to be caught and pinned by Rainbow, who was giving Andrew a pleading look. “Don’t do this,” she pleaded.
“Are you serious with all he did! I’m sure Chrysalis would want this too!”
“Revenge isn’t worth it,” Jason said. “Trust me, it won’t make you feel any better.”
“No offense, but I'm sure it made you feel better!” Andrew snapped.
Rainbow did her best to hold him down, but when Andrew shoved her off, she flew back and landed hard on her back. She screamed out in pain and the others rushed to her aid.
Andrew looked down with regret but then he saw Howard getting away thanks to the distraction. “Oh no you don’t!” he yelled as he now gave chase to him.
Gregory spread his wings, launched himself into the air, then landed in front of Howard, holding his staff up. “Say goodnight, Gracie,” he said before he twirled the metal staff, striking the retreating human in the head, knocking him out instantly. As Howard crumpled to the ground, he was surrounded by multiple soldiers and placed in chains.
Andrew caught up and just watched as Howard was pulled away, unconscious. Andrew just looked at the gun with trembling hands and just threw it to the ground.
Gregory turned back to Andrew, stumbling weakly and using his staff to steady himself. Ember was by his side immediately, holding him up. “I’m sorry,” he said after a while.
“Don’t…” Andrew said in a broken tone before asking, “what do we even do now?”
“Now? Now we go back home and take time to recover from all that’s happened,” Celestia said, flying down and landing next to Gregory and Andrew.
A while later everyone was leaving. Andrew just sat by Connie’s remains the whole time. Eventually, Rainbow came over and sat next to him, not saying anything. Andrew looked down at her and decided to break the silence. “Sorry I shoved you. At one point I thought it was your pain strike time.”
She shook her head. “Just landed on my wing, and that hurts a lot.” She put a wing around him, looking back at Connie.
Andrew was a little surprised by the gesture but said nothing about it. “Still sorry about that. We’re still good right?”
She moved up and nuzzled his cheek briefly before moving away. “Don’t tell anypony I did that,” she said.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” he chuckled before frowning again. All he could do now was look at the various parts as well the pieces that had white letters on them. He then looked back down at her. “Do things like this ever get easier?”
Rainbow didn’t say anything for a bit, but eventually she said, “I don’t know much about somepony I know dying, but I do know stuff about losing what I had. For me, it got worse before it got better, but that was because I always drank myself silly. I think if you have somepony to help, you’ll be okay.”
“It’s funny, at one point I blamed the death of an old friend of mine on someone else entirely, in the end I actually ended up helping that guy. Color me shocked,” he said almost sarcastically.
She nudged him gently, smiling at him. “Come on, let’s get back to Canterlot. There’s plenty of food back there, and I’ve been wanting to try this out again without feeling so tired.” She pointed at the changeling bracelet she still wore around her neck.
“Heh, sure, just let me-” Just then Andrew noticed something glowing inside Connie’s remains. “What the…? Hey, help me move some of these parts,” he said as he began removing a few pieces from the remains. Rainbow stood and began doing her best to move things away from the glowing part. After removing a panel, they found the source of the light, which was a glowing orb. Andrew just stared at it, feeling something resonating within it. “Quick, get me a jar. There should be one somewhere.”
Rainbow looked around, and eventually they found one. Andrew carefully scooped it up and slipped it into his backpack. He smiled as he got up. “Now let's join the others outside.”
The crowds were starting to scatter when the two returned. Gregory was lying on the grass, eyes closed. Twilight and Ember were both sitting next to each other, talking with each other, although there was a slight bit of tension there. Cozy was also there, having arrived after Howard was knocked out and arrested. The filly was curled up in a ponyloaf on Gregory’s chest. The rest of the former Elements of Harmony were talking among themselves. Stacy was with Flash Sentry, both of them talking alone. Celestia was speaking to her sister, Chrysalis, and Jason.
Andrew approached the group with Celestia, Princess Luna, Jason and Chrysalis. Chrysalis was speaking and saying, “...lost a lot, but at least the structure is intact. It’ll take years to rebuild, even then.”
“Excuse me?” Andrew said, raising his hand in greeting. “I'm sorry to interrupt but Luna, are you free? I have to talk to you about something.”
Luna turned to him. “Of course.” She excused herself and walked away with him.
After walking a few good feet from them. Andrew spoke. “Luna where does Equestria manufacture its trains?”
“Mostly in Baltimare,” Luna said, “why do you ask?”
“I just remembered one of my plans for this world was to improve the railroads,” he began, “but also now I feel I might have something to bring a friend back to life. I’m going to need a train construction facility for this.”
“Bring a friend back to life? What do you mean?” Luna asked.
Andrew slipped off his backpack and pulled out a glowing jar. “This is what I believe is Connie’s soul.”
Luna raised her horn, taking the jar in her magic and looking it over, letting it hover between them for several moments before she returned it to Andrew. “Something is alive there, but I am unsure as to what.”
“I know this is her soul,” Andrew insisted. “Maybe if I put this in a newly built engine, it might make her come back. Even if it doesn’t work, her new body I have planned is something the railroads could use.”
“I will put you in touch with Branch Line,” Luna said. “He’s the stallion in charge of constructing new engines.”
“Thank you, your highness,” Andrew bowed before turning to walk away.
Luna then noticed the group surrounding Gregory and she approached, meaning to check on him. As she came into earshot, Gregory looked up at the sole Equestrian princess. “What was that about?”
“He claims that he has the soul of the train Connie in his possession,” Luna explained.
Gregory chuckled a bit. “I wouldn’t be surprised,” he replied as he closed his eyes again.
Andrew then approached Jason. The two looked at each other in awkward silence before Andrew spoke up. “Look, uh, about what I said about you feeli-”
“Don’t say anything about it,” Jason said, “Let’s just move on from it and let it go, alright?”
Andrew just nodded. “Yeah.” He then looked towards Chrysalis. “Sorry about your home.”
Chrysalis sighed, looking at the ruins. “Over a thousand years of history destroyed by a single insane human…”
Jason put a hand on Chrysalis’ shoulder. “We can rebuild.”
Chrysalis slowly nodded, looking over at Jason with a sad smile. “True…true…”
“Chrysalis, if it makes you feel better, we humans went through many destructive tragedies like this. Pearl Harbor, the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, but if there’s one thing that is never destroyed in those events is the resilience of a spirit. When you hit rock bottom there's nowhere to go but up.”
“I know a lot about your history from Jason,” Chrysalis said, “but changelings are good at one thing: adapting. We’ll adjust.”
Andrew nodded and caught up with Rainbow Dash. “So uh you want to snuggle until a chariot comes to pick us up?” he asked.
Rainbow put a hoof to her mount in faux shock. “Damn, dude, you move fast,” she said teasingly before she lay down in a ponyloaf.
“Not as fast as you, speedy,” he said, petting her.
“You’re bucking right about that,” she said as she closed her eyes, relaxing as he ran his hands through her fur.