//------------------------------//
// An Unexpected Day 
// Story: The Return of Greg 
// by sbloom85 
//------------------------------//

	It was great to be back on this world. Back to the controlled weather; back to sane politics; back to the nonexistence of ponies preaching about this deity or that deity and telling other ponies how to redeem themselves for said deity; back to the odd jobs. A rainbow blur races overhead. Greg follows Rainbow Dash's unmistakable contrail back to her. It was low enough for him to actually touch.

Rainbow races back to Greg. "Hey! I must've been going too fast, I didn't see ya for a sec." She says before hovering beside him. "How long have you been back?"

"A few hours." Greg answers. "I heard everyone missed me."

Rainbow laughs. "You have no idea. The day you left, Flitter and Cloudchaser went nuts."

Greg lets out a quiet groan. "Right... my stalkers."

"Sorry to cut this short, but I was on my way to the Wonderbolts' training camp. I'll see ya later!" She says before taking off.





Greg makes his way to Carousel Boutique. On the way, he'd run into many ponies, many of whom would wave and say welcome back, some would approach him and give him a hug. He approaches the door, clears his throat and knocks on it a few times.

"Come in!" The unmistakable chipper voice of Rarity sang.

Greg opens the door, enters and closes it behind him. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything." He says.

The white Unicorn turns to him, gasps and gallops up to him. "You're back!" She squeals, giving him maybe the tenth hug he's had today. "It's been too long." She adds.

"Greg's here?!" Sweetie Belle asks loudly, trotting down the stairs faster than she normally would. "Welcome back!" She says.

Greg laughs. "It's good to be back." He says. "How are things going between you girls and Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon?" He asks.

Sweetie Belle giggles. "Well, they were still picking on us, but not as bad after you talked to Filthy Rich. And since Apple Bloom's cousin dropped by, they picked on us even less."

Greg nods. "Excellent. I'm glad to hear that." He says before focusing on Rarity again. "And how's business?"

Rarity smiles. "I've been busy lately." She says, returning to her workstation. "Since Shining Armor and Princess Cadance's wedding, I've been flooded with work from all corners of Equestria." She continues, picking up a needle and some thread. "Thankfully most of that work have no deadlines and I had already taken care of the ones that did."

Greg nods. "I'm glad to hear you and everyone else is doing well."

Out of nowhere, a creature that could be easily described as a Frankenstein reject pops into the store.

"What the hell are you?!" Greg asks in surprise.

"Such language." He said, tisking at Greg. "Good thing the little one couldn't hear that." He continues with a light chuckle. "But to answer your question, I'm a Draconequus."

"Discord..." Rarity grumbles.

"That's my name." Discord says, examining his paw. "I probably should head to the spa and get these filed down." With a snap of the talon, he disappears. "I'll be looking forward to properly meeting you, Mister Sanders."

Sweetie Belle trots to the door. "I'll be out with the others, sis!" She shouts. Greg opens the door. "Thanks!" She says, exiting the store.

Greg closes the door. "So who's this 'Discord' guy?"

Rarity lets out a quiet, frustrated groan. "He's the master of chaos and the former ruler of this land." She says, cutting a stray strand of fabric. "He reappeared a few months before Applejack was taken. His goal was to rebuild the land as he saw fit."

Greg crosses his arms. "But you and the others stopped him."

"That's right." Rarity says, finishing up one section of her current project. "He tricked us into acting the complete opposite of our appointed elements. I still thank Celestia every day for returning Twilight's letters to her."

"Alright, I'm going to let you get back to your work." He says, walking back to the door.

"Will you be staying with Twilight again, or Applejack?" Rarity asks.

Greg shrugs. "I'll be with Twilight tonight, but I'll probably stay with Applejack for a while." He says. "At least until I can get a place of my own."

Rarity trots up to Greg and nuzzles him. "In any case, it's good to see you again."

Greg shakes his head. "I've been getting that a lot." He says, opening the door. "I'll be seeing you, Rare." He stops at the threshold and looks back. "If you ever need any help, you know where to find me."





His next visit would be to town hall. There was a line of ponies already, but when he entered, they looked back at him and move aside, allowing him to approach the receptionist. "Thanks, everyone." He says, making his way up.

The receptionist greets him with a warm smile. One that he wasn't used to seeing back home. "Welcome back, Greg." She says. "I assume you want to talk to the mayor?"

Greg nods. "If she's free. If not, pass a message that I'm interested in work and finding a place to live."

The receptionist nods. "Will that be all?" She asks, hoping for more.

Greg nods. "For now."

"Where are you going to be staying?" She asks.

"Sweet Apple Acres starting tomorrow." He says.

"Okay, we'll send any mail for you there."

And with that, Greg starts to leave, that is until he bumps into a certain earth pony.

"Filthy Rich." Greg greets.

"Greg." Filthy responds, extending a hoof. "I never did get to thank you for reporting my daughter's behavior."

Greg shakes his hoof. "I hear she's calmed down some."

Filthy nods. "She has." He says. "Her mother and I have been more involved in her activities and will remain so."

Greg smirks. "That's better than most parents back home." He says, patting the stallion on the shoulder. "I'll be seein' ya around."





Greg has work secured for him, and hopefully, a permanent residence once he saves enough bits. His next visit would be to Fluttershy's cottage, one particular mare he didn't have much interaction with.

He sees her, her back turned to him as she's closing the door. "Fluttershy!" He yells. She lets out a shriek and bolts back into the cottage, slamming the door behind her. Greg lets out a quiet groan as he facepalms. He approaches the front door and slowly knocks on it a few times.

"Who is it?!" She yells out.

"It's Greg." He says.

The door slowly opens, she looks up to his smiling face. "Oh... it is you."

Greg kneels down next to her. "Sorry I scared you." He says, giving her a hug. "I was wondering if you could help me?"

Fluttershy steps out of the cottage and shuts the door behind her. "I was going into town to do some shopping." She says. "What do you want help with?"

"I'm looking into a permanent residence, and I was wondering if you could help me find a pet." He says, getting a lot of excitement out of the timid Pegasus.

"Really?!" She asks, fluttering up to his eye level. "I've got so many, what are you looking for?"

"That depends on my housing options, I'm thinking about a cat." He says. "Got any short haired?"

She nods. "Short hair, long hair, you want it, I've got it."

He smiles. "I don't doubt it." He says. "I don't have a place yet, but I'll definitely come by after I do."

She nods. "Of course. You're always welcome here, Greg." She says. "Um... if you don't mind... would you walk with me into town."

Greg waves an arm in front of him, gesturing her to go first. "After you." He says.





Greg walks Fluttershy to the market, picking up a basket on their arrival. "I'll handle the groceries." He offers.

"Thanks." She says.

The two walk over to a cherry stand. "What do you plan to do now, Greg?" She asks, paying the vendor for the cherries before moving on.

Greg rubs the back of his neck. "Well, I've been kinda thinking about getting back into writing."

The two stop at a carrot stand for Fluttershy's next purchase. "That would be wonderful." She says. Greg puts the carrots into the basket. "What would you write?"

The two continue. "My focus is adventure." He says with a low hum. "I think I'm going to have to bring the stories I've written out here," he adds, "the only problem is no one would be able to read them."

The two approach an orange stand. "Maybe the princess can help out with that." She suggested. "She did cast a translation spell on you after all."

Greg places the purchased oranges into the basket. "I think it would be best if I wrote them in my native language," he comments, "then have someone translate the text to your language."

"Maybe Twilight can help with the translation." She says as the two continue to the next stand.

Greg groans. "I wouldn't want to bother her with that." He says. "She's got enough on her plate as it is now that she's a princess."

"Then who would you pick?" She asks as they stand in line at the tomato stand.

"I don't know..." he admits, "everyone seems to be very busy lately."

"Next time you see Rainbow Dash, ask her." She suggests. "She got hooked on Daring Do when Twilight introduced that series to her." She giggles. "She'll probably like your stories as well."

The two inch along the line as a large shadow is cast. Every pony, and Greg, look to see what it was. It was Princess Celestia's chariot.

"I wonder why the princess is here?" Fluttershy comments. "We weren't expecting her for another month."

The chariot lands. Celestia exits it and every pony instinctually bows. Even Greg kneels. The sun princess trots over to Greg. "It's been a long time, Mister Sanders."

Greg nods. As he rises, every pony rises as well. "It has, Your Majesty," he agreed, "but please, call me Greg."

"Okay, Greg." She says. "Have you seen Twilight today?"

He nods. "Yeah, she should still be at the library, why?"

Celestia turns to her guard detail and nods, a few of the guards begin toward the library, then turns back to Greg. "As you may know, she was gone for a while."

Greg nods. "Yeah. She was telling me that she was investigating something."

It was Celestia's turn to nod. "Yes. I sent her to Saddle Arabia for meet and greets, then she informed me about Changeling attacks." She says. "After a month of investigating, she found out there's a possibility that King Sombra has returned."

Greg crosses his arms and lets out a quiet hum. "I heard about that. Didn't Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, along with the Crystal Ponies destroy him?"

"That was the report, yes." Celestia admits. "But he was a different case, as he wasn't entirely corporeal."

Greg nods. "I've read and watched enough sci-fi to know how that goes." He says, tapping his chin. "You're not thinking that Twilight's an imposter, do you?"

Celestia shrugs. "I hope not, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

"She's been through a lot, and she just came back." Greg explains. "Can't it wait until at least tomorrow before you interrogate her?"

"Unfortunately not." She says. "If she really is a Changeling, we need to do everything we can to prevent them from conquering not only Equestria, but the entire world."

"Um... excuse me..." Fluttershy tries saying.

"To what extremes?" Greg asks. "From what I've heard and read, they feed off of the love of others, like a Succubus." Celestia gives him a confused look. "It's like a drug for them, like power is to anyone." He explains. "And like any addiction, one can be weened off of it. It'll take a while that way, but it's much safer for everyone in the long run."

"Perhaps." Celestia says. "But they are tricksters and I was inclined to take you with us when I first saw you."

"Um..."

"Go ahead and take me, then." Greg says. "I have nothing to hide."

"Your Majesty." A guard calls. Celestia turns to the guard. "Princess Twilight Sparkle was not seen in the library."

Celestia turns back to Greg. "Where did she go?"

Greg shrugs. "I have no idea." He says. "She was there an hour ago."

"Guards, detain Mister Sanders and take him to Canterlot for questioning." Celestia orders.

Greg was being escorted to the chariot with Fluttershy alongside. "What do you want me to do, Greg?" She asks.

Greg shakes his head. "I don't know yet, but I'll think of something."

A guard pushes Fluttershy out of the way as they load Greg into the chariot.

Celestia hovers a few feet off the ground and raises a foreleg. "Citizens of Ponyville!" She begins. "Do not be alarmed! I assure you that there will not be a repeat of the incident in Canterlot!"

Greg shuffles in the seat. "Something doesn't smell right..." he grumbles, looking back to Celestia. The scene the two created was already dissipating.

Celestia returns to the chariot. Unicorn guards already inside with Pegasus guards covering the outside. Once she was ready, the chariot lifts off and leaves for Canterlot.

Fluttershy was at a loss. The day started out great. Twilight returned... Greg returned... but Changelings? King Sombra? This news made her sick. She had to find the others, and fast.