• Published 27th May 2012
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Human: Shades of Grey - Draven Eclipse



The Third rises. Also, Lyra becomes a cult leader.

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Chapter 2: "I named it, thus it is mine."

And like the Lord before, the Third did indeed prove his legitimacy as one of those beings that once graced Equestrian soil, but through different means than was expected. The Brothers came through the door and saw the picture of radiance, but soon the light did leave, and in its place was an emptiness and a feeling of fear as the Successor addressed his new subjects. And as they did once before, ponykind showed its darker side.

-First Address of Third, from the Brotherhood of Man’s holy book A Darker World.

***

The early morning sun shone brightly across the landscape, illuminating every part of Hoofington in its warm glow. Unfortunately for the very tired human, this meant it was time for his eyes to become victims of its scorching rays. He grumbled in his bed, and if one listened closely enough, they would hear words such ‘stupid sun’ and ‘night forever’.

Funny how that worked out.

After a valiant battle to stay asleep, Hayato finally surrendered himself to the waking world. He grumbled as he rubbed his eyes and turned to look at his alarm clock to check the time. However, what he saw was nothing even closely resembling an alarm clock. No, what he found were two large, golden eyes staring at him, inches away from his face.

He blinked once, and then screamed like a little girl.

His screaming was cut short as he fell out of the small bed and to the floor. Not one to stay down for long, he came back up brandishing his tired looking kappa as a weapon.

“Be gone, hellspawn! I will use this!”

Lyra backed away.

“I apologize for this intrusion, Lord Third!”

Lord Third? Oh right, I'm still in the pony world. Fuck.

He was really banking on that whole fiasco being a really bad dream. Realizing he wasn’t in any danger, he dropped the kappa onto the bed. He leaned against the dresser and took some deep breaths, in an attempt to slow his rapidly beating heart.

“Are you alright, my Lord? Is anything the matter?” Lyra asked, with concern written across her features.

“Oh no, things are fantastic. I love heart attacks first thing in the morning. Really mixes things up, know what I mean?”

“I only came in to tell you that breakfast was ready, but I saw you sleeping, so I just, um...waited.”

She was watching me sleep? That’s not creepy at all. Although just to be safe I should probably count my kidneys.

“I shall give you some time alone. I left your breakfast in the kitchen. Oh, I also forgot to mention last night that I will be having some guests over later.”

“So, do you want me to hide in the bedroom or something?”

“I would not put you in a position where you would need to hide yourself. Well, at least within the house. The guests coming over are actually here to see you.”

“Why would ponies want to see me? ” Hayato asked with a raised eyebrow, “I thought you said humans were feared in Equestria?”

“While that is true for the majority of ponies, these ones are more like me," Lyra explained excitedly, "We do not see humans as great monsters. On the contrary, we see them as our salvation, and something we could learn a great deal from.”

So there are ponies who like humans other than her, eh? I shouldn’t be surprised, seeing as I am stuck in the land of butterflies and friendship. Although, didn’t she say one of the other humans was killed? Yeah, I am gonna have to keep an eye out for the crazies.

Wanting to give Third some space, Lyra pardoned herself and said she had to head into town to get some supplies for when the guests came. She drew all of her curtains, so that Third could walk around the house without worry of being spotted by the neighbors; if he was spotted, she knew things would not end well.

Once he was finally alone, Hayato walked back over to his bed and nudged the kappa laying upon it a few times. The kappa laid immobile, in exactly the position he was in a minute and a half ago.

“Damn, forgot about the water thing," Hayato grumbled, "We really need to do something about that. I don’t want you falling over and being stuck all the time...”

He began to search the room for anything that might be helpful. It did not take him long to dig through the closet and pull out a hat. A pirate captain's hat to be precise, most likely part of a Halloween costume of some kind. At least, that was his best guess as to what it was doing there.

Alright, this should work. Although it still won't protect the groove too well. It needs...something else.

Hayato made a quick run to the kitchen, and retrieved a large roll of saran wrap and a bowl full of water. He quickly tended to the kappa, pouring water into the groove to get him moving again and covering the top of it with the saran wrap to prevent it spilling out again, which he secured in place with some tape he found in a desk drawer. It'd probably come loose over time, but it would hold for a while.

When all was said and done, he placed the hat back on the kappa’s head. Finally pleased, he stepped back and admired his work. The kappa just blinked in confusion, and he smiled and gave it a sarcastic salute.

“Looking good, captain.”

Much to his amusement, the kappa mimicked the movement and saluted him back.

“Hmmm...I rather like that. As a name, I mean. Henceforth you shall be known as 'Captain', and we shall go on great adventures together! I’m not sure what kind of adventures exactly, but as long as we stick together, nobody can stop us!”

Captain tilted his head. Odd that he thought to do that, when usually that would just paralyze him.

Hayato felt his stomach rumble again. He realized he hadn’t had anything to eat since yesterday with Lyra. Again, the circumstances of their meeting and how he woke up in that field came back to him. He tried thinking back to two nights ago, when he guessed he had been dropped into this world. Try as he might though, he still couldn’t draw up any memories about what had happened.

The most recent thing he could remember was coming home late at night, just back from visiting relatives out of state and having spent most of the day traveling, and collapsing on his bed. And though it was his most recent memory, it still felt like it was a fair amount of time ago. It felt...distant. Something must have happened between then and when he woke up in the field; if only he could remember what.

He wondered how long he could last in a world such as Equestria, where everything apparently wanted him dead, and clearly had the means to make it happen. The better question though, was would he ever be able to get back home?

***

Celestia sat upon her throne, head bowed in contemplation. Soon, Twilight and her friends would arrive at the castle to begin celebrating Rainbow Dash’s birthday. Pinkie had gotten ahold of her earlier, and was planning to dedicate the entire week to one long party. Honestly, the princess was looking for a reason to take a vacation lately. The courts would last without her for one week.

However, that wasn’t going to happen now. She had not sent a letter to Twilight about the situation, and had instead opted to tell her student in person. Celestia did not know how she would react to the news of a new human, let alone the others, but she resolved to be there for her regardless of the reaction.

She cared very much for Twilight Sparkle. She was almost like the daughter she never had, in a way. Though, in recent years she had felt her relationship with Twilight to be less than motherly. After all the times she sent her student off into one dangerous situation or another, like some sort of soldier.

Is that what she had become? No longer a teacher wanting her student to learn, but a general sending her troops off to fight the creatures that go bump in the night? It pained her to think this, but in a way it was true. She wished very much to never have to send her student into the fields of danger again. Starting with Nightmare Moon, she had been steadily going down an ever slippery slope, slowly sending that mare and her friends off to deal with ever greater crises.

Like when she sent them to go deal with that dragon, for example.

Celestia knew however, that as long as there were threats such as humans, or the Spider Legion, that she would send them into battle again and again, because she had to. Like it or not, those ponies were Equestria's last, best line of defense.

The princess was shaken from her melancholic thoughts as the sound of trumpets filled the air. It was the signal that guests had arrived, so that the guards would all stand prime and professional for them. The doors at the far end of the hallway opened up, and two well armored pegasi strode into the room, followed by six familiar mares a little purple dragon.

One of them took a bow and announced the arrivals.

“I present Lady Sparkle and her companions; Ms. Rarity, Ms. Fluttershy, Ms. Apple, Ms. Dash, and Ms. Pie.”

"Ahem."

"...And Spike the dragon."

“Thank you, Vigilance. You may go now,” Celestia said with a smile.

Once the guards left the room, Twilight ran at full speed across the room to her mentor. Celestia met her halfway with a comforting and affectionate nuzzle. Although she bore grim news, it warmed her heart to see Twilight in such good spirits.

“Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student, it is so good to see you!”

“It's been too long, princess. I really should have visited sooner, but I get so caught up in my research and schedules that I just lose track of everything sometimes.”

“Haha, yes. I do know how you can get sometimes. Say, is your hair different? Oh, it must be a Tuesday,” the older mare teased.

Twilight's face turned a deep shade of red as she recalled the very embarrassing incident years before, that her friends had all taken to calling ‘Happy Tuesday’. It was a day she knew she would never live down, and which had unfortunately become a running joke between those in the know.

“Still, it is good to see you all well. I must thank you for being such good friends to Twilight, and taking such good care of her.”

“Aww shucks, Princess," said Applejack, "You don’t need tah thank us fer that. Twilight is a good friend to us too.”

“Now what we need is to get this party started!” shouted Pinkie excitedly.

It was at these words that princess's face fell. It was only for a second, but it was long enough for Twilight to notice that something was wrong. When she asked what was bothering her, Celestia sighed and took on a more serious tone. Using her magic, she summoned forth a table and some chairs that were off to the side of the room. She felt it would be best that they were all sitting when they heard the news.

The six ponies and their dragon companion sat down as prompted, and looked blankly at the princess, waiting for whatever she had to say.

“Girls, I am sorry to say that we are going to have to put the party on hold for now. Yesterday, while I was in my garden, I sensed a terrible presence arrive. There is a human in Equestria. I wished it weren’t so, but Luna confirmed it. She was woken from her slumber when she sensed the exact same thing.”

At the mention of humans, the air became very heavy. Rainbow Dash looked around, as if to see if the human was in the room with them already. Fluttershy looked as if she were on the verge of fainting. Celestia was sure she would have, if not for Rarity and Applejack doing their best to support her. Twilight was doing her best to avoid shaking like a leaf in the wind as she looked at her mentor.

“I-Is it the Second? Did he break free?”

“No Twilight, it is not. Luna and I checked the statue, and he is still trapped. This seems to a new one, a third if you will. I truly hate to have to ask you to do this, but I need you and your friends to take up the Elements of Harmony again, so that we can stop this one before it can do too much damage. I fear for what it might do if it were to learn the fate of its predecessors, or even worse, if it already knows and came here on a mission of vengeance. If it is anything like the last ones, it could very well destroy us all.”

***

Echo Fleetfoot flew high in the sky above Cloudsdale. She was taking a breather from practice, and flying simply just to fly. No tricks, no speed, just a relaxing trip through the clouds. It wasn’t uncommon for her or one of her teammates to do so every once in awhile. They spent all of their work time in a competitive mode, so they understood when any of them occasionally needed some down time.

She spent a long time alone in the clouds before she was joined by fellow Wonderbolt, Soarin. Fleetfoot altered her wing beats to match Soarin’s, and soon enough they were double flying. Every time one took a turn, the other would match it. It wasn’t anything competitive; just a way to keep the flying from becoming monotonous.

“So Soarin, what brings you up here?” she asked, finally breaking the silence.

“Eh, not much. You just looked bored up here, all by your lonesome. Thought I would join you.”

Fleetfoot arched her eyebrow, as she examined her companion. The odds that he would come up here because she looked bored were slim. In fact, the odds that he would do that for anypony that didn’t have a pie strapped to them were even slimmer. Soarin gulped as he realised his little lie wasn’t getting him anywhere.

“Okay, so maaaybe I might have told Spitfire that her suit was looking a bit tighter than usual. I didn’t really mean it, of course! She just kept going on and on about how I shouldn’t be eating so much pie, because It’s not good for your figure,” Soarin explained, mimicking Spitfires voice at the end.

“You called Spitfire fat? Oh wow, you are one dead stallion Soarin. I don’t think there is anywhere in Equestria you could hide from that kind of wrath.”

“Oh, I’m not so sure about that,” the stallion replied nervously, “I heard the Everfree Forest is quite lovely this time of year. Maybe I will go and visit...”

Fleetfoot just laughed. Off in the distance, she could see an orange streak flying through the air. It would occasionally stop before resuming its flight, almost as if it were looking for somepony. A grin formed on her lips and she made a loud shout, before pointing at Soarin.

The blur seemed to stop for a moment before rocketing towards them at high speed. Soarin looked over to his friend, on the verge of tears.

Why?

“You remember that time you put itching powder in my flight suit before the Las Pegasus show? Well now we are even.”

She smiled and gave him a light thump on his back. Not yet resigned to his fate, Soarin rocketed off at top speed, away from the approaching entity of rage in pony form. Fleetfoot simply laughed and waved at Spitfire as she passed by. Normally Spitfire would say hello, but right now she was a pony on a mission. Soon, both were gone.

Looking at the positioning of the sun, Fleetfoot realized it was time to meet up with her friends. Apparently something happened at Lyra's house, and they all had to meet up there. She wasn’t really sure what was going on, as Fancy Pants chose four o'clock in the morning to tell her they were meeting, and so she mostly nodded and ignored what he said.

Making one last loop in the air, she tucked her wings in and streamlined her way towards the city of Cloudsdale. Her original plan was to simply go down and land, but old habits kicked in and she started narrowing herself to pick up more speed. She had a good ways to go before reaching the 'ground' level of the city, so she had plenty of space to spare for picking up speed.

The faster she went, the more the air around her body began to form into an almost visible cone. It was if she were pressing against a clear film that was ready to break at any minute. Could she really do it this time? Could she really pull off the legendary Sonic Rainboom, like their most recent new member Rainbow Dash could?

According to physics? No. As per her usual attempts at trying the technique, the clear film rebounded like a piece of taut rubber that had been let go, and she was sent spiraling out of control through the sky.

She was pretty sure she was able to shout a warning to anypony on the ground that might be nearby so they could clear the way. She wasn't sure though, as the rebound had knocked the air out of her lungs.

Any second now she was sure to feel the impact of the clouds that would be accompanied by a lot of pain. Luckily for her, she managed to tuck her wings into her sides so they wouldn't get broken in the fall. After a few seconds though, no pain came at all. In fact she felt rather tingly across her whole body.

Fleetfoot opened her right eye, and saw that she was staring at an alabaster unicorn with a rather unimpressed look on his face. Noting the scar on his left eye, a smile broke out on her face. She recognized the unicorn and who had caught her with his magic; he always did, after all.

"Hey there, Abstract. Thanks for catching me. Again. You're a real sweetheart."

"It was either catch you or let you break part of the city. It was a tough choice, but it wouldn't be fair to the city if I didn't catch you."

"Awww, you really did it because you cared about my safety," she giggled.

Not even a full second after the words left her mouth, she was dropped off the edge of the clouds and was hurdling quickly to the earth. Unlike before, she still had her wits about her, and she properly opened her wings to catch an updraft and break the fall. She flew back up to the city to find the unicorn sitting in a chariot, waiting to leave.

"Hey, that wasn't funny! What would you have done if I hadn't been able to stop my fall?"

"I would have read the eulogy I have prepared. It would have been a very lovely service," he said with a flat tone.

"Ha ha, you say that like you actually have a eulogy prepared for me....You don't actually have one, do you?"

Abstract Theory gave her a look that would put professional poker players to shame. He simply turned his head and told the pegasi pulling the chariot that they were ready to head to Hoofington.

***

“Why does she have to have so many damn books?” Hayato yelled in frustration.

For the last fifteen minutes, he had been spending his time in what he assumed to be Lyra's private study. The study housed at least twenty bookshelves that were filled to the brim with reading materials. Much like when he awoke earlier that morning, he could not help but think about his current predicament. Not only was he curious as to how he managed to actually get stuck here, but information about the other humans who had been here before him.

He couldn't help it. He was stuck on an alien world that he had only the vaguest of second hand knowledge about. And even then, he only knew some of the places and names of things, and of course a few character names. He did know for instance that there was a unicorn called Rarity who lived in a big girly play set shaped like a carousel. That however, was hardly useful information.

While searching through the library seemed like a good idea in theory, it did not fly so well in practice. It turned out that Lyra had some kind of mystical sorting system that shunned normal conventions. In fact, he was pretty sure Melvil Dewey would break out into tears if he ever saw this mess. They might as well be scattered across the floor for all the good it was doing.

Having no other effective method of searching, he randomly pulled a book off the shelf and began to read it.

The heat of the moment was almost too much for either of them to bear. The azure mare beneath her shuddered as she drew her hoof down her fur. This would be a night that neither of them would forget...

The human stared horrified at the book in his hands. He could not even process what was before his eyes and so instead opted to throw the offending material across the room.

“Nope, FUCKING NOPE!” he shouted, walking far away from what he was sure was to forever haunt his dreams.

What the hell was something like that doing here? This was MY LITTLE PONY, not Who Framed Roger Rabbit. What the hell was anything like that doing in this world? Either the writers of this show had some kind of sick side to them, or the letter was right. These ponies were real, and in ways that were going to require vast amounts of alcohol or a lot of time for him to forget.

In fact, that sounded rather nice. He was going to have to ask Lyra about getting him enough alcohol to black out and forget this ever happened. He didn’t care if he fell into another stargate, or whatever the hell happened. All he knew is it was definitely worth the risk.

After doing his best to purge the hellish scripture from his mind, he continued on with his search. Although this time he made sure to give that particular shelf a wide berth. Eventually though, he got lucky, and came across a tome titled A Brief History of Equestria. Finally glad to find something useful, he took the book over to a nearby chair and sat down.

Although eager to find out what happened, Third found himself rather perplexed. Standing up, he turned and looked at the chair he had just sat on. It looked like a perfectly normal chair that you would find anywhere. Although the fact that it was so normal stuck out. He was in a land dominated by horses, why would they have a chair like this? Could a pony even use one?

Unable to help himself, he pictured Lyra trying to sit like a human in the chair. He got a laugh out of how absurd that would be. There was no way that would actually be possible. Sitting back down in the chair, he skimmed through the book, taking in some of the minor details that seemed to be important, like the roles of three races of ponies and a bit of background on the ruling princesses.

Eventually though, he located the section about the arrival of the humans.

During the final weeks of summer of the year ----, there came two beings of immense power and ability. Never before or since had such creatures of immeasurable strength and tenacity menaced Equestria. These 'humans' were capable of incredibly feats of agility, could move at unprecedented speeds even while grounded, and had such fighting skill and magical power as to outmatch entire armies at once, not to mention their possession of the legendary Reaper's Horn, one of the only weapons known to be able to harm the alicorn princesses.

It is believed that not even the Nameless One or Discord at the height of their power would have been able to match Lords Second and First in battle, let alone lesser villains such as Sliske the Destroyer or Queen Chrysalis of the changelings. The advent of the humans arrival would come to be remembered as one of the most brutal conflicts of recent times, on par with many actual wars.

When these creatures first arrived in Equestria, they brought only one thing with them. Violent, bloody war. Everywhere they went, a fight was sure to follow. Their attacks did not have a particular pattern, and it did not matter to them what species they fought with, as long as they could sing their war songs.

The Equestrian military met the humans head on, and time after time were soundly defeated. Legions of ponies would rise against the creatures, only to be defeated again and again. However, during the battle of Coltanooga, the tides were finally turned when a lone soldier, Private Steel Hammer of the 445th Legion, wrestled the legendary Reapers Horn from the hands of Lord First. He then used the weapon against the human, killing him.

It was said that after going on a rampage through the soldiers, the Second recovered his ally's body and fled the battle. In response, his attacks became much more frequent and vicious, and he began to target specific large cities to cause maximum chaos. Just days after the Fall of the First, at the battle of Fillydelphia, Lord Second met the bearers of the Elements of Harmony on the battlefield and was encased in stone, ending his reign of terror forever.

For further information on the Elements of Harmony and the humans, see A History of Harmony Part II: Return and Resurgence.

Hayato stared down at the page, honestly quite shocked. He knew humans were feared in Equestria, but he was surprised to find out exactly why they were hated. Somehow, these people had taken on entire armies by themselves and stood undefeated. Well, until one of them was killed anyways...

“Wait a second....Is that a fucking shotgun?!”

He had just turned the page and found a number of sketches and photographs made to illustrate the section. Most prominently, there was one box which according to the annotation was an artist's sketch of the famous Reaper's Horn, based on descriptions of the item. Sure enough, right there on the page was a pump action shotgun.

The almighty weapon that could hurt these ponies' immortal ruler, was nothing more than an ordinary gun. The irony was not lost on him.

Looking over the sketches a few times, he stopped on the picture of the Second. He had the look of a good ol' southern boy, with that cowboy hat and moustache. He looked to be an older gentleman, sixty years old at least. Something about his face seemed familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it. Figuring it was probably just one of those faces, he let it go. What struck him though was ‘Lord First’.

He was almost in shock. This kid could not have been any older than sixteen, and somehow he took down an army? Shotgun or not, that was simply not possible.

Hayato went back over to the shelf and placed the book where he found it, although he tore out the pages with the sketches, in case he needed them. Hopefully Lyra wouldn't notice. Right beside where he put the book back, he saw another one with a slightly worn spine. The only word he could make out on it was ‘history’. Figuring it must be the other book he was looking for, he took it back to the seat and began to read it.

My heart raced as Miss Jubilee walked closer to me. The rest of the class had left, but she wanted me to stay. Could she have realized that I was the one who sent her that letter?

“You have been skipping class quite a lot, Starbeam. And now your grades are suffering for it. You have been a bad, bad stallion,” she said in a low, sultry tone, “But I am going to give you a chance to make up the grade. It is time for an oral exam...”

A loud roar of anguish echoed throughout the entire town of Hoofington. Although the citizens could not find whatever had made such an awful noise, they all agreed on one thing; to make such a sound, it had to be in a great deal of pain.

***

Fancy Pants strode through the humble town of Ponyville at a casual gait. He knew that today was a momentous occasion, and that he should probably be in a hurry. However, he still had his dignity to keep, and could not allow himself to be seen running through the streets like a foal. Even out here in Ponyville he knew that word would somehow reach Canterlot, and that was a place that could turn on anypony at the drop of a hat.

Yes, even him.

Many ponies smiled or waved to him as he passed by. He was rather well known in this town now, for many reasons. One was his friendship with Rarity, owner of a lovely fashion outlet in the heart of Ponyville and something of a local celebrity. To a lesser extent, he was also on familiar terms with a few of the other Elements of Harmony who resided here, and he was also well known for his extremely generous donations to the town's restoration fund, following a battle with the Spider Legion some years prior.

He believed that what earned their respect the most was his refusal to allow a statue of him to be built to honor his donation. There were some ponies that deserved to be immortalized in stone, and he did not count himself among their noble ranks. That didn't stop them from placing a commemorative plaque in town hall though.

As he continued his walk through town, he detected a rather delicious smell in the area. Looking around he spotted the famed bakery, Sugar Cube Corner. After a slight rumble in his stomach, he decided to stop in and grab a quick bite to eat. Who knew, maybe his quarry might be in there?

Entering the establishment, Fancy Pants's nose was hit by a barrage of scents. They ranged from sweet, to tangy, and everything in-between. Needing only a moment to adjust to the atmosphere, he made his way up to the counter. He was greeted by small yellow unicorn filly with an orange mane sitting at the cash register.

"Hi there, welcome to Shugah-Cube Corner!," exclaimed the filly, not quite pronouncing it right.

"Is that you Pumpkin Cake? My, how you have grown! I see your parents are already letting you run the counter."

"Actually, she isn't supposed to be up there," said Mrs. Cake as she emerged from the kitchen.

Sensing it was time to make a quick exit, the little filly scrambled off the seat and began to run upstairs.

"Hello there, Fancy Pants. Lovely to see you again! Is there anything I can get you?"

"A crescent roll would be lovely, dear," the unicorn replied, placing the necessary coin on the counter.

In a matter of moments his food was bagged and waiting for him to leave.

"You wouldn't happen to know where Miss Bon Bon is, do you?"

"She should be at her shop at this time of day. Although, I think she's getting ready to leave for a trip; you may want to hurry if you want to catch her."

Once he left, it did not take him long to reach the rival confectionery place and head inside. Just as Mrs. Cake told him, Bon Bon was indeed in the process of putting her shop away.

"Bon Bon, my dear, I thought you would have been ready to go by now? You are usually quite punctual."

The cream colored mare gave him a brief smile and returned to packing.

"Sorry, Fancy. I had a sale today, which was well received. My last customer left no less than five minutes ago. And at that point I was practically pushing him out the door."

"Ah, quite understandable then. I too know how the tide of business can be, and shall not hold it against you. If you would like I could assist you in arranging the rest of the store?"

"It's alright, I am done now. But more importantly, is it true? Did Lyra really find a human in Hoofington?" she asked, with barely disguised excitement in her voice.

Fancy Pants also cracked a smile. No matter how old this mare got, she still acted like a little filly sometimes. Lyra was much the same. He suspected she had an influence on her.

"I believe so. You know how Lyra is; she would never lie about something like this. You should have seen her face though, Bon Bon. I have never seen her so happy before."

They locked up the shop and began to head toward the center of town, where the chariot was awaiting them. They discussed many topics along the way, most of which revolved around the human and what it would be like. None of them had had a chance to meet the First or Second when they had been in Equestria, minus Abstract Theory of course, and Lyra got a brief glimpse of them in Canterlot once.

They reached their chariot and were soon on their way to Hoofington. Unfortunately, they were not able to continue their conversation, as it was an open air chariot and the pegasi flying them might have overheard. Fancy Pants was regretting not taking out the carriage now. It was much more private. He would have really liked to have gone by airship, but he never did replace his old one after his last pilot accidentally flew it into a mountain.

That did not stop his mind from buzzing with possibilities however. Truly, this would be an experience unlike any other.

***

Luna sat quietly in front of a table with a large, magically enchanted map of Equestria placed on it. This was the part of the castle that had since been renamed the war room. Before, it had been another unused and unnecessarily large office, but since Equestria started getting into a lot of wars all of a sudden, she and her sister needed a planning room like this.

Staring down at the map, she could not help but shiver at the thought of a being of such chaos and destruction as a human was on the loose somewhere out there, just waiting to be set off, if he had not been already.

Soon enough, she heard a knocking at the door and quickly gained her composure. Several ponies entered the room. Most of them were typical rank and file soldiers, who were only there because they had to escort the captain wherever he went. Luna smiled softly at her old friend. It always helped her relax knowing that he was there for her.

“Shining Armor, I am glad you could make it to this meeting so swiftly.”

“Not a problem," he replied, "It's important that we devise a plan quickly though, and move out as soon as possible. Every second that thing is out there...”

Luna turned to the soldiers that had come with Shining Armor and gestured for them to leave the room. They complied and left to stand guard outside. She normally liked to have as many ponies present as possible when planning, as she had learned from experience that rank and file soldiers and ordinary ponies often had some unique insight to contribute to discussion that higher-ups often would not. However, this was a private conversation.

Once she was alone with Shining Armor, her visage of confidence melted.

“To tell you the truth, Shining, I am scared. When I sensed the human yesterday, I froze up. What would have happened if it was in the room with me? I would have been completely useless!”

“It's understandable," the unicorn said comfortingly, placing a hoof on her shoulder, "After what Second did to your sister, I wouldn't say any fears you had were unfounded. Everypony's afraid of dying. I am too. It's nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Do you remember them? The humans, I mean?”

Shining Armor looked off to the side in thought before replying.

“Vividly.”

“What was it like for you?

"I only saw them a few times, but those times stuck with me. I was on break when they first appeared, so acting captain Blade Edge was in charge. He told me all about it when I came back though. First time I saw them was Manehattan. I was in the city itself, maintaining a shield while the rest of the army was out fighting."

Shining Armor was not even looking at Luna. His eyes were directed towards a nearby wall, but his mind was back in the past, deep in recollection. After a few moments, he shook himself free from his thoughts, and offered an apology for zoning out like he had.

“Anyways, that was the first time I ever encountered them. Not a good day. That barrier didn't last twelve minutes, and the army lasted thirty at most. It was a uniquely humbling experience, considering what it took to bring it down the only other time anypony accomplished such a thing.

“The second time I met them, was when they broke into the palace. I believe they were there with the sole intention of annoying your sister. I believe it had something to do with food, but I never got the full explanation. Princess Celestia summoned the guard, my sister and her friends were there and they got away, and we took them on again. This time I fought directly with the First, but nothing I tried could touch him; he dodged everything I threw at him, including spears and pottery.”

“Oh," said Luna, "So you were the pony who destroyed my pottery? I guess that recruit was telling the truth during his tortu- interrogation.”

Shining Armor just stared at her, with a look on his face that said, ‘I don’t even know you anymore’. Luna did her best to keep a straight face, but soon broke into a fit of giggles that made the captain facehoof. He couldn’t believe he had actually taken that seriously, even for a second.

“ANYWAYS, like I was saying, nothing seemed to hit him. He just kept dancing around my attacks. Literally. He was doing a weird human dance to evade me. That was embarrassing. And then Second came right out of nowhere, kicked me in the side, I went flying and next thing I know it's three days later and I'm wearing a cast. Blade Edge took over my duties for the rest of the campaign, and a few weeks later, First was dead and Second was stoned."

Shining Armor finishing his recounting his tale and sighed.

"I think that was actually the most humiliating moment of my career. At least when it was the changelings I had the excuse of being brainwashed at the time, and it was actually me and Cadance who stopped them in the end. I never really did get back at Second and First though."

Luna nodded.

“I would say you got off luckier than most, actually," she commented, "Most of the other ponies when they got hurt fighting were stuck in the castle infirmary or various hospitals. At least you got to stay home, and you had Cadance playing nurse for you. I am guessing your recovery took a long time.”

Shining Armor turned his back to her. Although she could no longer see his face, Luna was quite sure his cheeks were inflamed right now. Even though he was married, he always a gentlecolt, and always got embarrassed when such subjects were brought up. Clearly his parents did a good job raising him. Unfortunately, that just made it easier for Luna to know which buttons to push.

Once his cheeks stopped burning, Shining Armor suggested that they actually got to work on a plan. Pouring over the map, they began to properly plan out how they were going to find the new human. Ever since they sensed the human's arrival, Luna and her sister had thought they'd be able to follow some kind of intangible trail right to it, but it went cold very quickly, and soon they couldn't sense it at all. She suspected the human was actively covering his tracks.

Hours later, the two stood outside Canterlot at the bottom of the mountain, in front of a massive legion of ponies that covered the fields for miles. Their plan was to divide the army into two, with each of them leading one half to search Equestria for the human. They would have divided it further, but then the army might not have had the forces necessary to hold it off for the rest to arrive, should it come down to another battle.

The soldiers all stood tall, fierce and proud. No matter how they truly felt on the inside, they had to show confidence and composure in these trying times. Shining Armor stepped up to the podium to address the troops. He magically grasped the microphone and cleared his throat as he mentally prepared his speech.

“As you know, Equestria is once again facing one of the greatest threats it has ever seen before. Some of you were there last time, when the humans arrived in our beautiful country. I know that many of you are scared, and that is alright; we are up against a foe of a species many consider to be gods.

"But I want you to remember, my friends, that we have beaten gods before, and with hard work and dedication, we can beat them again! If ordinary ponies like us can do battle with the likes of the Nameless One and come out on top, then with all of us working together, this human doesn't stand a chance."

The crowd seemed to like that.

Shining Armor turned back to look at Luna, who nodded in approval. He had garnered much experience in giving motivational speeches over the years. She remembered the one he gave at the final battle against the Atlanteans; it had moved her to tears. He had a gift for words that could scarcely be matched.

After wishing each other luck, they began to march their troops off to begin the hunt.

***

Lyra watched in amusement as the Third found himself in a most vicious battle with the kappa he had brought into her home. They both seemed to enjoy the food she had prepared, and she was delighted to learn Lord Third was fond of the apple cider that she had provided. It also turned out the kappa enjoyed it, which caused an issue when there was only enough for one more cup.

Thus Lyra found herself watching what had to be a record for the world's longest staring contest. The two of them had been going at it for a good twenty minutes now. Her eyes felt dry just watching them.

“Listen here, Captain. That cider is mine, so you had better just give up and accept your defeat like a gentleman.”

For a moment, she could have sworn she heard the kappa snort. After another five minutes, Third finally blinked in surrender.

“Damnit, Cap! How do you do it for so long?! Your head has to be filled with water or something.”

Captain took a victorious gulp of cider, and made a loud, content sigh to taunt his master.

“That’s cold, Captain. Very cold.”

Lyra was surprised that the creature was getting along so well with the Third. There were ponies who would attack a human on sight, yet this kappa was holding staring contests with one. It made her wonder who was truly the more evolved creature. However, it did not lessen her concern or fear of it in any way.

“My Lord, are you sure that we should be keeping a kappa around?" she asked, "They're a very dangerous species, and have been known to attack ponies.”

“No way. I've always wanted a pet, and now I have one. I named it, thus it is mine. Besides, Captain won't hurt you, will he?”

At this, the kappa scratched his neck and seemed to be pondering the thought for a moment, before shaking his head to say 'no'. Lyra was not as comforted by this as Third seemed to assume she was though. That thing still had that look in its eye; that hungry look.

She excused herself from the group, and decided not to say anything about her pirate hat that Captain was wearing. It appeared that Lord Third was using it to help the creature overcome its habit of becoming immobilized when the water in its head spilled out. A commendable act of kindness on his part, though she couldn't say that she was happy that he had taken away one of the kappa's only real weaknesses. When they went on the offensive, that was usually the easiest way to stop them. Still though, it was an act of charity that only served to reaffirm her respect for humans.

Meanwhile back in the living room, the human was sitting on the couch beside Captain, and staring at the cup in his hands.

“Come on, just let me get one little drink? We’re buddies aren’t we?”

Captain looked over at his master and back to his cup. He seemed to consider the request for a few seconds before handing the cup over with a sigh. Hayato smirked as the cup was placed into his hands. Little did the kappa know that he was about to finish off the rest of this cup in revenge for the obvious taunt.

He quickly threw back the cup and experienced the refreshing taste of....air? Quickly, he looked down at his cup and realized that the thing was empty. Off to the side, Captain was clearly laughing. In fact the thing laughed so hard it rolled off the couch. That hat made him invincible.

Not once, but twice today he had been upstaged by his pet. Captain was proving to be cocky, crafty, and mischievous. In a sense, he was perfect.

There was a knock at the door. He could hear Lyra in the hallway speaking to who he was assuming were the guests that wanted to see him. He stood up and peered through the curtains to try and get a look at them before they came in. Unfortunately they had already entered the house and were standing in the doorway behind him.

“Everypony, this is Lord Third," Lyra introduced, "Lord Third, this is Bon Bon, Fancy Pants, Echo Fleetfoot, and Abstract Theory.”

As he turned around, his hair band broke and caused his long hair to come loose and shimmer around his shoulders. Behind him the curtains were still parted enough to cause the light to glow around his body, enhancing his features further. It was at this precise moment that a choir based in the park across the street began their daily practice.

All five ponies stared at him in awe before falling to their knees in reverence. They deemed it an honor to be in the presence of such a glorious being. Even Lyra who had already held a conversation with him was taken aback by his glowing visage. They could only wonder what beautifully prepared words he would use to greet them with.

“Aww damn it, my hair band broke,” he complained, pulling the torn band from his hair.

At that moment you could hear a pin drop from a mile away. This silence, that would later be known as the golden moment, was destroyed by Echo breaking up into a fit of giggles. As the ponies regained their composure Hayato just stared at them in confusion. They had just been looking at him as if they were blind men seeing colors for the first time.

Ponies were weird. He had already decided that when he met Lyra, and he was glad that he had spent most of his time here so far interacting with a mythical creature instead. He actually found that far less weird, somehow, and at least he knew where he stood with Captain.

He was now sure he was never going to figure this place out. Either humans were hated and feared, or they were viewed as gods. If there was anything he could compliment them on, it was that the ponies in this world did not do things halfway. They went all out.

Hayato stood there feeling incredibly awkward, as nobody else said anything and the pegasus just laughed. With nothing better to do, he sat down on the couch beside Captain, and shot Lyra a look telling her to do something. All they were doing was staring at him. It was creepy as hell, and reminded him of his rude awaking that morning.

“S-so everypony, how about we all take seats now hmm?” Lyra suggested, taking the hint.

It was when everyone looked for a place to sit that people finally noticed the kappa in the room. Another brief moment of silence happened before all hell broke loose in the room. Abstract Theory and Fancy Pants’ horns began to glow for combat while Bon Bon hid behind Lyra. Meanwhile Echo took to the air and was ready to flank the creature and attack from behind like she was trained to do.

Witnessing three mythological beings, two which could use magic, violently lunge in his direction and launching into fighting stances all triggered an unfortunate reaction from the human. He flailed to try and get up from the couch quickly, and only succeeded in kicking the coffee table full force and knocking it through the ceiling and into the attic.

“What the hell Lyra?! I thought you said they liked me!” he shouted while brandishing a potted fern as threateningly as he could.

“My Lord, there's a kappa behind you!” Fancy Pants explained in a rushed voice, horn still glowing.

“You mean Captain? He’s my pet.”

Everyone with the exception of Lyra stared at him dumbfounded. Kappas were one of ponies' greatest enemies. They had been known to trick and kill those who wandered near the water for as long as they could remember. There was no reasoning with them either; they just seemed to hate ponies on principal.

Ponies would tell stories about them to their foals as a cautionary tale, and here was a human, keeping one as a pet just like a cat or dog. Truly another symbol of his unquestionable divinity.

Taking charge, Lyra defused the situation with the kind of skill and precision that was needed to working with self-entitled musicians all the time. Granted, she was upset about the new hole in her ceiling, but decided it better to just let it go. Even though they all wanted to sit close to Third, their fear of Captain kept them away from the couch; Captain seemed to thoroughly enjoy this, and would periodically grin at them all. From time to time, they saw him lick his lips and stare at one them when he thought his master wouldn’t notice.

Even though he knew it was the Pegasi’s gimmick, Hayato was still surprised to see the one known as Fleetfoot sitting on a cloud she had brought in the room. Once or twice he felt the urge to reach out and touch the cloud, but resisted because he didn’t know if these ponies bit or not.

He had been bitten one time too many by a horse growing up, and it made him a little gun shy. He never did go to a petting zoo again after that day.

His eyes also could not help but be drawn to the hole in the ceiling he had created. At this point the ponies began to talk among themselves, so he didn’t actually have to pay attention to them. Somehow he had sent a damn coffee table through there, and he had no idea how he did it. His best guess was adrenaline, but that seemed like bullshit even to him. Adrenaline did not turn you into Superman.

During his musings, he realized that the conversation in the room had stopped. Apparently they were all waiting for him to say something, but he hadn’t been paying attention to a thing they were talking about. Although he was pretty sure it was about him. Luckily for him, he had encountered this situation before. It happened whenever he would ignore what his girlfriend was saying. It was time to use his ultimate ability: winging it.

“...Yes,” he said as convincingly as possible.

“Wow, that is rather amazing of you, my Lord,” Fleetfoot said with awe in her eyes.

Whew, dodged a bullet. I’m sure that won’t come back to bite me in the ass later.

After that, the questioning went on and on. Every answer he gave them was extremely vague, but that seemed to only increase his appeal to him. The questions were getting weirder too, and he had been called ‘Lord’, ‘Great One’, and several more impressive descriptors over the course of the conversation, to the point it was getting pretty uncomfortable. He was beginning to feel like the head of a cult.

He managed to excuse himself for the room to grab something to drink. In reality though, he just wanted to get out of that room for a few minutes; he was starting to suffocate in there.

***

“So...” Lyra began, “What do you think of him?”

“He's just like we talked about years ago," Bon Bon replied, "although admittedly a bit rougher around the edges.”

“I don’t know, he seems pretty nice to me," said Fleetfoot, already defending him, "Maybe he was just a bit on edge, most ponies don’t like humans remember? I don't think we made the best impression with him when we went for the kappa...”

“True. He did give Lyra a new sunroof when he thought we were going to attack him," Abstract Theory agreed, "I would not be surprised if he did not trust any of us yet.”

“You saw Lord First and Lord Second more than any of us, Abstract. How different does he seem to you, personality wise?”

“I would have to say that Lord Third seems more restrained. Lords First and Second seemed much more carefree and boisterous than he does. I remember hearing that they sung a lot, yet I have yet to hear Third so much as whistle a tune. Perhaps he is feeling weighed down by the actions of his predecessors?” he suggested to the group.

It did sound like a good reason for why he wasn’t as outgoing as they expected. Perhaps once they figured out a way to integrate him into Equestria, he would be more relaxed? Although, that was easier said than done.

This line of thinking caused the group go silent for a moment as they all contemplated what must have been on the human's mind at that moment. Eventually, Fancy Pants broke the silence with an observation of his own.

“His clothing is most unusual though. I am curious as to why humans cover their entire bodies in clothing. It seems to be the exact opposite of what ponies do.”

“Well maybe they get cold easier than ponies do?" Lyra suggested, "Other than Lord Third’s mane, I did not see any kind of coat on his body. Perhaps they just use clothing to stay warm?”

This sparked up discussion again.

“Can humans even get cold? It seems to me that a being as powerful as a human shouldn't even be affected by temperature.”

"Well, the princesses still get hot or cold sometimes, just like regular ponies."

"Maybe it's a cultural thing?"

“The only way we could find out is by asking him," Lyra pointed out, "However I don’t think we should right now; if we pester him too much, he may become uncomfortable, or even annoyed. All we can do is be courteous to him and wait until he opens up to us. It’s like they say, Roam wasn’t built in a day.”

“I am more fascinated about his appearance right now,” said Abstract Theory, “His skin and hair color are much different from First and Second. It makes me wonder if humans have a wide variety of colors like ponies do.”

“Leave it to Abstract to focus in on the most minute of details," teased Fleetfoot, "Where some ponies can’t see the forest for the trees, you would focus on the bark of one tree and forget there was an entire forest.”

“At least I can see the tree before running into it, unlike some ponies,” Abstract retorted without missing a beat.

At this, the entire group burst out into laughter. Surprisingly enough, the normally stoic Abstract Theory joined them in a rare instance of laughing at one of his own jokes. During the laughter Fleetfoot accidentally kicked the cloud she was sitting. Lightning flashed and thunder reverberated throughout the room, knocking out the lights. With the whole room darkened from the curtains being pulled, the lightning flashes briefly became the only illumination in the room.

“Woah, watch what you are doing on that cloud, Fleetfoot. I already have to pay to have my ceiling fixed! I don’t want fire damages as well.”

“Sorry Lyra. In my defense, you were all laughing too.”

“Yes we were, however we aren’t all sitting on a ball of lightning that could destroy my house.”

“I say, Lord Third has been gone for quite some time now. Do you think that he requires any assistance?”

Fancy Pants was right. Third had been gone for longer than he said he would be. It did not take long for one to go to the kitchen and back. Lyra got down off the couch and made her way to the kitchen to see if something was the matter. When she reached the room, her heart sunk. Across the room, the house’s back door was swinging wide open.

***

Finally out of that room, Hayato was able to relax. Who knew being in the same room as a bunch of weird pastel horses could put you on edge? Now that he was away from them, he could get his bearings and properly assess the situation he now found himself in.

For the most part the group he met did not seem hostile towards him. If you forgot about them attempting to murder his pet and causing him to somehow annihilate a coffee table, then things had been wonderful thus far. After pouring himself a glass of water he sat down on a kitchen chair.

He was not sure how exactly to go about things. His original plan was to find the Second and have him help him out. Unfortunately, that plan got shot to hell when he read the history book. Now he had to figure out a way home and worry about his survival in a hostile world on his own. Well not completely on his own. Fate had been kind enough to give him Captain after all, and he supposed those friends of Lyra's seemed friendly enough.

The biggest thing at the moment was the way he was being treated. He was never really a vain person, and felt odd about being revered as some sort of deity. A part of him was uncomfortable with it, while another part of him thought it was pretty cool. If they considered him a god then maybe they would be willing to help him find a way back to his ‘pantheon’. The thought alone made him chuckle.

His laughter stopped however when he saw potential in this. If the ponies in this world thought he was some sort of god, then they might be afraid to try attack him. Granted, they had magic and could fly, but if they thought he had some hidden powers they might be reluctant to even try. Hell, the only thing he apparently had to worry about was these 'Elements of Harmony' that the book mentioned. All he would need to do is run and hide if they came for him.

Actually, thinking about it, weren't the Elements of Harmony the main characters of the show? He was sure they were. He recalled a toy set being produced a while back which featured the so called 'main six' from the show with jewelry accessories. Maybe those were the elements?

Shrugging, he took a sip of water and stood up from the table. He finished up and threw it in the sink. Feeling much more confident now that he had some sort of plan, he headed back to the front room to rejoin Lyra and her friends, and possibly acquire their aid in finding a way home. It was his best hope after all.

However, he knew then as he stood in the doorway, watching the ponies laughing like psychopaths in a now inexplicably dark room, as thunder and lightning struck around them and illuminated their features with brief flashes of white, that something was very off about them.

He took this moment to edge his way back into the kitchen, and sneak out the back door.

***

A group of seven ponies and a dragon made their way through the halls of Canterlot Castle. Normally this group would be cheerful and smiling, but not this time. They shared their silent visage with everypony else in the castle who knew the truth about what was happening. Even Pinkie Pie's antics could not raise the morale of the group, and not from lack of trying either.

They had just watched through a viewing spell as the armies marched off in search of their foe. Knowing that they would need to be ready for battle at any moment, they all headed for the vault where the Elements of Harmony were being stored.

The security had been tightened around vault in recent years to avoid possible theft, though these added security measures also served to slow their journey down. The group found themselves going through several magical screening processes that ranged from detecting mind control, all the way to verifying if you were even a pony at all; although they had made no attempt for the Elements before, they still had to make sure the security was changeling-proof.

Once they got to the main door, Celestia inserted her horn into the magical lock, and unbound the seals that held it in place. The door swung open and there was a blue glow from within as she retrieved the elements and levitated them out in front of their respective owners.

Nopony moved as the five necklaces and the tiara floated in the air patiently. They all knew that the moment they put on their gear, that it would all become real. They looked at the elements themselves as if they were the true threat to Equestria. It was a feeling that had been ingrained into them. Every time the princess asked them to put these on, it meant that something terrible was about to happen, or already had.

Eventually, Rainbow Dash mustered up the courage to reach out for hers and put it on. Somepony had to go first after all.

“Come on girls, we've got ponies to protect. We're the only ones who can stop these things, so mare up until this is over.”

The other five looked attentively at each other, but knew that Rainbow Dash was right. They couldn’t just think of themselves right now. Applejack followed Dash’s lead and the rest all followed after.

“I’m glad you girls are able to find the courage to do this. Just remember, you are not alone. Luna and I will be with you the whole time.”

“Me too, so don’t worry about it so much,” Spike added, piping up for the first time so far.

“No way, Spike!" Twilight replied, authority creeping into her voice, "You are staying at the castle where it's safe."

“What?! No way am I staying here while you go out and endanger yourselves again! I let you go alone too many times already.”

“I’m sorry Spike, but no means no. You are still a baby dragon after all.”

Spike stared at Twilight as if she just smacked him in the face.

“NO I’M NOT,” he roared in anger, “You're only a few years older than me Twilight, so stop with that excuse!”

Everypony in the room gasped at Spike's sudden outburst. Never before had they seen him act like this towards Twilight, and they weren’t sure what to think of it. Unlike his normal slouched position he was in before he was now standing up tall and proud. Now Twilight had to look up just to meet his eyes.

“You can’t keep treating me like a little kid, Twilight. It isn’t fair.”

“But Spike…”

“But nothing. If you want to get technical about it, you should be the one staying behind. I'm a dragon, and we're meant to protect our treasures when they are threatened, not let them get stolen away.”

Twilight was about to protest, but felt a hoof on her shoulder. Looking beside her, she saw her mentor shaking her head. Clearly Celestia was siding with Spike on this issue. Twilight looked as if she were still going to argue but ended up sighing in defeat. Arguing with Spike was one thing, but she didn’t think she had it in her to argue with him and the Princess at the same time.

“Wow, way to stick up for yourself pipsqueak,” Rainbow Dash said, slapping Spike on his back.

“D-do you think Rarity was impressed?” he whispered back, blushing.

All Rainbow Dash could do was roll her eyes. That dragon could live to be a thousand years old, and he would still be trying to impress Rarity. Maybe he could write a book; Spike the Dragon versus the Friend Zone. It had the makings of a Manehattan Best Seller award.

“Well girls, I do believe we need to relax," suggested Rarity, "As important as it is to be ready, we would be in a horrid state if we were all worked up before we actually met the thing.”

“I agree completely," Celestia replied, "How about we all head to my tea room to relax? In any case, it will take some time for my sister and Shining Armor to locate the human. I believe Cadance is here with your niece, Twilight. You girls should get to see them while you can.”

At the mention of the little foal, Twilight brightened up. If there was anypony that could brighten up her day it was her energetic little niece. With their troubles momentarily forgotten, they all set off through the castle in a much happier mood than they had before.

***

Hayato stared at the door he just walked out of, before deciding it was probably not best to go back in the house. Granted, he was putting himself in danger by being outside in the middle of day, but it was worth the risk. Besides, he could find Waldo every time he looked for him, so he knew how to hide. That was qualification enough, right?

Quietly, he moved along the fence line, keeping an eye out for any ponies that might be out grazing, or however the hell they maintained their lawns. Seeing that the coast was clear, he darted down a few streets and into an alleyway. It had been easy goings so far, and he wondered why he didn’t do this sooner. After all, ponies would be at work right now, right?

As it turned out, yes they were. As long as he made sure to be wary of windows when he passed them, he was able to make it quite far into town unhindered. Eventually he saw a school and some colts and fillies playing on the playground. Believing he was in a well hidden spot, he watched the children playing for a moment. He kept thinking of them as fictional beings, but he couldn't deny that there was a kind of genuineness to them. They certainly acted like real people, if people was the right word.

Figuring he was pushing his luck, Hayato decided to head back to the house and finish talking to the others. His curiosity about the area was satisfied for the moment, and he had gotten his fill of fresh air and time away from the weirdoes. As he turned around, he saw a green pony staring at him, her mouth and eyes wide open, frozen in terror.

Yep, this was how his day was gonna go. Maybe there was a chance to calm her down and salvage the situation?

“It’s...”

“Calm down pony, I am not going to hurt you!”

“A...”

“Oh no, please don’t do that!”

“A..."

“Please, I have money!”

“HUMAN!”

“Fuck you too, lady!”

At the mare's scream, many ponies popped their heads out of windows to see what the commotion was about. They saw what it was, and their reactions were just about what you'd expect.

Windows were slamming shut, and not even a twenty seconds after being seen, an alarm sounded throughout the town. By now, Hayato realized it was time to cut his losses and escape, and he quickly ran away from the screaming mare.

He was hoping that since the alarm was going off and warning them of danger, that all of the ponies would stay inside and hide from him. As he rounded a corner, he instead came face to face with a large mob that easily numbered at least fifty ponies. They all were holding onto torches and pitchforks, be it with their bodies or with magic.

Personally, he was more worried about the ones that could do magic than the others. Because it was fucking magic.

“How dare you trespass in this peaceful town you demon! What do you want from us?!” demanded an ashen stallion.

“I bet it is here to eat our foals, to feed its demonic human powers!” screamed a fanatic mare in the back.

Murmurs began to sound through the crowd. For some reason, they all seemed to believe the mare instead of actually thinking about what she was saying.

Oh right, they think I am a god. Okay Hayato, you can do this. Time to get godly.

“Ahem! I am not here to dine on your children, crazed horses! I am here to see if your people deserve the honor of entering the afterlife, and being with the gods! Besides, I am sure your children would taste awful.”

“Did you hear that everypony?! He said he wants to send us to the afterlife because he finds us disgusting!”

I'm an idiot.

“That isn’t what I said at all, you crazy bitch!”

“Come my friends, we must protect our children!" cried the lead stallion, "Down with the evil god! Thermo Stat, fly as quickly to Canterlot as you can, and warn the princesses about the human! Hurry!”

The human watched as a red and white pegasus shot through the sky at an impressive speed. If they were going to alert the princesses to his presence, that pegasus needed to be stopped. However he still had a mob on his hands, and they seemed to be immune to all his charms. He was about to make another attempt at diplomacy when a brick went whizzing at his head.

Luckily, he ducked down just in time to avoid it.

Yep, I think that's my cue to leave.

Hayato bolted down the street away from the insane horses, but it seemed they would not be dissuaded by him simply running away, and chased after him relentlessly. Seconds after he rounded a corner, three more bricks went flying at his body. This time he performed a variety of impressive flips to avoid them all.

How the hell am I doing this?” he thought to himself, feeling quite dizzy from his body's involuntary movements.

Seeing an opportunity at freedom to his left, he jumped through the window and into someone's house. Standing up, he brushed the glass out of his hair and jacket. He found himself in a bathroom and standing in front of a pink mare who screamed at the sight of him.

“GET OUT OF HERE YOU PERVERT! I’M NAKED!”

He gave her an incredulous look.

“Ponies are always naked!”

“Oh...right. Well, get out anyway.”

“...Sorry about the window.”

He proceeded out of the bathroom rather confused about what just happened. Then he remembered the mob that was chasing him, and decided to lock that away with the rest of the shit he would have process later. Once he got out of here his therapist was going to be a rich man.

Outside, the mob finally got around to the front of the house just as he made it out the front door. He groaned at the sight of them, as he was hoping to have at least some sort of head start. Moving as fast as he could, he ran away again, heading down the street outside in the opposite direction of them.

Wow, I'm actually running faster than the ponies! Thank you college track team.

He eventually left the residential area and entered a more built up area. Since they were a rather large crowd, he decided to try and lose them by running down a series of alleyways in an attempt to slow them down. It worked for a few seconds, until his ignorance of the town's layout landed him in a dead end. Turning around, he saw that the mob had already gathered at the other end.

“Alright everypony, we have it trapped! Send it back to Tartarus!”

A mass of objects arced through the sky towards him, enough of them to temporarily blot out the sun. Again without consent, his body began to jump and dodge everything that came close to hitting him. He didn’t know whether to be amazed or terrified that he had seemed to lose control of himself.

He finally settled on feeling sick at the unfamiliar movements. It was just like riding a rollercoaster, and he hated rollercoasters.

Once the last object missed him, something large floated over the crowd of ponies, being lifted by the magic of several unicorns. It was a giant metal dumpster, and it was being thrown right at him. In a movement that every action hero dreams of, he turned and ran up the side of the building behind him and pushed off at the top, back flipping over the dumpster and crowd at the same time.

This glorious moment of superhuman agility was short lived. A back flip like that turned out to be the straw that broke the camel's back, and when he landed on the other side of the mob, he swayed on his feet for a few seconds before emptying the contents of his stomach all over the ashen stallion that had been shouting at him before.

Wiping his mouth off, he realized he had vomited on one of the ponies.

“Oh, wow...sorry about that...”

The enraged pony stared at him in shock. Knowing he had officially killed what little chance at diplomacy he had left, he ran off down another alleyway to escape, and the chase began anew.

Never coming back to this town again.

***

Thermo Stat rushed through the skies as fast as her wings could carry her. She was grateful for the practice she put in to make it into the weather ponies Tornado Squad. Still, she knew she would have to pace herself as the flight to Canterlot was a long one. Too many Pegasi had been injured by not properly pacing themselves.

After flying for fifteen minutes, she saw something big on the ground. Curiosity got the best of her, and she lowered her altitude to see what was happening on the ground. Her spirits soared as she got in close and realized it was the Equestrian Military. They would surely be able to subdue the monster back in town. Without thinking, she flew towards the group as fast as she could.

***

Sitting in his carriage on the ground, Shining Armor studied a map of the nearby country, with all the major cities marked out. The plan was for him to head to Manehattan first to investigate any signs of the human. Afterwards, they would check the surrounding towns and villages in circular motion to make sure that nothing was overlooked. It would take a while, but it was the most effective way to search without dividing up his forces.

He was already uncomfortable with sending out the pegasus squads to search ahead around them, but it was a necessity. The natural dangers of Equestria could cause them trouble and detract from the mission as well. Just because they had a greater enemy to keep watch for, that didn't mean they could afford to simply ignore the other hazards of the land.

There was a jolt as he felt his carriage stop, and immediately afterwards he heard a distinct knocking pattern that indicated his guards had news. A single black unicorn entered soon after.

“Sir, we have a pegasus here that claims to have seen the human we're looking for.”

Stepping out of the carriage immediately, Shining Armor made his way over to a candy cane colored pegasus who was surrounded by one of the aerial patrol units. The pegasus's eyes went wide as she saw him. Shining was pretty sure she was fighting the urge to kneel being that he was technically royalty, though he often forgot that fact.

“Miss? My guards tell me that you saw the human? Where is it?”

“Y-yes sir. The human is in the town of Hoofington. I just came from there. Right now we have a mob chasing after it, but I am worried for their safety. None of them are warriors.”

“You should not have engaged the human; they are very dangerous,” the captain chided, “Still, it is too late to do anything about that now.”

He turned to his unicorn assistant.

“Spectrum, inform the army that we are changing our destination. We're going to Hoofington, double time. As for the girl, get an escort to take her back to Canterlot where she will be safe.”

Once that was cleared up, he returned to his carriage as they set off again and began to write a letter to Luna, informing her of the situation. Once finished, he concentrated a spell to send the letter to her. With a pop, the letter was gone.

Poking his head out of the carriage some time later, Shining Armor saw the town of Hoofington come into view. It seemed so peaceful and quiet from afar, but within its borders there was a powerful being that could probably destroy the entire town with both arms tied behind its back. Already having a plan of action, he ordered the army to halt before they got too close to the town.

He quickly left the carriage again and began walking his way through the ranks of soldiers who would separate and form a path as he got close to them. Once he stood in front of the army, he magically enhanced his voice to address them all again.

“Everypony, we have arrived at our destination. Within the city of Hoofington is the human we've set off to hunt. As we speak, there is a mob in the town chasing after it. We can only hope that the human has not already dispatched or killed them. We are going to use the delta formation to ensure that it does not sneak out of the town.

"I will be taking the 501st Legion with me to engage to human directly. Unless the human breaches the line, do not break formation. We have to hold it off until Princess Luna arrives, and if necessary, the Elements of Harmony. Move out ponies, we have a town to protect!”

END.

Author's Note:

Woohoo, chapter two is here with twice the calories! I know this one took a while to get out, but I hope it was worth the wait. Mostly, I blame politics and global warming for why it took so long. Fun things coming soon in future chapters of Shades of Grey, including love, intrigue, and a terrible plot. Oh wait, it seems I mixed this up with a copy of Fifty Shades of Grey.

As before, just leave comments down below and I will make an attempt to answer them all without spoilers. Take it away DannyJ.

Editor's notes:

I've noticed that views, favourites and comments went up for vanilla Human when Shades debuted. Thanks for that guys. Also, look out for me and Draven's next collab project, in the planning stages right now. It's called The King Machine, and it's going to be awesome.