• 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 5: "Oh, you shouldn't have!"

Fools were we to not see what lied ahead, for the road to darkness was not without warning signs. First of these was what remained after the departure, for a witness returned to the site of his coming. His account states, ‘And behold, I saw a Great Leviathan, who sat upon his tower and looked upon the land with hungry eyes, in a world aflame and a civilization ruined, and I knew that it was but a shadow of things to come.

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

***

“...A-T-O. That’s right.”

“And your surname?”

“M-I-D...Uhh...Sort of...It’s like an ‘O’, but it has a weird little line over the top of it.”

“...How does that make it different from a normal ‘O’?”

“Not sure really. I don't know how it's meant to be said, and I’ve heard my family use multiple pronunciations. I'm just going with what sounds least awkward. It's a carry-over from a culture I was never a part of. If I had my way, I'd spell with with a normal ‘O’."

“You humans are very...odd.” Celestia said before realizing she spoke aloud.

“Trust me, princess, you have no idea.”

“I can honestly believe that. As for myself, I have no more questions at this time. If anypony else wanted to ask anything, now’s the time.”

“Oh, oh! I have a question for him!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie.

“This can’t end well...” muttered Rainbow Dash.

“Mister Hayato, why is your skin all yellow? And your eyes all slanty? Second and First weren’t like that! It looks silly!”

Hayato was taken aback.

“Wow. That is the single most blatantly racist thing I’ve heard since elementary school. Good job.”

“Wha-what do you mean?” Pinkie asked sadly, “I didn’t mean to be mean, I’m sorry!”

Thinking about it, for ponies race meant the presence or lack of either wings or a horn. Yet every race of ponies came in multiple colours with seemingly little rhyme or reason. For them, bringing up color so bluntly probably wasn’t nearly as offensive. They probably had no idea what the problem was.

He sighed.

“Look, don’t worry about it. You probably didn’t know, and I’d never be able to function in real life if I were that easily offended. I just didn’t expect that is all. That’d be a much more sensitive question to ask where I come from.”

“So you’re not mad?”

“No, I’m not. And in answer to your question, I look like this because I’m half-Japanese on my mother’s side. Humans can look rather different. Second and First probably had a different ethnicity.”

While Hayato explained this, Twilight was off to the side, furiously writing down all the information she could get from him.

“Japanese. Is that a nationality, or...?”

“It means to be a native or national of Japan, or to be of Japanese descent. My grandmother was a Japanese immigrant to another country called America, and my family has lived there ever since. It’s where I was born, and my father was an American, so that makes me Japanese-American. I guess.”

“Fascinating...What can you tell me about these places?”

“Look, we’re going to be here forever if I try to explain the culture and history of two entire nations, especially given that I’m not all that knowledgeable about one of them. Can we please stop asking questions about my home?”

“Well darling, if you don’t mind, I have a much less intrusive question.”

Shit, what was her name again?

“Go ahead, um....you.”

“My name is Rarity, and I just have a question about your apparel, if that’s okay? Why do humans wear clothes all the time? Ponies simply wear them to look fashionable or for keeping warm in colder weather, but I’ve never seen one of your kind without any before, even in the heat wave that was going on at the time. Is it a cultural thing?”

“This question has more than one answer. The most important being that it protects our...modesty. Something ponies don’t seem to have a problem with. So in a way, I guess yes, it is a cultural thing.”

“Modesty? What could that...oh,” said Luna, off to the side.

“Human biology is more awkward than yours, in certain respects. Parts are exposed that we’d rather were not.”

“Would you happen to have any more clothes that I could use to study? I must say that human fashion interests me greatly.”

“Humans have worn some downright atrocious outfits over the course of history. Believe me, you would not want to see more.”

Hayato shuddered, as he thought of the renaissance.

“So you don’t have any more clothes with you?” Rarity asked carefully.

“Uh...no, I guess not. I’m actually curious why I’m wearing this to begin with. It’s not one of mine. Definitely human though. It’s even a name brand. Just not something I ever remember owning. The only thing that’s mine is the jacket. Weird.”

Rarity made a mental note: Humans have clothing brands.

Immediately, she went into fashionista mode and began examining every detail of Hayato’s clothing. He immediately began to feel uncomfortable as the white pony began to circle his body like a buzzard looking for its dinner. She examined him closely.

On his feet, he was wearing gray and black shoes with the letters D and C interwoven onto them. Above that, he wore a dark blue denim covering, of a kind that was popular among earth ponies. The upper section of the body was covered by a long grey jacket, made of an unknown material that was fuzzy to the touch. It had three large buttons on one side, and seemed to be of high quality. Topping the ensemble off was a black shirt beneath the jacket, that extended down his arms.

“Rarity, I believe you are making him uncomfortable,” Celestia pointed out.

“Oh! Terribly sorry, Mr. Midō; that was terribly un-ladylike of me.”

“It’s okay, just try not to do it often. Also, ‘Hayato’ is fine. Anyone else have questions?”

“I have a few if you don’t mind,” said Twilight.

Glad I don’t have anywhere to be for the next two months...

“Try and keep it short, would you?”

“Of course. First of all, how much do you know of Second and First? Any relation to them? Do you know about what happened to them?”

Again with First and Second...

“No. No relation. All I know about them is what I read about. I know that they came to Equestria and began causing trouble. It led to increasing amounts of conflicts that resulted in all-out war. Eventually you all murdered First, and in retaliation, Second went on a rampage. Then the six of you put him down with the Elements of Harmony. That about right?”

“Well when you say it like that, we look like bad guys,” Twilight said defensively, “There was more to it than that! We’d have never done anything like that if we didn’t absolutely have to. And nopony ever intended to kill First! It was an accident. The soldier who actually did it died too.”

“Well then you really need to rewrite your history books, because as an outsider to this whole sorry mess, it sure doesn’t sound like that to me. Then again, history’s written by the winners, so I guess you could write whatever you want...”

“There was much more to it than was recorded in the history books,” Celestia replied, “I am willing to give you a full detailing of what happened, but I assure you, we are not bad ponies.”

“Right. But that will have to wait until after I am out of this dust pit.”

“Oh, okay,” said Twilight, “Well, my next question is, what exactly happened in Hoofington? Where did you spend the night?”

Gotta be careful about this one. Can’t let them know about the Brotherhood.

“Well you see, I was tired after traveling through the woods, so when I found Hoofington, I was hoping to find a bed. I wasn’t really sure how ponies would act if they saw me, so I snuck into town, found a warm looking house belonging to some musician, and stayed the night in her attic hoping I wasn’t found. It’s where I came across the history book I mentioned, among other...interesting...literature.”

“You just broke into a pony’s home? Without any regards to personal privacy?” asked Princess Luna.

“It was either that, or sleep in the woods. Which would you have done in my situation?”

“Well...I...”

Not exactly any easy answers to that one.

“As for what happened in Hoofington, I assume that’s the town’s name, when I woke up, I spent some time looking around the house and just got bored. I decided to take a little walk and look around while keeping out of sight. That worked until I was accidently seen by one of the ponies. They formed a mob and chased me through town. Then your buddy over there showed up with an army to arrest me. You know the rest.”

“Is that really all that happened?” Celestia asked him.

“Well there might be more to it. Perhaps I could give you a full detailing later.”

Luna smirked, while Celestia looked unamused.

Turning my own words against me. Haha.

“Do you have any more questions for him, Twilight?” she asked.

“Yes, are there any other humans, Hayato? Are they all like you, or are they different?”

“Yes, there are billions of other humans. Only the others are seven feet tall and breath fire.”

“I thought you were going to be serious about this?”

“Yes, well I thought you all agreed not to ask any more questions about where I came from. You ponies are terrible at keeping your word.”

He had mentioned nations, different races, and his family. It was reasonable to assume that there were other humans, but he never really gave a good impression what the others were like. Or how many there were exactly. Certainly enough for them to have not just one, but multiple countries. There were millions and millions of ponies, but they all lived in Equestria, and hadn’t had separate societies since the days of the three tribes. What did that say about humans?

Oh well. No use making baseless assumptions.

“I am so sorry. I just love learning things about a new species, and I think I got a bit overzealous. But thank you for telling me what you were willing to; it is fascinating to me.”

“Was that your last question?”

“I just have one more for right now, if you don’t mind. I’m curious why you keep denying you have powers, despite all the evidence to the contrary.”

“Why do you all keep insisting that I do? Granted it looks pretty bad with that magic metal screwing with me, but I swear, I have no freaking powers. Watch.”

Hayato proceeded to stick his fists straight up in the air as he stood on his tiptoes and hopped a bit. A few moments later he stood there and with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face.

“What did I tell you? That proves my case.”

“That doesn’t prove anything! What the hay were you doing, stretching?” Shining Armor shouted.

“I was trying to fly...and since it didn’t work, that proves my case. Your move, Mr. Ed.”

“There is an anti-flight spell inside here,” the captain said flatly.

“I....well...fuck.

“And Second and First couldn’t fly anyway. So nyeaaaah.”

“Classy, dear. Real classy,” mumbled Cadance as she facehoofed.

“Trust me, if I had powers, you would be the first to know, Shining.”

“What’s that supposed to mean, you freak of nature?”

“Alright, I think we shall end this here, boys,” said Celestia, stepping in between the two of them.

“But he...” Shining Armor began.

Hayato interrupted him with a loud sigh.

“No, you’re right, princess,” he said wearily, “I can’t believe I got riled up like that. But, I shall be the better man, and rise above the petty likes of Mister Armor.”

The captain glared at him.

“So, what do you say, Shiny? Friends?”

Hayato held out a hand. His voice was oozing with sarcasm, but he had indirectly challenged Shining Armor, and there was no way he would let some deformed diamond dog get the better of him. So he put on the best false smile he could muster, grasped his hand in a hoof, and shook it vigorously.

“Friends,” he said through gritted teeth.

“The best.” Hayato responded with loathing.

Though they said nothing more, their eyes exchanged unspoken words.

I’m going to kill you in your sleep, human.

Yeah, well you’re a farm animal in my world.

“Princess... I don’t think I have seen friendship like this before,” Twilight mumbled, more than a little confused.

“I don’t think anypony has, Twilight.”

“Should I write a letter to you about it?”

“I think it might be better for you not to; this isn’t your typical friendship. Anyway. Let’s go, everypony, and leave Mr. Midō alone for now. We shall be back soon with the decision about what to do about this whole situation. Farewell.”

All of the ponies nodded and said their farewells. Shining Armor looked back and Hayato and mouthed;

I’m watching you.

Hayato smiled in return and stuck up a middle finger at him. The beauty of it was that Shiny had no idea what it meant, and just gave him an odd look before shrugging and walking out with the others.

He then noticed that the dragon had remained behind. Celestia’s group did not seem to notice his absence at all.

“Aren’t you supposed to be going with them?”

“Probably, but I don’t feel like it. They’re off to discuss what to do with you. They don’t need me, and I’ve got nothing else to do. Plus, you’re the only other guy with hands I’ve met that hasn’t tried to kill or kidnap me or my friends.”

I could’ve sworn this was a kids’ show at one point...

***

Abstract Theory proceeded down the halls of the castle, with Lyra at his side. After their conversation in the gardens, they had decided to walk around the grounds for a bit to get their minds off of unpleasant topics. He’d suggested this more for Lyra’s sake than his own, and so far it seemed to be working.

On their way back into the castle, Lyra’s stomach rumbled quite loudly. Since they had plenty of time to spare, they decided to stop in at the restaurant located just inside the castle, made to serve tourists and the few palace staff that didn’t live on-site.

The two ponies chatted away about frivolous things as they entered the building. The conversation was halted when they noticed Bon Bon sitting on a cushion at one of the tables, with her back to them. Seemingly engrossed in a book she was reading, Bon Bon was blissfully unaware that they were there.

Lyra considered calling out to her friend, but a wicked idea pushed that thought aside. A predatory smile crossed her face, and she crouched down and began moving forwards. Abstract shook his head at her foalish advance, but made sure not to make any noise that would ruin the surprise.

Once she was behind Bon Bon, she struck. Much to Lyra’s misfortune, Bon Bon spun about and grabbed her forehooves. She proceed to use Lyra’s own momentum and fling her across the room. Abstract chuckled. Lyra skidded along the carpet. He was starting to see why other ponies loved surprises so much.

“Oh, Lyra! I am so sorry, are you okay?”

“Is that a trick question?” Abstract responded with a smirk.

“It’s okay, Bonny, I don’t feel any pain...Oh wait, there it is...”

As Bon Bon helped Lyra up and made sure she really was okay, Abstract noticed a certain white unicorn sitting over in the corner of the room. Rather uncharacteristically of him, he was not sitting in any kind of special chair, or in a roped off VIP area.

He was going to turn and walk away when the unicorn made eye contact with him, and a large smile appeared on his face.

“Abstract Theory, is that you?” he called out.

And there goes any remaining chance of a good day...

“Your majesty, it is so good to see you,” Abstract said as he turned to face Prince Blueblood on the other side of the room.

“Do come over here! Feel free to bring Ms. Heartstrings and her little friend as well.”

I bet I could kill him and nopony would try to stop me. I might even get a medal.

Much to his chagrin, Abstract gathered his friends and brought them over to the table where Blueblood waited. When they arrived, he noticed that he was not alone. There was an orange earth pony sitting with him whom had somehow evaded his attention before. Something was odd about her coat, and it was then that Abstract noticed that it was partially white.

Dying your coat? Do ponies still even do that?

“So Blueblood, who is this lovely mare you are sitting with?” Lyra asked politely.

“Oh, of course! You haven’t met her yet. have you, Lyra? This is my lovely wife; Snooki.”

Since when has he been married? I saw him out on a date with that Manehattan model just last month!

“We’ve been together for almost a year now,” he continued, answering Abstract’s unspoken question for him.

“It is like, super great to meet you, Lyra. I am like, such a super fan and junk.”

My brain cells. I can feel them dying...dying...dead.

“I even like, named one of my foals after you. I called her, like, Ly-Ly. She is like so sweet and stuff. She can’t play music that well since she’s a pegasus, but she is a big fan too.”

I could make a fortune parading this mare in a travelling freak show. I could rent a stage and wagon, knock her out in an alleyway tonight somewhere, tie her up and get a cage, and...Damn. What is wrong with me?

“Wait, you have kids?” asked Lyra, “Blueblood, I never knew. Congratulations, you two!”

“Oh yeah. We have, like, six. There’s Ly-Ly, Glass Bottle, Late Night, Morning After, Sleeping Pill, and Blueblood Jr.”

Abstract raised an eyebrow.

One of these things is not like the other.

“Blueblood Junior?” he repeated.

“Oh, cha! He is just like his daddy!”

And with that, Equestria has become a darker place.

“Junior is the first one we had together,” the prince explained quietly, “The other five are from Snooki's previous relationships.”

“...So how old are they?” Bon Bon asked her.

“Ly-Ly is five, Glass Bottle is four, Night and Morning are both thirteen now, and they’re twins, Sleeping Pill is ten, and Blueblood Jr. is actually three days now. He’s with the foalsitter.”

Three days?

“If he’s only three days, why aren’t you in the hospital with him?”

“Like, why would I be, silly? You don’t go to a hospital to have a baby; the stork brings them.”

There is no way this can be real. Am I being punk’d?

Blueblood was giving them both a desperate look, as if silently begging them to stop talking.

“So...Is junior adopted, or...?”

“No! Of course not!” the prince interrupted, seeming panicked, “After a long night, we woke up the following morning to find that we had been gifted with another foal, who was created from thin air by the magic of our love. You know. Like how all foals are made?”

He gave the three of them a pleading look, while Snooki remained cheerfully oblivious.

How in Tartarus did this mare have five kids before this one, and not make the connection between pregnancy and the appearance of a new foal?

“...Well I am very happy for the two of you,” he said as sincerely as he could.

As he spoke, his eyes met the prince’s. Blueblood immediately understood what Abstract’s look meant;

You owe me answers.

“But...” Lyra started.

Abstract just gave her a stern look. Lyra wanted to question this strangeness too, but she nevertheless let it go. If ignorance was bliss, then this mare had to be walking on sunshine right now.

“So uh, what brings you to the castle?” Blueblood asked, changing the subject.

Abstract began to talk to him about their ideas on how to handle the situation with the human. Blueblood listened and actually seemed to be taking it seriously, although from Abstract’s experience, one could never be sure when it came to Blueblood.

“I certainly like the idea of constructing a prison tailor-made for a human. Simply tying the creature up doesn’t sit well with me. Also, this idea about food is quite viable. If I remember correctly they constantly complained about that last time. Very well, I will authorize that both of these projects can begin.”

“Really?” Bon Bon asked, “You can do that?”

“Of course, my dear. I am a prince. I can authorize a great many things. What do you think I do all day?”

Don’t give a sarcastic response. Don’t give a sarcastic response...

“I’m quite grateful, your majesty,” Abstract said politely, smiling, “The sooner we get this started, the better.”

***

“So...What are we going to do?” Celestia asked seriously.

“Well, he seems to be cooperating, even if he isn’t the most agreeable sort,” Twilight observed, “And he really hasn’t done anything especially wrong. Some small things, yes, but nothing to warrant this kind of treatment if a pony did it.”

“We find ourselves agreeing with Twilight Sparkle, sister. The human has been a saint so far compared to the last two.”

Chrysalis was a saint compared to the last two humans,” Shining Armor replied, “With all due respect your majesties, and personal biases aside, I really don’t think it’s safe to let him loose.”

“Are you even sure you’re really holding him, dear?” asked Rarity, “He broke those chains like they were nothing. What’s so effective about that magical shield? We’ve seen that break many times before. No offense.”

The stallion sighed, dejected.

“None taken...”

“Rarity is right, big brother. If he wanted to get out, he probably would have broken your shield and left already. Just telling him he has to stay here will only work until he gets too bored to keep humouring us.”

“Ah dunno,” said Applejack, “Am I the only one who thinks he was tellin’ the truth when he said he didn’t have any powers? He sounded like he believed what he was sayin’ at least.”

“You saw what he did to the metal!” Shining Armor almost shouted, “That was dwarf star alloy! If it weren’t for the Doctor’s machines and the special enchantments over the whole area, me and the other soldiers couldn’t even have moved those chains outside of the crater! And he made sculptures out of them! Sculptures! Of gargoyles!”

“These are just further arguments for why continued imprisonment is pointless,” said Luna.

“What about the mare whose house he broke into?” asked the captain, “Are we ignoring that too?”

“If you want to try and put a human on trial in pony courts for burglary, be my guest,” Celestia answered.

“...So that’s a yes, we are ignoring this?”

“What would you have us do?” the princess asked, turning on the captain, “Use the charge of breaking and entering to put a being capable of sculpting dwarf star alloy into statues through the Equestrian court system, and hold him in a prison he can break out of at any time, relying on his own honour for him to see through a sentence handed down by ponies he has every reason to resent?”

“Yeeeaaahh...” said Dash, speaking for the first time in the conversation so far, “I don’t really like the idea of this guy going free either, but...I really don’t see what else we can do here.”

The captain sighed.

“I still think this is a huge mistake...”

***

“So here’s a question...” Hayato said with his back to Spike, as he molded the statue’s wings, “If you’re in your twenties, why do they still call you a baby dragon now?”

Spike shrugged.

“Terms are relative. Foals aren’t technically called babies anymore by the time they can walk. Dragons have a lifespan in the thousands though. I’ve heard some say millions. So that period when you’re considered a baby lasts a long time in pony years.”

“So you are a kid then?”

The little dragon grumbled.

“In dragon time. I live with ponies. I was brought up by ponies. I think of myself as if I were a pony. As far as I’m concerned, I’m already a grown-up.”

“But the others disagree?”

Hayato stepped back and looked at the wings again. This time he was deliberately trying to make a gargoyle, so he was trying to make the wings appear more hellish and bat-like.

“Yeah...I still look about the same as I did when I first came to Ponyville. Nopony seems to have noticed any change...Twilight’s always going to treat me like a kid as long as I’m still shorter than her.”

“Well, to be honest, if your adult size is supposed to be big enough that a pony can walk along your nose, I don’t blame her for that.”

He tilted his head as he looked at the statue.

“...What do you think my chances are of getting out of here?”

Spike was surprised.

“You mean...breaking out?”

“No, I mean them letting me go. It’s boiling hot in this desert, even with the shield, and I really want to leave some time soon.”

“Oh.”

Spike tapped his chin with a claw as he thought about that.

“...I dunno. Odds are against you, actually.”

Hayato frowned, as he turned to face Spike properly.

“Do they really hate humans that much?”

“Well, you weren’t there when Second and First were terrorising the land.”

“So tell me about it then. What did they do exactly?”

Spike held up a little hand, and counted off their crimes on his fingers.

“One, between them they hospitalised several thousand soldiers in the royal guard, and in several police departments. Two, Second tried to kill Princess Celestia with the Reaper’s horn and almost did. Three, four other ponies were killed by Second after First died. Four, they destroyed loads of public buildings and ponies’ homes. Five-”

The dragon looked down at his hand, and realised he had ran out of fingers. He changed to the other.

“Five. They sunk Princess Celestia’s yacht. Six, they killed an Ursa Major and left it in front of the palace in Canterlot. Seven, they just terrified everypony wherever they went! Like, you have no idea. Those guys were scary.”

The human remained quiet, but seemed contemplative.

“I...see...”

Spike couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but it seemed he was deep in thought about something. Though it was natural that the conversation always became serious when talk of Second and First came up, he really didn’t want it to become awkward and quiet like this. He tried to change the subject.

“Say, since you have fingers...do you know how to play Rock, Paper, Scissors?”

“Of course I do. Why?”

“Look at who I live with,” Spike replied, wiggling his claws, “Can never find anypony to play with. Want a game?”

Hayato crouched down so he was level with Spike.

“You’re on.”

***

“Ze Athena is intended to be a military ship, but eet eez unfinished, in zat ve have not yet added ze veapons or defences. Still, we could forego adding zose parts, and sell eet as a civilian model. Available right now, if you wish.”

Fancy Pants looked up at the great airship before him, laying in the middle of Cid’s airfield and being swarmed around by griffins and pegasus ponies alike. A ramp led up into the gondola, which was a fairly large one. Cid had promised that it was very spacious inside.

”Is this the only one you have right now?”

Cid scoffed.

“Eez ze Athena not up to your standards, monsieur? Zis is only one of ze finest models ve have made!”

“I’m sure it’s excellent by military standards, Cid. I just-”

“‘Military standards’! You insult me, old friend. Ze Athena is more zan a match for any civilian airship ve have made for you, or any of ze rest of ze pony nobility! Ve do not skimp on aesthetics or any other comforts just because ve are building for ze military rather than some baron or prince!”

“..Sorry. I was just hoping for a proper civilian model, rather than a warship minus the weapons...”

“Our varships are just our civilian models plus ze weapons, monsieur,” Cid pointed out.

The griffin took another puff of his cigar.

“So? Eez zis acceptable to you? Do ve have a deal?”

Fancy Pants sighed.

“Fine,” he said reluctantly, “I’ll take the Athena.”

***

On the furthest outskirts of Nameless meanwhile, hidden in the dunes, a sandy coloured arachnid laid on its belly, holding up a pair of binoculars in front of its face. They were pony binoculars, and thus were at best unwieldy for the spider, but he could spy his target just fine.

Another, larger spider of a darker colour scuttled up next to him.

“Scout Quentin!” he said in a refined, clear voice, “I require a report immediately!”

Quentin looked back at the newcomer.

“Centurion,” he acknowledged, in a similar accent.

The spider returned to staring through the binoculars as he gave his report.

“Looks to be a large gathering. The airship brought with it three pony princesses, and the six pretenders. We would be ill advised to make a move as it is now, but I believe this is a temporary visit. An inspection, perhaps. Once they leave, whatever they are attempting to hide in that crater will be easily taken.”

“And what are they hiding?” the centurion pressed.

“Uncertain. Given the proximity to our lair, I would guess that this is the beginnings of a plan to wipe out the last remnants of the Legion. The crater is likely hiding some kind of weapon.”

“Hmm,” the centurion replied, “Keep close watch. Inform me if there are any further developments.”

***

“Mr. Midō?”

Spike and the human ceased the latest round of their game and looked to their side as Celestia and Luna entered the crater, the latter watching the young dragon with a look of concern. Hayato was sat in the sand next to him, cross legged.

“We’ve discussed the situation together,” the older sister explained, “Everypony agrees that we can’t really justify keeping you here any longer, and it would be mostly pointless anyway. If the pony whose house you broke into or the stallion you vomited on really want to press charges against you, they can try, but ourselves and the state of Equestria are staying out of it.

“Captain Shining Armor was the one to take you into custody, so he’s signing the release forms now, and you should be out of here by this afternoon, at which point you’re free to do as you wish. That said, we’d really prefer if you would come to the royal palace in Canterlot, so that we might discuss this situation. If it’s really as you say, then we’ve a lot to talk about.”

Hayato nodded.

“That’s understandable.”

“...Spike, does Twilight or Shining Armor know that thou stayed in here?” asked Luna.

The dragon looked around guiltily.

“Umm...Yes. Yes they do.”

The princess of the night narrowed her eyes at him, and Spike began to sweat nervously, but they didn’t get a chance to continue before being interrupted by Hayato.

“Hey, if I’m going to be dragged to Canterlot once I get out, can you send someone to go pick up Captain back in Hoofington for me?”

“‘Captain’?” Celestia repeated.

“My pet kappa. I found him in the forest near where I woke up. I left him back there when I was arrested. He might still be in that house I broke into.”

The two sisters exchanged a worried look. A kappa being loose in a pony city sounded like the premise of a Nightmare Night show.

“We’ll see what we can do,” Luna promised.

She then turned on Spike again.

“And you. With us. Now.”

***

Fleetfoot looked on in confusion as she saw the princesses passing through the shield and heading towards the main building again. For some reason, Luna was dragging Spike along behind her with her magic, and the little dragon was struggling to break free again. She was sure there was a story behind that, but she didn’t want to get involved.

Celestia meanwhile was heading in Fleetfoot’s direction, likely going to board the Artemis, which was parked just behind the pegasus.

“Your majesty,” she greeted as the princess passed by.

Celestia stopped and turned to her.

“Ah, Echo Fleetfoot. I’m glad you’re here actually. Could you do me a favour?”

“Of course.”

“The human said that he had kept a pet kappa back in Hoofington. He left it there when he was captured. It may have since gotten loose. I need somepony to fly back there and do something about it, or at least alert the local authorities.”

“‘Do something about it’?”

“Pacify it, and bring it back to Canterlot. Try not to hurt it too badly. I don’t know how attached Mr. Midō is to the creature, but I’d rather not upset him by having it come to undue harm.”

“Well...I’d like to help, princess, but I can’t fly right now. I actually physically can’t. Doctor’s orders.”

Celestia sighed.

“No matter. I’ll find Rainbow Dash and get her to do it. Maybe Fluttershy too. She’s good with animals...”

“Princess? Are you going back to Canterlot now?”

The alicorn nodded.

“Can I come too? I was meant to be heading there anyway, but then there was all this with the human, and...”

“Say no more. You’re welcome to come with us.”

Fleetfoot smiled.

“Thank you, princess.”

“You had best get on board. We’ll be leaving in ten minutes.”

***

Shining Armor grumbled as he levitated a number of papers around himself. The various files and forms floated lazily around him in a circle, and the stallion kept turning his attention to different papers and taking a quill to a different one each time, seemingly at random.

“This whole operation is going to look terrible on the budget...”

This right here was a perfect example of what happened when you let there be too much red tape. Because no standard prison would hold Hayato, and this whole idea of using the dwarf star alloy chains and the crater was improvised, Shining had effectively built a whole new prison.

Now he had to make official paperwork for his new prison, including assigning guard shifts and awarding the appropriate salary rises, making sure to put in an order to say that the new prison was full so some petty thief wasn’t sent out here, processing his one and only prisoner, and once all that was done, he then had to sign the paperwork for the release of his prisoner, decommission the new prison, and notify the guards that they would be returning to their regular duties which they never stopped doing.

And no. He couldn’t skip any of that in the name of common sense or saving time. These were all things he was legitimately expected to do.

Sometimes, I hate politicians.

“Big brother?”

Shining pushed the papers immediately in front of his face aside to see his sister and Cadance standing in the doorway to his office.

“We’re going to take off now,” she explained, “Everypony’s going back to the palace in the Artemis. You’ll have to catch up to us later.”

“That’s fine,” the captain agreed, “I’ll only be an hour behind you at worst.”

“TWILIGHT SPARKLE!”

That wasn’t royal Canterlot voice; that was regular shouting.

Luna stepped into the room, levitating an irritated baby dragon behind her.

“Did thou know-”

She shook her head suddenly, and hit herself in the forehead.

“Did YOU know, that Spike stayed behind in the crater when we left, alone with the human?!”

“Spike!” Twilight scolded, “What were you thinking?!”

“I was thinking I’d try, y’know, talking with him,” Spike replied, “I mean, how often do you get to talk with a human? I just wanted to ask him some things.”

“You should have asked him when everypony else was asking questions then!”

“You aren’t the boss of me!” the dragon shouted.

“Twilight...” said Cadance, “He’s not a little kid anymore. Don’t you think you’re being a bit overprotective? It’s not like he was in any danger. The royal guard were still around after all.”

The unicorn sighed.

“We’ll talk about this later, Spike. Come with me. We’re going back to Canterlot.”

“What? No! I want to stay here!” Spike protested, “I want to stay and ask Hayato more questions and talk some more. He knows how to play Rock, Paper, Scissors, and has the hands to do it with! Do you know how rare that is?!”

Twilight tried to think of some kind of response, but only came up with an exasperated groan. Seeing his sister’s frustration, Shining Armor decided to offer his help.

“It’s okay, Twiley. I’m stuck here for a bit longer anyway. I can have the guards watch him while he’s here, and I’ll take him back personally when the rest of us return home.”

Twilight smiled.

“Thanks, Shiny.”

She quickly said her goodbyes to Spike as well, and told him to be safe, before leaving to board the Artemis. Cadance stayed behind a little longer to give her husband a goodbye kiss.

“I’ll be back before you know it,” he promised her, “Make sure to tell ‘Tune about this human business too. We don’t want him to show up and without her knowing anything about it. She might get scared.”

Cadance chuckled.

“Scared of what? She doesn’t even know what a human is. You should have seen her face when my aunt got your letter about him surrendering. We were all talking about how strange it was that he would just give up, and the poor dear was looking around all confused, like she didn’t know what we were talking about.”

He smiled at the mental image of that, because it sounded adorable.

“Well, tell her anyway then,” he said, before kissing her again.

“Okay...Bye, dear.”

***

“They left.”

In the heart of the Spider Legion camp, the centurion twisted around to see Scout Quentin standing behind him, a stern look on his features.

“You are sure?”

“Certain. Those that arrived in the airship all left in it again not three minutes ago. I came running back to camp as soon as they did. They left behind one passenger, the small dragon known as Spike, but they picked up another, who looked to be a member of the infamous Wonderbolts.”

The centurion snorted.

“Fools. Now their outpost is even less well defended than before.”

He turned to address the rest of the camp.

“Attention, legionnaires! Prepare yourselves! We attack the ponies in one hour!”

***

Hayato stood in the center of the crater, examining his handiwork. He had spent the better part of fifteen minutes sculpting after Spike left with the Princesses, victorious in their series of Rock, Paper, Scissors. He was starting to doubt if he was ever going to beat anyone in anything while he was here.

The statue had made significant improvement over its previous incarnation as an angel. This time it was meant to look terrifying and monstrous. Hayato turned and motioned for the guard that had been left in the crater after they took Spike back to come over to him.

“Tell me, soldier, what do you think of my statue?”

“It is going to fuel my nightmares for years to come, sir.”

“And that’s a good thing, right?”

“I certainly hope not...”

Well I like it...

Hayato heard some crunching in the dirt and turned to see who was approaching him. Hopefully it was Shining Armor, coming to tell him he could get out of this dust pit.

“Dude, that’s creepy,” Spike said, motioning at the statue.

Hayato sighed, and threw his hands up in the air.

“I can see where the midget is coming from. That thing looks like it came right out of a campfire ghost story.”

Hayato looked up into the sky and saw a dark shape hovering above them. At first it was hard to see who it was, but once she landed, he could see that it was the griffin that had left what felt like hours ago to get him his burger.

And she was carrying one in her beak. It was dripping blood.

When she landed on the she dropped the burger into his hands. She grinned in triumph and awaited his thoughts on the hard earned meal.

“Is...is this still raw?” he asked as blood dripped into his hands.

“Heh, it sure is! I flew as fast as I could to get it back to you fresh. I hope you like bear meat,” she said as she polished her claws on her chest feathers.

“...I think there’s been a communication error here...”

“What are you talking about? You wanted a burger, that’s the good stuff right there. I even went out of my way to find a place that sells the buns.”

“And while I appreciate that, I also prefer it cooked.”

“Cooked? Oh, you’re one of those types, eh? Too fancy for the rest of us, are you?!”

“Don’t you people consider my kind gods? I think I’m entitled to some culinary standards.”

“Let me show you where you can put your culinary standards...”

“Woah woah, everyone calm down. I can cook the meat. Did you all just forget that dragons breath fire?”

The two glared at Spike and then each other, before laughing. They felt rather stupid. Hayato handed the burger to the griffin and used some spare metal-ish stuff to mold a tiny table.

“Have at it, champ,” he said, once it was put on the table.

Spike rolled his eyes and stood in front of the burger. He took a deep breath and spewed green fire over it. Once the flames reached it though, it disappeared from view. Hayato blinked a few times and looked over at Spike, who gulped.

“What did you do to my burger?”

“I...uh...mailed it...” he said, as he began to sweat nervously.

***

Celestia was sitting down with Luna as they went over plans for housing their new guest. They felt that they were making good headway. Hayato would no doubt be pleased with his accommodations.

“Sister, art thou sure we should give him his own tower?”

“Do you not think he would enjoy it?”

“We do not want to make him feel that he is being quarantined from everypony else. ‘Tis not a happy feeling.”

“Then we shall have a backup room just in case. I believe Mr. Midō will enjoy having some input on the matter.”

Just as she finished her sentence, Celestia felt a surge of magic coming towards her. It was the familiar feel of when Spike sent her a message, but what could he possibly be sending her that could not wait until they met up again in Canterlot?

Moments later the smell of raw flesh filled the air as the burger arrived and landed on the table, splattering blood on the two unsuspecting princesses.

“...He stays in the tower, by himself. Case closed.”

***

“I’m just saying, she should probably see a doctor. She could qualify for some kind of benefits...”

“Lyra, she is married to a prince. She gets plenty of benefits as it is.”

“Oh fine, I’ll drop it. Hey, is it just me, or are there more guards here now than there were earlier?”

Abstract and the others had left the restaurant to spare themselves from having to deal with more of Blueblood’s rambling. None of them could believe that he had actually found somepony who would marry him. They had thrown out many theories that ranged from a group hallucination, to Abstract’s favorite, an animated doll.

As the three of them walked through the hallways, they found themselves passing an increasing number of guards. They were all pretty sure that there had not been nearly this many earlier that day, and were curious as to why they were seeing so many. When they got close to another guard, Bon Bon approached him.

“Excuse me sir, but it seems like there are more guards around, might I ask why?”

“The princesses returned to the castle,” he answered, “So more guards are needed again. Most of us just got back from Nameless.”

Bon Bon thanked him and headed back over to her friends.

“It seems like the princesses have come back. We can go meet them now. We may even be able to find out how Fleetfoot is doing, if we’re careful about how we ask.”

The other two agreed, and proceeded to the throne room which had previously been closed. It did not take them long to make their way past the guards, and inside they saw not only Celestia and Luna, but also the element bearers, sans Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

Celestia and the others all looked to them when they saw the trio enter the room. Lyra and Bon Bon both waved to Twilight and her friends when they recognised them.

“Greetings, my little ponies. What can I do for you today?”

“It’s so good to see you again, your majesty,” Abstract said, “I have heard of the appearance of the new human, and have come to offer you my services once again.”

“...How so?”

“During First and Seconds reign, you had me assist in ways of dealing with their threat, and I am willing to do so again. I met your nephew earlier, and he authorized the construction of a special prison made to hold a human, which custom features made for such a task. For example, the entire thing would be made of-”

“We have released the human,” she said, interrupting Abstract.

Abstract’s jaw froze in mid sentence and then dropped.

What did she just say? No, no, no, I must have heard that wrong. There is no way she would just release Lord Third like that. These tyrants would never-

“We couldn’t really find him guilty of anything and couldn’t justify holding him any longer, so Shining Armor is signing his release forms right now.”

...I should have known. They’re trying to save their own image. Two-faced nags. I need to get to Lord Third soon, before something conveniently ‘happens’ to him...

“Might I ask as to what your plans are for the human? I hope you don’t plan on just letting him wander around alone...?”

Lyra looked over at Abstract, worried about what could be going through his mind right now.

“He will be staying at the castle as our guest.”

Of course he will...

“Although, we could use your assistance in another matter relating to him. What do you know about kappas?”

“I know a great deal, I studied them several years ago for a project, but what does that have to do with...”

...OH GODS.

“You see, Mr. Midō, the human, has apparently domesticated a kappa and wishes for it to stay with him. I would like for you to come up with some ways of containing it so that it is not a threat to the ponies of Canterlot.”

...WE LEFT THE KAPPA BACK IN LYRA’S HOUSE!

Lyra was having similar thoughts.

WE LEFT THE KAPPA BACK IN MY HOUSE!

“C-certainly your majesty. Might I ask where the creature is?”

“It is back in Hoofington, in the home of a pony whose house he had broken into to stay the night. He said a musician. We don’t know who though. Rainbow and Fluttershy are off trying to find it right now.”

Lyra openly broke down crying.

“WHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYY?!”

***

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew side by side through the sky. Rainbow led the way, as she had been to Hoofington many times to see the Wonderbolts perform in the past, and actually performed there herself when she finally joined.

As they were flying, the sky began to get a bit darker, and redder, and they were even beginning to smell the acrid stench of smoke. At a certain point, the smoke got to be too much, and they were forced to land just outside of the city.

Off to the side, they saw that the town's welcome sign sign was scratched up, and where the population once read two hundred thousand, a zero had been crossed out. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash looked at each other and gulped.

“U-uhm, Rainbow Dash, was it always like this?” Fluttershy asked, quaking with fear.

“No way. What the heck happened?”

They both moved carefully towards the city, and began to see ruined homes, and other buildings that were destroyed and burned down. In the deeper parts of the city, they could see large towers that had smoke rising from them.

“What in Equestria...” Rainbow Dash began.

“This is not Equestria, pegasus! You stand on the grounds of The Democratic Ponies’ Republic of Kaprea!”

Rainbow Dash spun around and saw herself standing face to face with several mares clad in snake leather and with outrageously bad mane styles, who were all well armed and pointing spears, knives, lead pipes and chains at them.

“What are you talking about? This is Hoofington.”

“Ha! Hoofington! I remember that place. That was a long time ago, when we were weak,” said the mare in front, a dull yellow earth pony with a bright green mohawk.

“Long ago? What the heck are you talking about? I performed here just last week!”

“You’re living in the past, mare! Quit living in the past!”

“A WEEK AGO IS NOT THE PAST!”

“U-um, Rainbow Dash, please don’t make the well armed ponies angry...”

“You will be brought before the president now...” the earth pony said threateningly.

“Fine! Take me to this ‘president’! Who is this guy anyway?!”

“Oh, you’ll see...”

***

The shield dropped in less than a second, and Shining Armor appeared right on the edge of the crater, looking down at the human, the dragon, the griffin, and the remaining pony guard down in the centre.

“You. Midō. You’re getting paroled.”

Hayato grinned up at his rescuer, whom he also hated, and walked up the crater’s edge. Once he reached it, he found that there was an old fashioned horse drawn carriage waiting for him. A fancy, regal looking thing too. Most likely belonging to Shining Armor himself. Two ponies were strapped to the front of it, but they were earth ponies, not pegasi, so it looked like he wasn’t going to get to fly yet.

“Oh gee, Shining, I sure do appreciate you doing this for me. I am sure you advocated very hard for this,” he said tauntingly.

“I did my best,” the stallion said, trying his best to keep up his pretense of tolerance.

“And what a great job you did, I can see why you are in charge.”

Despite his attempts to remain calm, Shinings right eye began to twitch.

“Do I get to ride back to Canterlot in your carriage?”

The captain opened his mouth to speak.

“Oh, you shouldn’t have!” the human interrupted, throwing the doors open and leaping inside.

Shining just sighed, and watched as Spike jumped in after him. He looked over to the two guards who had been watching over Hayato and Spike. The griffin and the pony.

“I suppose you might as well get in too...”

“Thanks a lot, cappy,” the griffin said.

“Please don’t call me that,” Shining said.

***

The smell of smoke was strong as they got closer to the center of the city. All around, there were ponies wearing leather, moving heavy containers back and forth. Many of them were marching down into a what looked to be pony-made cave entrances, almost like mines.

The sight of the place really shocked Rainbow Dash. She could barely recognize the city, and if it weren’t for the fact she had been here so many times, she wouldn’t even have believed she was in Hoofington.

Nearby, she saw a filthy unicorn mare hauling along a cart of vegetables. Their tour guide turned away from them for a moment to draw a whip and strike at the unicorn.

“Work harder, slave! You do not want to disappoint the president, do you?!”

“Ow! Roseluck, what was that for?!”

“Fool, I am no longer Roseluck! You will address me by my Kaprean name, Whiplash!”

“Roseluck, is this because I lost the hair dryer you lent me last week? I said I was sorry, like a billion times!”

The guide mare’s face went red.

“Straw, you’re embarrassing me in front of the outsiders!” she whispered.

The unicorn sighed.

Sorry, Mistress Whiplash...”

“That’s better! Now return to your work!”

She whipped Straw again.

“Ow! Seriously, not so hard, or I won’t humour you again!”

They eventually reached a large building that seemed to have been constructed entirely out of metal, something that was a very rare occurrence in the world, and which towered high into the sky.

In the plaza out front, many ponies were being supervised as they constructed what looked to be a giant statue made of scrap. It was too early to see what it was going to end up as though. Two floors up the metal tower, a balcony overlooked the plaza below, which also hosted what could only be described as a skull throne, except Rainbow was certain it was a Nightmare Night prop.

A light blue unicorn, covered in coal dust, crawled to Rainbow and Fluttershy’s hooves.

“We tried pushing him over, we tried pulling off his protective hat...NOTHING WORKED! HE WAS JUST TOO STRONG FOR US!”

She cried, and hugged Rainbow’s legs.

“PLEASE SAVE US!”

“Hush you!” Whiplash/Roseluck ordered, “Alright outsiders! Time for you to meet the President...”

Up above them, on the balcony, the door into the tower opened, and a figure emerged.

“Oh you have got to be bucking kidding me...”

***

Hayato looked out the window as the landscape passed them by. They were still in the desert, and had been for a while. Out of boredom and a lack of anything interesting, he turned to that the most desperate of measures, socialising with other sentient beings.

“...So...What’s your name? I just realized I never asked.”

“Gilda. Finest freelance operative in the Equestrian military,” the griffin answered with no small amount of pride.

“Funny. I’ve never heard of you,” Shining muttered.

“That just goes to show you how good I am. Don’t feel so bad, we can’t all be top tier,” she said with a smirk.

Hayato found himself liking this Operative Gilda more with each passing minute.

“You! I remember you!” exclaimed Spike, finally realizing who she was.

“Took you long enough, pipsqueak,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“You two know each other?” Hayato asked.

“He ate most of my cake when we first met, didn’t say a word to me, and then forgot about me for eight years.”

“Y-yeah? Well you made Fluttershy cry, which was way worse!”

“I shouted loudly at her. It’s not my fault she has thin skin. Besides, I read the news. Didn’t she make a dragon cry not weeks afterwards? Like, a full grown dragon?”

“Wait...are we talking about the yellow one? The one that looked like she would pass out if I sneezed wrong?” Hayato asked.

“That’s the one. And if you think the dragon thing is scary, you don’t even want to know what she’s done since. Seriously, shorty here will act like she couldn’t take being shouted at and I was a huge bully, but looking at what she’s become famous for since then, she terrifies me. Don’t let the squeaking and the hiding behind others fool you. That mare could probably kill you easier than I could.”

Looking over at Spike, Hayato wasn’t sure if the little dragon was proud or sad about that fact.

Suddenly...

BOOM!

There was an explosion outside. Screaming. The carriage rocked, and came to a halt. Out the window, Hayato could see the white coated royal guards all fleeing in the same direction, and a hail of spears and other bladed weapons raining down.

“Huh...” he said, “I’m with the military, we’re in the desert, and we’ve suddenly come under attack from someone wielding explosive weapons...This is uncomfortably close to how Iron Man started...”

And now I’m having flashbacks to Avengers 2. Damn, that movie was so disappointing...And the first one was so good! Why did they have to bring the Fantastic Four into the mix? Chris Evans looked so lost having to do whole scenes talking to himself...

There was another explosion outside, really close to them, and the carriage was knocked on its side. Human, griffin, dragon, and the two ponies all fell to the side and landed on the window, which cracked under their combined weight and caused them to cut themselves on the splintered glass.

“Ow!”

Hayato held up his right hand, now sporting a large cut across his palm.

“Damn it...”

“Come on,” Shining Armor urged, already climbing back onto his hooves, “We need to get out.”

***

“No, no, no, this is way too stupid,” Rainbow said, facehoofing at the figure above them.

High above them, sitting down on his skull throne and looking down his nose at them, was the new leader of the Democratic Ponies’ Republic of Kaprea, President Captain. He was still wearing his signature pirate hat, but also a steel cast crown on top of it, with razor sharp points. He had even obtained a large red cape with gold trim, and the most massive collar ever conceived.

“You may approach the president,” Whiplash said cordially.

Both having wings, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash just flew up so that they were level with the president’s balcony and skull throne.

“Okay listen here...” Rainbow Dash started, but was cut off by Fluttershy.

“Um, Rainbow, perhaps I should talk to him? You seem a tad...worked up...”

“You know what? Go ahead, because don’t think my brain can handle this right now.”

“Excuse me, Mr. President, my name is Fluttershy,” she said, feeling more comfortable than she thought she would speaking to the novice dictator, “I am here on behalf of Equestria to invite you to meet with Celestia and Luna. They want you to come to their palace in Canterlot, because your...master...Mr. Hayato, asked if you could come too while he visits. Um, that is, if you behave yourself while you’re there...”

Captain scratched the underneath of his chin. The kappa looked to his left. There, he saw an imaginary version of his master, dressed in red and with devil horns and carrying a pitchfork.

“Go! Go Captain, my loyal friend! Gain their trust, sneak into Canterlot, and wreck all the fancy stuff there too!”

Captain looked to his right, at another version of master with white clothes and a halo and wings this time.

“That is a good idea, Captain,” he agreed, “Go to Canterlot and destroy all the fancy stuff.”

The two hallucinations disappeared, and the kappa turned his attention back to Fluttershy, and gave her a solemn nod in response. She smiled.

A nearby servant approached Captain.

“Sire, shall we ready your carriage for transport?”

Captain closed his eyes and pointed his nose up in the air like a Canterlot noble. He clapped his webbed hands twice in quick succession, and four ponies walking in formation with a big red cushion on their backs emerged from within the tower, out onto the balcony.

Down below, Whiplash began barking orders.

“Prepare the president’s air carriage!”

***

Hayato groaned as he pulled himself out of the wreckage, the last one out. His exit from the vehicle was as graceful as the rest of his day had been, in that he fell flat onto his face, accidentally swallowing some sand.

Well at least I finally get to eat something...

He went to push himself up and noticed something odd. The cut on his hand was gone.

“Huh...” he said to himself, staring at it, “Well that was weird.”

“Not as weird as things are about to get,” said a voice with an upper class English accent.

Looking up, Hayato saw something that at this point did not surprise him at all. A giant spider.

Behind the spider, Spike, Shining Armor, Operative Gilda and the other guard pony were all being restrained by a number of other spiders, who were putting cuffs on Spike, wing clips and what looked like oven mitts on Gilda, and reigns and a metal horn ring on Shining and the other guard.

”Not really. You guys are pretty much par for the course at this point...”

“Oh, that’s good, because you’re all officially slaves of the Spider Legion now.”

Hayato sighed.

“Well that’s just wonderful...”

END.

Author's Note:

If this theme worked for The Walking Dead, it’ll work for me here.

Starting off I am going to give a big thank you to DannyJ, who made this release possible, and is also a very handsome man. I had a lot of stuff happen in my life that left me without internet access, let alone the time to actually sit down and write the chapter. While I am not out of the woods yet on things, I am happy I was able to actually get this chapter out there.

Go ahead and leave your comments, because I love reading them. It lets me get a good idea of how I am doing with the story.

Also, if you’re noticing inconsistencies in Luna’s speech patterns, that’s not a mistake. That’s intentional. She’s in a transitional period.

Editor's notes:

DRAVEN, WHY WON’T YOU RETURN MY CALLS? WHAT ABOUT OUR CHILD? WHERE DO YOU GO AT NIGHTS? YOU’RE OFF WITH ALL YOUR FRIENDS AT THAT LEAGUE AGAIN, AREN'T YOU?!

Next Chapter: Vive la révolution!