“And they stared, as they bore witness to their best laid plans fail, and realised that their efforts were for nought when faced with the power of a human. The princesses despaired at such a sight, and Elements were in shock. Those few of the Brotherhood who were there to see it, described impossibilities made manifest, as everything they thought they knew was proven wrong. And the Harbinger delighted in every moment of it.”
-The Third Unbound, from the Brotherhood of Man’s holy book, A Darker World.
***
Never. Again. They can get...another damn flier.
Fleetfoot was exhausted. Even though she was one of the top fliers in all of Equestria, possibly the world, even she had limits. She had flown more than fifty miles total within only a few short hours, and she was exhausted.
Once she reached the the makeshift prison, she dropped to the ground. Although, dropping to the ground sounds much more graceful than the painful display of gravity at work that several of the guards witnessed. They were all quite sure that a spine wasn’t supposed to bend the way hers was at that moment.
Groaning more out of exhaustion than pain, Fleetfoot made a valiant attempt to stand up. This resulted in her wiggling her back left leg and nothing else. She realized that she must be a sorry sight at the moment but didn’t care, she was about to take a leaf out of Rainbow’s book and sleep for the rest of the week.
After witnessing the rather pathetic display, two of the nearby unicorn guards decided to help her out, and wrapped her body in their magical aura. The poor mare was simply tired from what they saw, and so they made their way to the medical tent for a magical pick-me-up.
One revitalization spell and ten minute lecture about flight safety later, Fleetfoot was walking on her own again. Unfortunately she wouldn’t be flying anywhere for the rest of the day, but it was all worth it, as she had learned that neither the princesses or the Elements of Harmony had arrived yet. It would give her time to converse with Lord Third before they did.
Remembering Shining Armor’s instructions regarding visitation with the Third, she proceeded to the ‘gate’ of the spell. This required passing a large amount of soldiers who recognized her, and some would ask for her autograph, or cheer that another high ranking officer was here to deal with the ‘human threat’.
It took every bit of her will to not lash out at the ignorant words that many of them were shouting. She instead followed in her master’s peaceful footsteps and forgave them; for they only knew how to fear humans. That is why the Brotherhood existed. They would one day show the ponies of the world how to live in harmony with the humans, and that war wasn’t the only option.
Besides, those were just over excited rookies. At least the veterans were professional enough to keep composure.
Finally she arrived at the barrier. Waiting there for her was a unicorn and, to her surprise, a griffon. Those were rare in the Equestrian military. The difference between the two was amazing. The unicorn was standing tall and at attention while the griffon just seemed bored. She was taking part in one of the largest military operations in Equestrian history, and she looked like she was going to fall asleep.
When the griffon saw Fleetfoot approach, she sighed in relief quite loudly.
“‘Bout time you showed up, featherbrain. I got things to do and this place is boring with a capital B.”
“Operative! Watch your mouth when addressing a superior officer,” the unicorn scolded.
“Or what? You’ll pull the stick out of your ass and beat me with it?” the griffon snapped, attempting to aggravate the pony.
“WHAT DID YOU-” he started, before regaining his composure, “Ahem, sorry for that, ma’am. Are you ready for the interrogation now? We’ll be the ones escorting you through the barrier, when you’re ready.”
“It is not an interrogation, soldier. If you keep treating the human with such a hostile attitude, then he will act in kind, and that’ll just lead to another fight. And we don’t want that do we?”
“N-no ma’am.”
The griffon operative was laughing out loud at the sight of her fellow soldier getting put in his place. The laughter was addictive and even Fleetfoot felt the corners of her mouth tugging upwards a bit.
”Shall we go?” she hinted to the stallion.
Although they were acting more casual a minute ago, the pair straightened up and suddenly became serious. While neither of them knew what the human was truly like, they knew it was dangerous all the same, and so mistakes could not be afforded.
The unicorn’s horn began to glow which resulted in motes of a dust-like substance floating around their bodies, clinging to their coats and feathers respectively. Without hesitation the two guards proceeded to the barrier and without stopping, walked through it as if it weren’t even there. Noticing that she wasn’t following, the two of them turned and faced her expectantly.
Tentatively, Fleetfoot followed through the barrier. The feeling was like nothing she had ever experienced before. The closest comparison she could think of to describe the sensation was like if lightning were being used to gently massage her entire body; it was painless and surreal.
“What was that? I’ve never seen a spell like that before.”
“It was created with the combined effort of Captain Armor and myself,” the unicorn explained, a hint of pride in his voice, “It allows those it is cast on to pass through the barrier unharmed. It is impossible to imitate, as only the captain and I know the exact workings of the spell.”
“She asked for an answer, not for you to brag,” the griffon chided.
Although she was getting on his nerves, the unicorn bit his tongue. If he were to argue with her now, then the human might see it as an opportunity to strike at them. He hoped that Fleetfoot’s idea of a peaceful resolution was a possibility; all of this worrying had to be bad for him.
Walking deeper into the center of the crater, Fleetfoot’s eyes were as big as saucers. The amount of chains and the size of them was insane. If she was being held like this, she would be enraged, but Lord Third was just on his knees, not showing any signs of hostility.
Truly the patience of a god was unparalleled.
As they got close to him, the two guards began to slow down. Fleetfoot kept an air of confidence about her and walked past them, stopping seven feet away from him.
Okay! Acting skills, don’t fail me now!
“Hello human, whom I never met before just now!”
Hayato stared at her like she had just spat on him, and then shouted at the top of his lungs.
“YOU ARE EXTREMELY SUBTLE!”
“I don’t know what you mean, unknown human. How are you doing today?”
“If you change subjects any faster I’m going to get whiplash. What is it that you want? In fact, why are your shadows here?”
“We are here to protect lady Fleetfoot, in case you try to harm her,” said the unicorn without hesitation.
Hayato’s eye twitched in anger.
“Let me get this straight, you horned abomination. You ponies form a mob and chase me, attack me, arrest me, and chain me up like an animal. All the while I am doing nothing to any of you. And after that, you have the audacity to act like I’m the one who’s the problem here?”
“I...uh...well you see...” stammered the unicorn, realizing his error all too late.
“SHINING ARMOR, I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME! GET THIS UNICORN OUT OF HERE BEFORE I BREAK MY FOOT OFF IN HIS ASS!”
He knew that if it came down to it, the unicorn would mop the floor with him. A normal human versus a magic wielding horse was not a fair fight. Still, they still hadn’t figured that out.
***
Back up on the edge of the crater, Shining Armor sighed. Things were not going too well in the interrogation. The worst part about all of it was the fact the human was right. So far he had not made a single aggressive stance towards them. The most violent thing he did was breaking a building with his face, and that wasn’t even intentional from the reports he was getting.
”Sir, what do we do? This one guy getting angry and shouting technically counts as a prison-wide riot.”
Although he wasn’t comfortable with Fleetfoot having one less guard, he wasn’t about to risk the human becoming hostile.
“Bring him out of there and assign him to keeping a watch on the barrier. If he argues or complains, give him three weeks of latrine duty.”
“Yes sir.”
***
Moments later, Hayato saw the unicorn getting escorted away by three other soldiers. With one guard gone, he then turned his attention to the female griffin who raised her claws in the air and backed away.
“You two have your little talk, I don’t care. I was just happy to see him get put in his place twice today. I think I might celebrate.”
Griffins were also mythical creatures, though they were Greek and not Japanese. He recalled there were a few toys related to a number of species seen in the show, not just ponies. There was a zebra one too, and a dragon, and others. He suspected that Equestria was populated by a mishmash of real animals and creatures from various mythologies.
He would have been more captivated by meeting her, or curious, or just weirded out, but after a day with ponies and having already met Captain, he had exhausted all of those reactions already, and his current situation diverted his attention away from her too.
“So, human....” Fleetfoot started.
“Call me Third. Human is my father’s name.”
“...R-Really?”
“No.”
“Haha, very clever...Umm...Might I ask what you’ve been up to since your arrival in our world?”
“Well, let’s see...I fought a kappa, I infiltrated a city, and I met up with a cult of creepy human worshipping ponies too.”
“R-really now?”
Fleetfoot put on a huge fake grin and began to sweat.
“No, I was being sarcastic again. Well, the kappa thing was true. It’s my pet now. Gave it a sweet ass hat, and named it Captain. Wonder what he’s doing?”
This mare had the subtlety skills of a charging rhino, he realized. They were going to have to be alone for things to progress. The griffin seemed amiable enough, and didn’t look like she actually cared about being here, but she needed to go.
“Hey, griffin. I’m getting pretty hungry. Can you get me a burger or something, and if you can swing it, some alcohol?”
The griffin jumped at the prospect of getting out of the dusty hole she was stuck in.
“Humans eat meat? Nice. But yeah, I will see what I can do. You know, in the interest of peace or whatever.”
And just like that, Hayato and the Wonderbolt were alone in the crafter.
“Okay, now why are you really here?” he asked, talking at a lower volume than before.
“The Brotherhood sent me here to make sure you were okay, and to make a simple request of you, if we could, my Lord? We ask that you not reveal the existence of the Brotherhood of Man to anypony, or that its members know each other. That includes Shining Armor or the princesses, Luna and Celestia.”
“Is that all? I was going to do that already. I am not so dense as to reveal a group of human supporters in an anti-human culture. That would essentially destroy your lives, and I don’t make a habit of destroying people’s lives. Not that I haven’t done it mind you, but that was unintentional, no matter what Brad from next door may say.”
“Your kindness truly knows no bounds! We are doing our best to assist you using our positions. We cannot be too direct unfortunately, as it would reveal us, but we’re doing what we can. Is there anything that I can do now to make your stay more comfortable?”
“Well asides from getting these chains off of me, I wasn’t kidding about being hungry. Just so you know, humans are omnivores. We don’t eat ponies though. No sane human would. So don’t let any of them get the wrong ideas; the last thing I need at this point is even more misunderstandings.”
He yawned.
“Anyways, tell everyone else that they have nothing to worry about. Now if you don’t mind, I am going to try and get some sleep.“
“Of course, Lord Third.”
With a respectful bow, Fleetfoot left the crater to fulfil her lord’s request.
***
Lyra yawned as she poked her head above the edge of the basket. In the distance, she could see skyport docking station coming into view. Their journey to Canterlot had taken longer than they originally planned. With the delay behind them though, they were finally ready to get to business.
After being escorted to the proper docking station by two armored pegasi, they completed the docking procedure and were standing on the streets of Canterlot. Oddly enough, in town they all blended in together as it was commonplace for highly successful ponies of various fields to acquaint with each other and socialize.
“It’s a shame that the princesses have already left,” Abstract lamented, “My proposal for the prison will have to wait.”
“What do you mean?” asked Bon Bon.
“Look up near the airspace of the castle. At any one time there will be at least twenty-five elite pegasus guards patrolling that area of sky. The only time that number ever drops is when the princesses are all absent from the castle. All of them. So Princess Cadance is probably gone too.”
“Thanks Abstract, but how did you know all that? It seems like the kind of thing that they would want to keep a secret.”
“It used to be a secret until the common ponies began noticing patterns associated with the number of pegasi and the days that court business was slow. It’s not hard to figure out. Eventually they stopped trying to hide it and actually used it to trick would be assassins and thieves.”
“As fascinating as this all is,” Fancy Pants interrupted, “perhaps we should get any shopping or business out of the way while we still can. We don’t know how long they will be gone, and we will need to devote our time to influencing the princesses and the element bearers when they return. We shall conduct our business now, and meet outside the Fromage Fantaisie later on.”
With everypony in agreeance, they all went their separate ways. Fancy Pants was a learned pony and knew that when it came to business, time was always of the essence. Those that could not move fast were left behind in the dust. With this in mind, he knew they could not keep traveling in such a slow vehicle as that balloon, and regular pegasus carriages and chariots were also unsuited to their needs.
Fancy Pants got his bearings and made his way to the Rising Sun Air Service. The company was the only air service in Equestria that used airships to transport ponies across Equestria at a very low price. It was a government funded program that he had help push for some years back, realizing the need in Equestria for long distance transport for the common pony. They even assisted farmers in moving their crops long distances, effectively assisting Equestria as a whole.
The most important part of the Canterlot branch was that it housed the office for the purchase of private airships. This was the destination he had in mind. He had only used it twice in his life, but the fact that this was the third time was pretty bad. Who else other than him had the rotten luck to ruin two airships? Granted it wasn’t his fault either time, but it was still his money.
Upon entering the building, he saw hundreds of ponies milling about. Some were just arriving, while others were heading off to destinations unknown. It was one of those few times where you saw the upper, and the lower and middle classes in one place.
To his right was his destination, and he couldn’t help but smirk at the gaudy sign that Cid used to display his shop. The only thing that should have that many flashing lights is a disco or a Hearth’s Warming tree. Even Cid himself wasn’t fond of the sign, but he once joked that the pretty lights attracted the rich and stupid in droves.
“Keep staring; eet might do a trick,” said a voice behind him.
Recognizing Cid’s voice, Fancy Pants turned around to face him. The griffin had dusty grey and white feathers and a cigar in his beak. Even though he was sure there was a law against smoking indoors, it didn’t seem to stop Cid any; nothing ever did.
Who even smoked actual tobacco anyway? It was well known it killed you. Bubbles was where it was at.
“Cid, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be out making new ships?”
“You know that ven I finish a ship, I personally deliver eet.”
“Oh? which ship would that be? I didn’t see anything new in the docks.”
“Ahh it et eez ze Artemis. A lovely military flagship for ze princesses themselves, after ze last one vas destroyed by those dastardly Legion types. Zey left in it a short while ago. Speaking of ships, I did not see ze Apollo in ze docks either. Did you travel on ze ground?”
“Ah yes...about the Apollo...”
“Please tell me you did not wreck anuzzer of my ships?”
“You see, my regular pilot got drunk and couldn’t fly the ship, so we got a new guy to do it, and he-”
Cid groaned loudly.
“I don’t care! You are like a blight to ze airship world. At ze same time though, you are also my best customer because of zat, aside from ze military. And by zat, I mean ALL of ze military. Together.”
“Yes it does seem to be a fierce competition at this point, doesn’t it? Speaking of being your best customer...”
“Let me guess, you want anuzzer ship? Perhaps something zat explodes to make eet even easier for you to destroy?”
“I was hoping for one a bit more durable actually.”
“You ask of me a ship that even you cannot destroy. You ask ze impossible.”
“Do you have something for me or not?”
Cid sighed and scratched the back of his head thinking. He was doing a mental inventory in his head of all the ships he had available.
“Let me check our summer catalog...”
***
At the head of a large army, Luna strode towards Nameless. They had made great time getting there; Las Pegasus was much closer to Nameless than Canterlot was. It had been several months since she had last visited the site of her greatest victory. Although it was not without sacrifice, that moment was one filled her with pride.
Approaching her forces was a vanguard of the 501st. It was standard military procedure to intercept any incoming troops to verify identification.
After going through motions, they finally made it to the entrance of Nameless. Luna ordered her troops to report to the commanding officers to be merged into the guard rotation or rest up. Not wishing to waste time, she had several of the 501st escort her to Shining Armor’s location.
As she approached the captain, she saw him speaking with the Wonderbolt known as Fleetfoot, who she had met briefly a few times before.
Luna cocked her head, and wondered what a Wonderbolt was doing here. To her knowledge they were all supposed to be in Cloudsdale at that moment, preparing for the Summer Sun Celebration show. She supposed that her sister might have called for them, but if that were the case, where were the others?
Shining Armor noticed her approach and came to greet her.
“Princess Luna, I’m glad you were able to make it here so quickly.”
“Is it true, captain? Did the human just turn itself over?”
“As unbelievable as it sounds, yes he did. I’m not sure what to make of it.”
“‘He’? This human is another male?”
“Yes. The human told us himself. He was growing weary of being referred to as an ‘it’. In the interest of keeping him happy, I order everypony to address him as such.”
“...How did you even get him here?”
“Uhh...I promised him that he would not be restrained if he came along willingly.”
“And after he came here willingly, you...restrained him?”
“I meant I wouldn’t restrain him while escorting him to his prison. He still had to be restrained once he actually got here.”
“...But did he know that’s what you meant?”
Shining Armor froze, and his eye twitched.
“...I’m an idiot.”
“Have you at least learned anything else about the human? You have had him in captivity long enough; with how much they love to talk, you must have learned something? Hopefully something about their origins?”
“All we know is that the human was exploring our world, and only entered Hoofington to gather food. From there he was under assault from a mob until our timely arrival. The only thing about humans we have learned is that they are omnivorous, as it requested a ‘burger’ to dine on. This information was all gathered by Miss Fleetfoot.”
“I noticed her on the way over. Why is she here? Are the rest of the Wonderbolts present?”
Shining Armor retold the story that he had been given by Fleetfoot, which seemed a reasonably enough explanation to Luna. It did make her feel a bit better that one of the Wonderbolts was present though. They were alway integral to standing against Equestria’s enemies.
Most of the time, anyway.
“I need to know, was the human armed in any way? Did it possess anything like the Reaper’s horn that First and Second used?”
“Nothing on him. He seems generally peaceful in nature, though he did get rather irritable at times. In fact, the only sign of aggression he showed was when one of my underlings insulted him, and even then he simply requested we remove the soldier from his presence. If you don’t mind me saying, this whole situation is just crazy.”
“These are crazy times, Shining. I want you to have all the soldiers at the ready, as I am going to enter the barrier and speak with the human alone.”
“Of course, princess.”
WIth that, Shining Armor cast the phase spell onto her body and she passed through the barrier. Although she was full of confidence and determination before, the thought of being so close to a human had her legs shaking.
Each step she took towards the center was shakier than the last. She knew it was unbecoming of a pony of her power and status to be so frightened, but she couldn’t help it. After what Second had managed to do her sister...all the blood...
She shook her head and composed herself. No time for that now.
The human seemed to noticed her approach, as the chains around him began to jingle in movement. She stopped herself a good twenty feet away from the human, as close as she dared get to him.
He appeared to be on his knees, and had his head bowed towards the dusty ground. Slowly, he looked up, and she watched as he stared at her with one eye through his long black mane that hung past his shoulders. His gaze was unreadable, and the feeling of mystery about him only increased her anxiousness. She felt her heart racing as she willed herself to speak, but no words would come.
“Huh, you have a horn and wings. A bit greedy, aren’t we?”
Whatever Luna expected the human’s first words to be, those weren’t it.
“E-excuse me?”
“Well, that got you talking. What is it you want, Luna?”
“How do you know my name?!” she demanded, surprised by his knowledge.
“Because whether I liked it or not, I was good at my job.”
“What do you mean ‘good at your job’?” Luna asked.
She was beginning to feel a bit less tense, but notably more confused.
Damn, my nose is itchy. Would it be inappropriate to ask her to scratch it?
“Look, humans aren’t what you think we are. We’re just a relatively normal race of beings who watch the multiverse, and normally our policy is to never interfere in the lives of those we observe, but things were set into motion that forced me to come here. That is all I can tell you.”
Yes, that sounds convincing. See, Fleetfoot? Me pretending to be someone of importance? THAT takes acting talent. Goddamn my nose.
He was quite proud of the story he had come up with. The best kind of lies were those that had a bit of truth in them. It was true that humans did watch this world, and something had to have happened to send him here. He figured that telling her that she was a work of fiction, created for the amusement of children would not go over too well.
“You lie, human. We know of your nature, and your true power. They call you an Elder God. Your predecessors already let us know of what you are really like.”
Did she just compare me to Cthulhu?
“You believed them? Look, I’ve read your history books and seen the pictures of these beings. Although they look human, I am can tell you for a fact that they cannot have been. Humans do not have the kinds of powers those two had. The only powers humans have are our aforementioned multiverse viewing deal, and even then that’s technology, not anything we actually do.”
“How do I know that you are not simply lying to me? For all I know you could just be trying to trick me into letting my guard down. I saw myself what Second and First were capable of.”
“How about the fact that I am here? Look at me, I am your prisoner. If I had all of these powers you claim that humans have, then I wouldn’t have let myself get captured. Heck, I would have defended myself against the crazy mob that chased me. Yes I may have blustered and claimed to be a god earlier, but that was just to keep myself alive. I was worried about what would happen if I told a group of human hating creatures that I was powerless.”
Luna bit her lip as she considered the human’s words. He was certainly making a lot of sense. There was no reason she could think of that would explain why a powerful Elder God would allow themselves to be treated in such a manner. It wasn’t like Second or First ever needed to use trickery to win any battles, so this likely wasn’t a trap either. Not that she was discounting the possibility, but she couldn’t help but think, perhaps he was telling the truth? Maybe Second and First weren’t true humans.
Hayato meanwhile could see that the princess was beginning to believe his story. It was quite possible he might have been able to arrange some sort of limited freedom, and protection from psycho pony mobs. If he was really lucky, he could even find a way home. He probably came here by some form of magic, and these ponies also had magic. Made sense.
If only his damn nose would stop itching.
Several time he went to say something but that only irritated his nose and made the itch worse. The straw that broke the camel’s back was when a strand of hair brushed lightly across his nose. He raised his arms up as quickly as he could and scratched desperately, sighing when he finally got the relief he had been seeking.
During his ecstasy he failed to notice several things, most importantly the fact that the chains that had bound him broke away like dry twigs. When he opened his eyes, Luna was staring at him in horror and shock. Confused, he looked around his knees and saw the chains lying in pieces around him, and he realised what happened.
How could I have believed him? This was all just an elaborate ruse.
Hayato saw Luna take a few steps backwards from him.
“...I swear, this has never happened to me before.”
“Enough! We are done here,” Luna said, turning and moving quickly towards the edge of the crater.
“No wait! Come back!”
The alicorn did not turn and seemed to have picked up her pace.
“What about my burger?!”
***
Captain found himself standing at the foot of the stairs. The entire downstairs of the house was in ruins. Everything that had crossed his path found itself the victims of his claws and teeth. He was particularly proud of his work in the bathroom. If any pony dared enter that room again they would probably have nightmares for years to come.
He now faced the prospect of an entire area of the house that was yet untouched. He was getting chills just thinking about the destruction he was about the unleash. Not wanting to prolong the wait, Captain made his way upstairs.
When he reached the top, it was like he was in a dream. If the downstairs looked nice, this area was fit for royalty. Or rather, it was fit for royalty. Like a tiny tornado he set about demolishing all he came across. The only thing that made him stop was a particularly nice looking room. It was full of glass shelves and pictures of the loud green one. It apparently loved a strange gold string thing, as it was sitting on a high shelf, with lots pointless decorations around it.
A tear of pure joy slid from his right eye as he set upon the instrument. It was time to see if the gold thing could fly.
***
Hayato sat on the sandy ground in the middle of the crater, legs crossed, prodding the chains curiously. After he broke them, everyone all agreed that it was pointless trying to put him back in them, so now he was just being trusted to stay put and not cause trouble. He used his newfound freedom to examine the metal his chains were made from and try to find out what had happened.
The conclusion that he reached were that these could not possibly be any kind of metal, because they had the consistency of wet toilet paper. Whether through magic or a really elaborate prank, what should have been some kind of indestructible metal alloy was in fact just some weird mushy stuff that had temporarily taken a solid form. Like when play dough went dry.
He knew this was the case because despite the ponies’ claims that he was crushing and breaking the super strong metal with his Herculean strength, he was not exerting that much force. He was just lightly squeezing it, and it acted like clay.
Strength did not work like that. Even those stupidly strong bodybuilders with massive muscles who could bench press cars were aware when they were exerting a lot of force on an object, and when they were being light. He could feel his muscles, and even if he was that strong, he definitely was not using enough force to make metal do this.
Therefore, this shit was not metal, no matter what they said.
What did they even call this again? Dwarf star alloy? I swear I’ve heard that before. I think it was in a Doctor Who episode. Why does Equestria have it? Clearly they stopped caring about copyright infringement.
Hayato went to take a step forward to walk around inside the barrier when he was suddenly pulled back into his spot. He had forgotten about the chains around his throat that led to the edges of the crater. Since it wasn’t metal, and he could break it easily, perhaps a test was in order?
He lightly tested the chains to see how far they would go before becoming taut. Once he got a good measure he took a few deep breaths.
***
“Captain, princess, you should come over here right now. The human is doing something.”
Immediately the two rushed over to the edge of the barrier and looked down to where the Third was. Previously, they had come to an understanding that he was not to leave the barrier or cause trouble. He sat simply just sat there and played with the metal like it was a toy. Both of them feared that the human may be growing bored, and nothing was as frightening as a human that was bored.
“Alright soldiers, I am setting priority alert red,“ Shining Armor commanded, “The human is acting strangely and we need to be on guard in case he is turning hostile. I want all units that are on break ready in two minutes. Now go.”
All the ponies set about their tasks and prepared for what could easily be the most deadly battle of their lives. Luna could only stare at the human in wonder, as it suddenly stopped moving.
I wish Celestia were here.
***
Focused on his experiment, Hayato did not notice the soldiers rushing about at the edge of the crater. Bringing to mind every kung fu movie he had ever seen, he took a solid stance and then swung his head down as hard as he could.
At once, all of the heavy chains connected to the crater snapped, leaving behind only a small piece and a plume of dust as they hit the ground. Hayato using his jacket to cover his mouth so he didn’t inhale all of the dust, but when he was done he stared proudly at the result. Every single chain broke at the same time. Even though they weren’t really metal, he felt like a badass.
Well, that was fun while it lasted. Now what am I going to do?
Hayato then noticed the commotion up on the edge of the barrier and decided to go see what was up. When he got close to the barrier he saw the line back away and point their weapons at him. He had no clue why; it wasn’t like he was a threat inside this barrier. The worst thing he could do was moon them, and that wouldn’t be enjoyable for anybody involved.
“Why are you all acting like this? It’s because I’m black, isn’t it?”
He was trying to lighten the mood, but his joke only served to make them all very confused.
Eh, confused isn’t hostile, I’ll take what I can get.
It wasn’t even a good joke. He couldn’t blame them.
Getting bored of the sight of weapons being pointed at him, Hayato walked back into the center of the barrier and sat down. He found it to be much preferable to being on his knees all day. He didn’t understand how his sister did it for a living.
...Because she was a preschool teacher. AND NOTHING ELSE.
Wait a minute. I could sculpt! If these things are like putty, why don’t I make something? Time to blow some minds with my mad skillz.
With his new goal in mind, he set about gathering all the chains in the crater and removing the rest of it from around his neck. Although he really wanted his food, this was a project that could not wait. It would be like the time he played Minecraft, only this time he planned on successfully creating something instead of quitting ten minutes in and trying to get a refund.
Still got that refund.
***
The mighty airship Artemis soared proudly over the barren wasteland. Celestia stood at the prow of the ship watching as Nameless came into view. She had made it a point to never return here if she could help it. She let her scientists come and go freely, but the area was just too tainted for her to ever feel comfortable here. Especially since she had often visited the forest before the impact.
However, she had a job to do, and would not let her comfort level dictate her duty. After the captain found a suitable landing zone Celestia, accompanied her niece and by Twilight and her friends, made her way to the command office where they were sure to find Shining Armor.
Instead of going straight to the building however, they were intercepted by Luna, who visibly relaxed upon seeing her sister.
“Sister, it is good that you have finally arrived! Might I ask what took so long?”
“There were a few things I had to sign at the skyport before we could take the airship. The Artemis is newly purchased. But I am here now. How are things?”
“Things are...not stable right now. The human is being cooperative for the moment, but I fear it may not last.”
“Come sister, we shall talk over here. Twilight, I want you to go meet up with your brother and have him join us.”
Twilight nodded and ran off to find Shining Armor. It was a short run, and it turned out he was making his way outside already, so she met him as he was coming through the doorway.
Cadance flew over the soldiers and embraced her husband. As embarrassed and surprised as he was, he knew better than to try and push her off. She was a worrier, and this whole affair must have had made her a nervous wreck. He still remembered how emotional she got just before the campaign into Atlantis.
“Honey, please...not in front of the soldiers...”
Cadence laughed and pulled away from him. Deciding to move things along, Twilight spoke up.
“Shining, the princess asked us to come and fetch you. She wants to talk before we see the human.”
“Ahh yes. I’m sure Luna’s explained everything already?”
“She’s explaining it to Celestia right now.”
“Um, is it safe to be here?” mumbled Fluttershy.
“What was that? I didn’t hear you.”
“Is it safe to be here?” she asked, even quieter than before.
Shining Armor turned to Twilight in confusion. He couldn’t understand a thing that mare was saying.
“I think she is asking you if it is safe to be here, what with the human’s prison so close.”
“Oh...To be honest, I’m not sure. You remember the dwarf star alloy chains that we used to secure the Nameless One?”
Twilight nodded.
”Well, he broke them. Even after we magically reinforced them.”
Rainbow Dash and Twilight both gasped in surprise, and the others looked equally shocked.
“And I don’t even think it was intentional, because he did it in the middle of trying to convince the princess he was actually powerless. Last I saw, he was modeling it into shapes like a foal playing with crafting clay. Personally, I think he’s just showing off.”
While nopony other than Twilight really understood the science behind the chains, all of them knew first hoof just how tough they were, and just what their captive being able to break them meant. Fluttershy especially seemed to lock up in fear. Out of all of them, only Applejack took the news in stride.
“Now jus’ calm down, ya’ll. We already knew these humans were made of tough stuff. Yeah, it might’ve broke them chains, but it’s still stuck here behind that big ‘ol barrier. Let’s not forget that the princesses are here with us. We’re gonna be fine. Let’s head on back.”
Everypony seemed to feel a little better after Applejack’s speech. Even some of the soldiers around them were feeling a bit more confident in the situation. As she walked away and the others followed, Shining Armor could not help but be impressed.
Rainbow Dash meanwhile noticed a familiar blue mare over on the other side of the complex.
“Hey guys, I’ll meet up with you in a few minutes. I think I see Fleetfoot over there. I’m gonna go see what she’s doing here.”
As the others left, Rainbow Dash took to the air to go greet her friend and teammate. Surprisingly enough, she was just walking about on the ground. Fleetfoot loved flying as much as she did, and Rainbow rarely ever saw her walk, even on clouds.
“Hey Echo, whatcha doing walking on the ground?” she asked.
Fleetfoot turned around to see Rainbow Dash hovering in the air behind her.
“Oh, hey Rainbow. Why are you here? I thought you were on break for your birthday?”
“Yeah, I guess a human showing up trumps my birthday. It’s cool though. Once we’re done here, I can go back to my vacation. Just partying and sleeping all day long. I might even get a few pranks in while I’m at it. More importantly though, why are you hoofing it?”
“I did a bit too much endurance flying. Doctor says no more flying for today. Bummer, huh?”
“Yeah that sucks,” Rainbow said as she dropped to the ground, “Well, I'll just walk with you then. Have you seen it yet? The human I mean.”
“Yes I did. He was very polite and kind. He was a lot more civil than some ponies that I’ve met.”
“Kind? Come on Echo, humans aren’t kind. They’re monsters.”
“You haven’t even met him yet, Rainbow! You shouldn’t judge somepony, or human until you’ve met them at least.”
“I’ve met humans before, remember? The only thing humans care about are themselves, and nothing else. They terrorize ponies and destroy their lives. They already tried to kill the princess once before, and almost succeeded!”
“B-but have you considered that this one might be different?”
“Why’d they be different Echo? What makes him any different from Second and First? They acted polite at times too. Doesn’t excuse anything they did. I‘d sooner believe Discord was a good guy. At least he never tried to kill anypony! I know you try and see the good in everypony, and that’s awesome, but you’ve got to face it. Sometimes, a monster is just a monster.”
Fleetfoot’s ears drooped as her friend walked ahead of her. As much as she wanted to convince Rainbow to change her beliefs, she knew that she was fighting a losing battle. Rainbow had seen the darkness that the ponies had forced out of Lords First and Second. A small part of her held hope that one day Rainbow would change her mind, but she knew it would be a long time.
“Hey slowpoke, you coming or what?”
“Yeah, Dash...right behind you.”
***
Lyra and Abstract walked through the streets of Canterlot together. Neither of them had anything particularly pressing to do at the moment, so they decided to stick together. It was rare that the two had the time to spend together. As gruff as he was, Lyra had gotten along with him ever since they were foals at the orphanage.
She remembered when she first told Abstract about her idea of forming the Brotherhood, and fully expected him to laugh her off or dismiss her. But he supported her, and actually improved her idea, turning it from a simple club to what the Brotherhood was today. He was a great guy, if just a little bit rough around the edges.
“Lyra...why are you staring at me? Are you doing one of your internal monologues again?”
Lyra realized she had gone into a trance again and shook her head to snap herself out of it.
“N-no I was just spacing out, thinking about Lord Third. I am worried about him.”
“I’m sure he’s fine. If they try to do anything drastic, I’m sure that he will resolve things peacefully like before. He seems determined to not let the royal upstarts get the better of him.”
When Abstract finished speaking Lyra could not suppress her groan.
“Not this again, Abstract...”
Abstract shook his head as they reached the edge of the business district and were now on the path to the castle proper.
“Don’t you take that tone, Lyra. I’ve made my position on them quite clear.”
Lyra’s friend was a rare example of an anti-royalist in Equestria. So rare in fact, that she had never actually met or even heard of anypony who shared his views, or at least nopony who expressed them. He and presumably anypony who agreed with him wisely kept quiet about it.
“I don’t see why you think they’re so bad. Sure, they made a mistake with the humans, but that doesn’t mean we should demonize them, especially when they’ve saved us all so many times before.”
“Just because they’ve done some good, doesn’t mean that we should ignore all the bad either, Lyra. One of them tried to drag the land into eternal night, twice.”
“But that wasn’t even her! That was Nightmare Moon!”
“Yeah, sure. That excuses everything.”
“She apologized so many times for that, and she felt so bad about it! And she’s done so much to help make up for it since! Like when Atlantis attacked, or the Nameless One!”
“Three months, Lyra.”
“What?”
“Three months was how long the sun was gone one thousand years back, during the War of the Night. Yes they make it seem like it was one night, and technically it was. But it lasted for three months of normal time. Do you know how many ponies died during those three months? How many starved or froze to death? Because I’ve read the history books, and I know. It was a lot. Just because it happened a long time ago doesn’t mean it’s not still an atrocity.”
“But at a certain point, you have to learn to forgive Abstract...”
“What of our neighbors? The sun had to go somewhere. South Zebrica faced one of the worst droughts in their history. Seventeen thousand zebras dead because of what she did. So it doesn’t matter how sorry she is about it, sorry doesn’t bring back the dead. It just makes the living feel better at night.”
“I...I understand how you feel. I just..”
“It’s okay, Lyra. I know you don’t see things the same as I do. You’re a better pony than I am. I’m amazed sometimes how easily you can forgive somepony. And that’s why you’re in charge and I’m not.”
“Heh, and ‘cause it was my idea.”
“Yeah, and because it was your idea. Hey look, we’re here.”
Lyra and Abstract found themselves standing at the entrance to the castle gardens. The guards had let them pass by without a second thought. The two them were in such good standing with the princesses that the guards had long since bothered with asking if they were expected. Lyra had even gained permission to use most of the castle and grounds as inspiration and had free roam of the place. It was a nice side benefit of Luna being a fan of her work.
Today they had a specific destination in mind. The statue of Lord Second. They had visited it many times before. Little did ponies know, the sonata ‘Lyra’s Second’ was actually composed for Lord Second under his very statue. The only ponies who really knew that were the members of the Brotherhood who saw the sonata for what it was.
“Hello, my Lord. We are back,” Lyra said, greeting the petrified human.
Abstract followed in suit, giving a respectful bow to the statue. It was said by some that Lord Second could still see and hear the world around him, even in his stone prison. Abstract himself rather doubted it. Second was trapped with his eyes closed and head bowed. However, respect was still given where it was due.
“I have some very good news, my Lord. Another human has arrived in our world. He has remained peaceful, much like you tried to. Things aren’t looking the best right now, but we are supporting him as much as we can.”
Her friend rolled his eyes.
“Come on Lyra, Lord Third isn’t here to play nice. He is here to take down those corrupt alicorns. They tried to do it last time they came here, but those tricksters turned the forces of good against them. Let us not forget about the brutal murder of Lord First.”
“That was an accident, and you know it.”
“Was it? Up until that point there were absolutely no casualties. Not a single pony died in any of the conflicts. Even when they attacked Celestia, they didn’t manage a fatal wound. They were giving her a chance to live. In return for their mercy, her underling murdered the Lord First in cold blood.
“Yes, he died as well, but it isn’t below Celestia to sacrifice her pawns to achieve her objectives. It was only then, when the mercy they showed was returned with death, that ponies began to die. Even then it only ever totalled five, and even they were only ponies who provoked him by insulting his fallen comrade in front of him. Lord Second even let the Elements seal him away, rather than prolong the war and risk more ponies lives. Those tyrants took heroes and tore them down.”
“Oh, Abstract...”
“They will pay for their crimes one day, Lyra. Nopony escapes justice. Not even them.”
***
Done with the explanations, everypony was gathered outside the barrier. They had all made preparations for entering the prison. All of them were on edge, and did not know what to expect. They had all been much more comfortable when they thought the human was bound by the chains.
Worst case scenario, Twilight and her friends were already wearing the element necklaces too.
Not wanting to delay the moment any longer, Shining Armor cast the phasing spell on all nine of the ponies and their dragon companion, and led the way through the barrier. Right behind him was Rainbow Dash, who was determined to keep the human out of reach of her friends and the princesses. All three alicorns followed afterwards, and then the rest of the elements. Rarity was the last one through, as she had to push the terrified Fluttershy along.
She felt bad for doing it, but they would need all of the Elements of Harmony if the human tried to attack them. They were all surprised to see several objects in the center of the crater with the prisoner, while the chains were nowhere to be seen. As they headed down towards the center of the impact site, they saw that the human was doing...something.
When they got closer, they could see that the objects were statues of some kind. Those hadn’t been there before. The human seemed lost in thought as he continued to mold parts of the statue that he apparently wasn’t happy with. They all looked to be bipedal like himself, but hideously deformed, and some were winged too.
After standing there for several minutes, Shining Armor cleared his throat loudly the catch his attention.
Turning around, Hayato was surprised to see he had gained a rather large audience. What was more surprising was that it was the entire cast of main characters from the show. He knew at some point he would run into them, but he wasn’t expecting it to be this soon.
“Oh hey, when did you all get here? I’ve been working on my statues for a little while now. I think they’re turning out great. What do you think?”
Hayato pulled out a statue no bigger than a doll and held it up for them to see. It was rather bulbous and like nothing they had ever seen.
“Check it out. I made a snowman...out of metal! Or a pale imitation of metal anyway. No idea what this shit is, but it’s kinda doughy. Like wet toilet paper. Or batter. You know, I would upset with you, Shining, that you broke your word. But considering how much effort you went through to set up a prank like this, I can only give you kudos.”
“It wasn’t a prank! Stop breaking physics!”
“...said the magical talking horse...”
“I’m being serious!”
“Look, these are not metal, and definitely not any kind of strong metal, and I can prove it!”
Hayato threw the snow/metalman onto the floor and stood on it with both feet. It began to be crushed into a flat circular shape.
“I’m not pressing down with my feet. My weight alone is doing this. Even if I were super strong and breaking the metal as you claim, my weight still wouldn’t be able to do this unless I was heavy enough to shake the earth as I walk, and the metal still wouldn’t bend in that way. Therefore, it is not metal. Logic wins! Take that, weirdo pony guy!”
“I...but...Princess, help me out here, please?”
“Actually that’s...Yeah. I think he’s right.”
“THAT’S METAL! IT’S METAL, I SWEAR! IT’S DWARF STAR ALLOY! THOSE ARE THE SAME CHAINS! DO I HAVE TO GET THE DOCTOR BACK IN HERE TO PROVE IT?!”
“Honey, stop shouting...” said Cadance.
Hayato raised an eyebrow at the mention of the Doctor, but didn’t comment.
“Oh for the love of...”
Shining Armor grabbed the metal out from under Hayato and lifted it into the air with his magic. He reached to his side and drew his sword. The human cringed, thinking he was about to be attacked, but Shining struck the black disk shape with the blade repeatedly, causing sparks to fly and not damaging it even slightly. His sword on the other hand eventually broke in half.
He tossed it back at Hayato’s feet, who stared at it like the captain had just shat on his lawn.
“Your move, human.”
“...Okay. So, hear me out - What if the metal itself is alive and sentient, and it just changes its consistency when anyone else touches it to make me look crazy?”
“Oh don’t worry, you’re doing that plenty fine on your own, what with your weird rambling and your breaking of physics and your crazy obsessive sculpting of...whatever the hay those are.”
“They’re angels...”
“What in Equestria is an angel?”
“I thought those were gargoyles,” said Luna, “They died out sometime during my banishment, but I recall that there used to be many of them, and they looked a lot like that. Tremendously ugly, but rather friendly beings. They were a bit taller than that though...And I don’t think you got the fangs right.”
“Uh...yes. Angel is the human word for gargoyle...” Hayato lied.
His eyes shifted about nervously. The worst part was now that they pointed it out, he could see the resemblance to a gargoyle.
I’m a terrible artist.
“They must look a bit different in your world because there are a lot of mistakes in this...”
“Do you see me coming into your home, and pointing out the flaws in your art? No, didn’t think so.”
“I don’t think you would have that kind of time,” mumbled Celestia just loud enough for Luna to hear.
“Works of art aside, we have business to discuss,” Luna said in an attempt to prevent this conversation from going further.
“So why are you here?” Spike asked, stepping forward.
“Oh no, you’re that purple guy...dragon...thing...Spike, right?”
“Yeah, that’s me, and what do you mean ‘oh no’? What’s that supposed to mean? And how do you even know me anyway?!”
“You’re a kid. I hate kids.”
“Here we go..” said Rainbow Dash off to the side.
“I’m not a kid! I am getting tired of people acting like that!”
“Okay, be totally honest with me now. How old are you?”
“Twenty one.”
The human blinked.
“Seriously?”
“Seriously!”
“Then how come you haven’t aged in...Umm...How long has it been since the first ep- since...Uh...”
He wracked his brain.
“How long since...Nightmare...thing. Whatever?”
“Since my return?” offered Luna.
“Yeah, that.”
“Nine years.”
Hayato quickly ran some calculations in his head.
Twenty one minus nine...So he would have been...Yeah. He was definitely a kid when the series started. And he hasn’t aged at all. Is that TV weirdness like the Simpsons suffer from, or is there an actual explanation?
“How come you still look so young then?”
“Because I’m a dragon! We age slower than any other species, at least without other things that make us grow really fast. I am four feet tall now! I’m not as short as I was nine years ago!”
“Huh, I guess you are a little taller than...I last saw you...”
“You last saw me never because we’ve never met! How do you know my name?!”
I am so tempted to tell him he’s a cartoon character and watch them all suffer an existential crisis.
“Well you see, humans are actually a race of watchers....”
“Oh no you don’t. I already told them about your lies! We are not going to fall for it again,” Luna declared.
“Well get used to it, because that’s the only story you are getting. There are some things ponies aren’t meant to know. Better yet, we can do a sharing session. Hey Celestia, why don’t you tell us about your parents? In fact, where do alicorns even come from? I’m sure that’s a good story.”
At this both Celestia and Luna paled. The origins of alicorns were a closely kept secret that only three creatures knew of. Those being the princesses, and Discord.
“Fine, we shall not ask you about your world any further,” Celestia said diplomatically.
“Yep. Thought so.”
“Well if you won’t answer that, then at least tell us what you are doing here,” said Spike, taking charge once more.
“In my realm, I am known as Galactus, eater of worlds. I came here because I was hungry.”
At these words they all assumed battle positions, save for Fluttershy who just cowered.
“I’m joking. But seriously, will someone get me that burger? I asked for it hours ago, and that damn griffin still hasn’t got back to me on it.”
“I know it must be exhaustingly difficult for you to manage, but do you think you could be serious for five minutes?” snapped Celestia.
“My God you people are tense. Why can none of you lighten up even slightly? It’s not like you’re the ones in prison...”
“Because the worst monsters to ever walk our lands kept telling us the same thing. We’ve had enough would-be comedians to last a lifetime.”
“So you are judging me for the actions of others? Perhaps I should be mad at all of you for forming a mob and chasing me?”
“But we didn’t-”
“No, you didn’t. But it was ponies that did it. Seems pretty unfair when you are on the other side, doesn’t it?”
“We...”
Celestia sighed.
“I apologise if our actions have been extreme, but understand that after Second and First, we cannot take any chances. We know what your kind are capable of, and last time when we failed to take proper action against humans who wished us harm, they hospitalised thousands of ponies and rained destruction on our cities.”
Hayato’s eyes were drawn to a series of scars that were peppered across Celestia’s side.
“They weren’t exactly easy on you either, I see.”
“No, they were not. I must ask you to be honest in my next question. Are you carrying a Reaper’s horn on you right now?”
Reapers horn? Oh, the shotgun.
“No I am not. I didn’t even bring one with me.”
Both Celestia and Luna were flooded with relief. While the human was powerful, it was the weapon itself that was their true reason to be afraid. At least they were not in any mortal danger.
“So what is your plan? Are you wanting to lock me up and throw away the key?”
“We’ll see. If you truly mean us no harm, that will become apparent and we’ll trust you to go free without causing chaos. If you try to make problems though, we’ll respond as needed.”
“How am I supposed to prove myself while sitting in a dusty crater? I have already made you a gargoyle statue as a gift.”
“You made this for us?”
“Well, no. But you can have it if it’ll get me out sooner.”
“...Indeed. We still do have questions, I hope you know. That’s a good way to get out sooner. We’d very much appreciate some answers and cooperation. Starting with a repeat of a question you still haven’t answered; Why are you here?”
“You want the truth? Fine. I don’t know why I am here. The last thing I remember is being in my world, and then I just woke up here in a forest. I don’t know I got here or how I am supposed to get back. My last memory is of going to bed, but I’m pretty sure that some stuff happened between that and getting here because it feels like it was a while ago.”
“You are simply stranded here? You never meant to come to Equestria?”
“Yeah. Are you happy now?”
“No. That’s rather sad, actually. I am sorry for your predicament.”
“Oh, it’s okay. The ponies were so friendly and understanding about it all. They even had a welcoming committee for me. You’re such nice and approachable creatures. Never would hurt a fly, you lot. Friendship is magic, and all that crap.”
The ponies present shuffled uncomfortably in place. Even Fluttershy seemed less scared and more concerned about Hayato. He reminded her of a bunny that had gotten separated from its family, albeit angrier and louder.
“We are sorry. We never intended to overreact, but as we’ve explained-”
“Yeah, yeah. Second and First. Super monster creatures that look like humans and whatnot. I’ve got to say, you all really have some strange ideas about humans if you think you need chains made of dwarf star alloy to hold us. Regular handcuffs would do.”
Celestia’s eyes darted over to the giant gargoyle statue that Hayato had made out of his previous restraints.
“Clearly.”
“So, any other questions that will set me free? Because clearly that burger isn’t coming.”
“Would somepony please go get him his burger so he will stop complaining?!” asked Shining Armor shouted over his shoulder at the soldiers on the edge of the crater.
“Oh, I’m sorry, is my whining making you uncomfortable, captain-slash-prince-slash-whatever else Armor? Are these not suitable conditions for his lordship? Does being in the big, dusty crater having to deal with the smelly, dirty human make you pine for your luxurious palace and four poster bed that I’m keeping you from?”
Before Shining Armor could retort, Celestia asked him another question. If they were allowed to go back and forth they wouldn’t get anywhere.
“What do you know about the Reaper’s horn. Do you know how it works?”
Hmm. How to explain this...
“You pull the trigger and things die.”
Celestia planted a hoof in her face.
“I mean, why can it harm alicorns like myself, or hypothetically, my sister? Only others of our kind or similar beings should be able to do that. No weapon should be capable of such a thing.”
Ahhh...
“...It’s...got a magic death spell on it. Using human magic. Completely different from what ponies have. Yeah.”
“Magic specifically for harming alicorns? So...Second and First came here with killing us in mind. No surprise there, actually.”
“Uh, the spell wasn’t meant for alicorns specifically. Would you believe me if I told you that it was made to kill humans?”
“Well, that would explain how Private Steel Hammer was able to kill First with it...” Luna mused.
“Wait a minute, how did he use it in the first place? Ponies don’t have hands.”
Hayato tried picturing a pony holding it in its mouth, but it just seemed impossible and unwieldy. The princesses just shrugged.
“We do have a lot of other questions about Second and First-”
“Believe me, so do I.”
“-But those can wait for a while, we think. For now, we just have one last question, and then if it’s okay with you, I’m sure Twilight and her friends here have some of their own.”
Twilight nodded to confirm that they did.
“Fine. Let’s just get this over with.”
“What is your true name?”
“That’s all? My name?”
“Well, following trends of how we named humans in the past, you would be the Third. But I’m assuming you have an actual name? They never told us theirs, but then, we never had a chance to ask.”
“It’s Hayato Midō.”
***
A familiar ashen grey pony stalked angrily through the streets of Hoofington. Despite his name being Lucky Seven, he wasn’t feeling very lucky right now. All he wanted to do was relax away from the pretentious atmosphere of Canterlot for one week. And what happens? A human appears and puked all over him. Today was officially the worst day of his life.
As he made it to his home, he noticed something rather odd. The door to his neighbor Lyra’s house was wide open. That was not the only strange thing, because from what he could see from the street, several objects looked strewn about haphazardly. Although he needed a shower badly, he would have felt bad if Lyra was in trouble and he didn’t go to help her.
With a sigh of resignation, he headed inside the home. He had only ever been inside this house twice before, and Lyra always kept it immaculate. That is why it was such a shock to see it in it’s current state. Everything was dark and torn to shreds. Like a pack of diamond dogs went on a rampage and just disappeared.
Lucky blanched when he saw what looked to be blood covering parts of the floor. He was tempted to run away screaming but held his ground.
Stallion up Lucky, Lyra could be really hurt in here.
Carefully walking through the wreckage of the house, Lucky kept an eye out for any signs of life. His head snapped around to the left when he could have sworn he saw something moving. Upon closer inspection of the area, he found he was alone.
Just nerves, old boy. Just have to check upstairs, and then you can go.
Slowly, he crept upstairs, trying to ignore the feeling like he was being watched. If he didn’t know any better, it seemed like it was starting to get foggier as he went upstairs.
Wait, it was getting foggier as he went up the stairs. He couldn’t help but feel like this was some B-movie where a monster was going to pop out at any second. It was a completely ridiculous notion of course; this was real life, and nothing like that ever happened in real life. Ever. At all.
Being as quiet as he could, he crept down the halfway, taking quick peeks in each of the rooms as he went.
Nothing. No signs that Lyra was even home. That meant he could leave now, right? His sense of chivalry said otherwise. He had one last room to check, and it was the prized music room she had showed off before. The door creaked loudly as he entered the foggiest room in the house. It was getting harder to breath the deeper he went in.
When he heard the door click shut he nearly jumped out of his skin. He began to hear the steps of something else in the room. Now he knew it wasn’t just nerves, he wasn’t alone. He heard movement behind him and turned around, coming face to face with a beast with razor sharp teeth and glowing eyes. Also a pirate hat.
With all sense of courage gone, he relieved himself on the floor as he screamed like a little filly. This was followed up by him breaking through the closed door and running out of the house, still screaming for his life.
Back in the house, a certain kappa was rolling on the floor in laughter as he pulled off the mask he had found. Captain could barely breath as he tossed it beside the fog machine from the attic. He was having the time of his life. If only Master was here with him, then he would be having twice as much fun.
Well, that was one house down. And the rest of Hoofington awaited.
END.