Anarchy in the Equestrian Nation

I sat on Manga's couch, admiring the numerous Japonese watercolors and replica weapons all along the walls of his living room. A particular display case held three racks of authentic katanas, with an empty spot where I could tell a fourth rack once was. I carefully studied a nearby watercolor painted on reed paper, a scene that showed the sun setting over... The school?

Inspection revealed that it was, in fact, the school, seen from far away as the sun set behind it. I noticed a tag hanging from it, which gave the artist's name and the title.

"Artist: Manga

Title: Home", the tag read. I studied the details outside of the school and noticed nothing other than our lunch table, painted below a Japonese maple that wasn't really there.

"I did that my freshman year." I heard my friend's voice come from behind me, causing me to jump. "That maple was there up until last year, when it died and was cut down. We're going to plant a cherry tree where it once was. Anyway, here's the kittens." He gestured with his tail to a litter of kittens snuggling with their mother in a basket that he'd brought from his room. "Naota is with Dad on a trip right now." he explained, noting my confusion as to where the father was. I got up and bent down to say hello to Ninamori, a cat who was very fond of me. She playfully batted at my muzzle before laying back down.

"These are Revy, Haruko, Atomsk, Elric, Amarao, Kusanagi, and Takkun." he explained, gesturing in turn to each particular kitten. My eyes laid on Takkun, a silvery-grey tomkit. "Eyeing the runt of the litter, are we?" he asked, grabbing a small basket with a blanket in it for the month-old tom.

"How much?" I asked, stroking the sleeping kitten.

"Free, as long as the home you're taking him to is good, which given you live with Clock, shouldn't be a problem." he replied, smiling. He carefully lifted Takkun, who stirred drowsily in his magical grasp, and placed him in the mini-basket before giving the cat to me. "He still needs to be fed milk twice daily, once before you go to school and once after. Try feeding him wet cat food in a few weeks. He's already box-trained, so I'll drop off a litterbox and a bag of litter tomorrow, so till then use a newspaper." he explained, speaking a mile a minute. "See you tomorrow at school."

"See ya, Manga." I said, bowing and exiting the house with the basket's handle in my mouth.

I made my way back to the Industrial District and the three-story brass and wood house I called home.

I nearly dropped Takkun once I made it there.

Standing outside the front door of the empty house, wearing a fresh, clean suit and with his mane slicked back, was Dad. He knocked on the door, apparently unaware of my presence. I set down Takkun near the bush by our front door and tapped on Dad's withers. He turned around and instantly recognized me, wrapping me in a bear hug. "Jack, I missed you so much! I was worried about you and..." I quieted him, placing a hoof over his mouth, and continued embracing my father.

"I missed you too, Dad." He softly sobbed into my shoulder, but the shift of muscles in his neck and jowls indicated a smile. "So..." I began after we broke apart, "Did you get custody?"

"Not yet. The court decreed you had to stay with Gearbox until I complete four months of rehab." he said sadly. "It'll be about the end of the school year before I can try to get custody again." I frowned at this news. "Hey, looks like you got a little friend." he pointed out, nudging the basket.

"Ah. That's Takkun. Manga gave him to me. He's sleeping right now and I need to get him inside." I fished the house key out of my jacket pocket and unlocked the door, swinging it open with a smirk. "Age before beauty, and all that." Dad chuckled and walked in to inform Gearbox that I'd be staying with him a while longer. I made my way up to my room, carefully making sure to be silent. I wanted to surprise Clockwork with my new pet.

And surprised he was. Apparently I was stealthier than I thought, because when I snuck up on my housemate, he immediately tried to take flight and slammed into the ceiling, almost destroying our light. "The hell, man?" he cried indignantly once he stood up, brushing off his vest.

"Cat." I said simply.

"What are you talking about? We don't have a-" I lifted the basket to where he could see. "Oh. I guess we do." He nuzzled the sleeping kitten and chuckled. "He's cute."

"Manga gave him to me. His name's Takkun." I said. I set the basket down by my bed, and the cat roused from his sleep, casually strolling over to me and taking a sniff. I expected him to be reluctant, but the little kitten was anything but. He hopped up onto my coat collar and snagged into the wool, climbing onto my back and digging his tiny needle claws into the canvas.

I could tell this cat and I were going to be good friends.