Over the past two minutes, Hazama had made the decision that he would never allow himself to be chained up again. Walking with the constant noise of metal sliding and tapping against metal was not fun, and was made even less desirable by the constant prods of spears against his back. Yes, spears. The blunt end, thankfully, but that was only because the first time the more irritated Guards had tried to 'encourage' him to keep moving, he had changed his pitiable expression to the same one he'd held just before his earlier outburst. The prodding lessened in frequency significantly.

Keeping up an act or not, he was not letting them poke holes in his suit just because they were a little miffed that he'd kicked the shit out of their friend or whatever. 'It's almost like they actually care about each other or something.' Hazama snorted internally.

It was an otherwise quiet group that made its way along the dirt path back towards the town proper. The one called Shining Armour took the front, his lieutenants took one side of him each, and that left the other remaining Guards to keep hold of Hazama and keep him walking. Annoyingly, it appeared that the 'remaining Guards' were the ones who seriously had it out for him, and apparently couldn't see the logic in their Captain's plan.

Barely any words were spoken since they had left the farm. None of the Guards particularly agreed with Shining Armour's decision to not injure the Human, but none of them wanted to be the ones to call him out on it. They took turns holding onto the Human's chains with their magic, the restraints having been improvised once they realised that levitation truly wasn't working on him for some reason; yet another factor that pointed to something being extremely odd with the Human.

"Sir..." One of the Guards not currently keeping the Human restrained said tentatively, drawing the eyes of her Captain, who quirked an eyebrow as a sign for the stallion to continue.

"You know I've never questioned your plans before,"

'Then you're an idiot.' Hazama noted dully, allowing his eyes to wander.

"But is it truly wise to bring this Human to the Princesses? What if he manages to... Assault them?"

Shining Armour didn't respond, and looked back in the direction he was walking, noting that they were getting close to Ponyville. Getting seen with the Human there could be trouble. They would all recognise him from the morning's altercation and the events of a week prior, and on the offchance that miss Fluttershy was there... It wasn't a risk worth taking.

"...Sir?" The same mare from before piped up, getting warning hisses and glares from the rest of the squad. If the Captain didn't answer, then he had good reason to. That's how it always was. That, and he was technically a Prince, too, so had far greater agency with potential punishments than most.

"Remix Heart." The Captain glanced at the Pony in question, making her shift nervously as she was reminded just who she was dealing with. Just as she thought she was to be reprimanded for 'insubordination', Shining Armour spoke up again.

"Do you think we should take the train to Canterlot, or should we order another batch of Pegasi Guards to fly us there by chariot?" he said, subverting the given question entirely with another one in its place. He raised a hoof into the air as he turned to face the platoon.

With the unspoken command, the group halted in place with Ponyville in clear view a short distance away. Hazama made sure that his halting would get in the way of one of the Guards, just because.

It was a fair inquiry, and one they hadn't considered. Their original plan was to capture the Human and take him back to Canterlot by the chariot they'd came in on, but due to the handy dismantling of their Pegasi they had no way of travelling back to the castle without either of the offered options. The train was riskier, because they would expose the Human to civilians even more defenseless as they had been, as well as giving the Human a bigger chance to escape as they'd be travelling on ground-level. It was, however, quicker than sending a request for Pegasi, getting them all the way to Ponyville, and then flying back again. They would be tired from the initial flight, too, and would need a large number of minutes as recuperation.

Hazama, however, was distinctly less stumped by the decision. 'Did they seriously just offer a chariot and a train as options of similar viability? For that matter, how do they have trains?! I didn't think their level of technology was even remotely close to that. I mean, their houses had thatched roofs! Thatched roofs!' he bemoaned, growing more and more baffled by the disparity concerning every aspect of the species he was forced to deal with.

The mare named Remix Heart, having been technically asked the question first, raised a hoof to give an answer.

"S-Sir! I think we should wait for a new group of Pegasi. It would be less dangerous for the civilians, and he wouldn't be able to get away if he was in the air." she explained, quite happy with her logic until the gruff voice of Stout Shield piped up from her side.

"Yeah, but then we'll be stuck waiting here for over an hour, an' there's no telling when the Human'll get over this phase and go back to stompin' us into the ground again. Better to get goin' sooner rather than later, an' there's less places for him to escape to on the train."

Hazama stopped listening once the rest of the Guards started to pitch in with their opinions, but kept up his depressed facade regardless. Whatever outcome they reached through whatever asinine reasoning they desired, the result would be the same. He would keep up his act until he came into contact with these 'Princesses'. Particularly, he was hoping to meet one of them specifically, namely the one that had invaded his dream during his first night on the planet.

That incident still shook him slightly, even if that exact sentiment never occurred. She had left his dream with the promise that she would be back the next night, so inevitably he'd made sure to imagine his office from before when the sun dropped again. When she didn't show up (to his knowledge, and least) he tried it again the next evening. The trend continued ever since, much to Hazama's extreme irritation. He couldn't do anything interesting with his dreams anymore, on the off-chance that she would finally make a reappearance.

Meeting that Princess was, then, his main objective. She would hopefully be able to instantly recognise his appearance, and the circumstances of their last talk, so it would be far easier to get her on his side. He could spin his arrogance at the time as some form of defence mechanism against the being in occasional control of his body, and hopefully that would appease her. It helped that it was a lie based quite heavily in truth.

Hazama broke from his musings when the Guards' bickering grew loud enough to be a large source of irritation for both him and their Captain, whose face screwed up in an ever-deepening grimace until eventually the noise was too much.

"Enough!" Shining Armour shouted, the uproar coming to an immediate halt as the squad turned to look at the stallion. "We are some of the Royal Guard's finest, and I won't stand by and listen to you all act like a bunch of schoolfillies!"

The group had the sense to look sheepish, even the more stoic members of the party. Their Captain, meanwhile, continued speaking.

"I've come to an executive decision. Based on the fact that the Human, while currently docile, has displayed extraordinary physical ability far beyond any other of his kind, and far above ourselves individually (loath as I am to admit it), we are to take the mode of transportation that grants him the least chance of escape. Unfortunately, there are no perfect options in this situation. The ideal move would be to ask Princess Sparkle for assistance via group teleportation, but doing so would distract her from her schedule, which I have discovered is highly packed today due to certain information networks of mine."

The Guards listening to his spiel repressed snorts of amusement as the Captain's face morphed into a semi-playful grin. Everypony who knew Shining Armour even the smallest amount would know just how close he and his sister were. There was no doubt in anypony's mind that the stallion had just flat-out asked whether the Princess was busy or not.

"However, in lieu of any superior option, our best bet is to take the train." He quickly held up a hoof to silence the disagreement threatening to escape Remix Heart. "We wouldn't be able to requisition enough Pegasi from their duties to come help all of us, and that's hoping that the ones we could get would even be strong enough to carry us and our equipment. It's also quicker to get on to the Train and be on our way to Canterlot, especially as the next train should leave at about noon, which it will be in fifteen minutes. Any objections?"

Shining Armour surveyed the crowd. A sea of nodding heads met his eye, and then he turned to glance at the Human, who seemed to be looking right back at him in mild curiosity. The kind of look that one would give a child when wordlessly pretending to adore their crayon scribble. The stallion felt himself involuntarily release a shudder when the Human's eyes finally moved away from him. He did not appreciate the fact that he'd have to spend over an hour watching the creature, not at all.

"Then it's settled. Watchful Eye, send a report ahead of ourselves to inform Princess Celestia of the time of our arrival once we have boarded the train. Send along the Recording Crystal too. She'll want to see this."

Princess Celestia was not a fan of bad news. Bad news meant repairs. Bad news meant complaining Nobles, and reimbursing them for damages. Bad news, incidentally, often meant Ponyville.

When the call had come from Twilight that the town was suffering a potentially devastating outbreak of the Black Vine Virus, Celestia hadn't worried overly much. Her precious student was smart, and even more usefully she was well versed in dealing with town-wide problems. Not necessarily in the most efficient manner possible, and usually with more damages than usual, but not once had there been any fatal accidents or dangers ever since she had arrived there those few years ago. The Tirek incident didn't count, due to its nature as a national disaster rather than a threat contained to a specific town.

All of that in mind, the Princess had been pleasantly unsurprised to recieve a report soon afterwards from her student that everything had worked out just fine. The polite smile adorning her lips had slipped gradually away as she continued to read, and the holes in the story became concerning.

Within a few minutes, a hasty letter had been sent through to Shining Armour and the rest of the platoon, ordering them to extend their stay in the town to ensure that whatever was able to neutralise two infected Humans was not able to hurt anypony else.

And then, just a few moments ago, another report had made its way in front of her, drawing her attention away from the seventh Noble of the day, who was visibly unhappy with the interruption of his rambling. Not that Celestia cared overly much, though she made it seem as though she was actually apologetic to intrude upon his impassioned speech. It wasn't a convincing act at all, if she was honest, but the stallion seemed so starstruck that the Princess herself was apologising to him, so he didn't notice the underlying tones of distaste. Another tally on the chart for how many times a Noble could avoid the context of a remark entirely.

"Blue Spellbook" Celestia called out, causing the named stallion to glance up from his script writing, "I need you to inform my sister that her presence shall be required in the throne room in approximately an hour."

The stoic Pony shot her a disbelieving stare, placing his quill to the side. She didn't blame him for that. Waking up Luna during the day tended to be a poor decision unless the time and date had already been decided beforehand. It would take several cups of coffee for her to feel awake at mid-day, but it was necessary. There wasn't much time for dilly-dallying now that she had a new problem to deal with.

Princess Celestia turned to face the Noble she'd left waiting, glanced back at the fairly sizable queue outside the door, and then sighed minutely.

"My subjects, I am afraid a matter of utmost importance has arisen. Day court is now closed for the time being, but I would be more than glad to recieve your queries through mail or a visit tomorrow instead."

It took a lot of willpower to ignore the melodramatic cries from behind her as she turned around, pausing to send a nod towards the identical Guards by the door, recieving one in return. The two alabaster Unicorns grasped the heavy doors with their magic, swinging them shut despite the cries of protest from outside.

The Alicorn of the Day let out another, much more audible sigh as she stepped off of her throne, sauntering into the middle of the room. From the corner of her eye, she could spot the suitably azure coat of Blue Spellbook scamper off into a nearby corridor. She silently wished him luck in his endeavour, and prayed that Luna wouldn't be too disgruntled with being awake. Celestia enjoyed her scribe conscious and healthy. After all, somepony had to take note of what the Nobles were actually saying, and there were many days where she simply didn't care enough to do so herself.

But it was still important for Luna to see what Celestia had just acquired from the Royal Guards in Ponyville. If the written report was anything to go by, then the reflective yellow gem she held in her hooves would contain images that could potentially turn everything their society knew about Humans on its head.

Recording Gems were a relatively recent invention. Invented, designed, and patented by Royal Unicorn scientist Sir Veil Lance, the seemingly tiny chunks of amber could be activated by a certain spell, and would proceed to read and record both sound and light in the area it was facing. It could store up to half a minute of footage at first, and not that many Ponies were impressed with the applications. When the storage capacity reached ten minutes, Ponies got intrigued by the idea. Once they were able to hold half an hour of footage and could be mass produced, however, the Royal Guard found a use for them as a way to gather evidence of what suspects were saying and doing at the time of apprehension, as well as tools to warn of incoming threats where words wouldn't be as easy to convey the issue.

That is not to say that non-military Ponies didn't find their own uses for the device. While each gem could only hold a single, uninterrupted run before being overwritten by another, a lot of citizens had used them to record special family occasions and events such as wedding ceremonies, preserving the memories.

Unfortunately, Celestia had the sinking feeling in her stomach that the particular crystal she held in her hand was not for anything pleasant. The reports had spoken of a Human powerful enough to defeat four of some of the best Pegasi in the main Guard force, and apparently a Unicorn with the squad had caught the event on the gem.

Her ears pricked up, and the rest of the Guards in the room turned to face a window at the same time as she did. Shouting, in the distance. Luna was awake, then.

Grimly, Celestia brought the parchment from before up to her eyes, casting her gaze over the message one last time.

[Your Majesty.

On behalf of Captain Armour, I, Watchful Eye, am sending you this update on the situation in Ponyville. We have apprehended the creature that we were looking for. A Human. About six feet tall, measuring by eye. It did not appear to be heavily muscled, but this is a guise. This Human, with one solid blow each, was able to swiftly take down the four Pegasi we brought with us, including Tempest Wing.

The creature, as it does not seem fitting to call this being a Human, moved at speeds absolutely impossible for any other specimen. It is also notable that the creature wore clothes. A suit, waistcoat, and hat. It also carried with it a Butterfly Knife, which it held comfortably. It did not utilise the weapon, and there was nothing stopping it from doing so. Why it did not harm the Pegasi further is unknown at this time.

It displayed extraordinarily high levels of aggression towards us, even before we had made any move to detain it. The standard apprehension plan was used on this creature, and it absolutely failed. In fact, and this is only my own opinion Your Majesty, the only reason we were not all taken down by this creature was because it stopped itself. After a period of continued assault on the downed Tempest Wing, it turned to face us with clear threatening intent. However, in the blink of an eye, the creature paused. Its face changed into an expression previously unseen on any Human, and it ran back over to Tempest Wing before any of us could make a move. To our surprise, it began to cry. After this began, it showed no hesitance in allowing us to restrain it, until one of us tried to remove its hat from its head, to which it froze up and stared at the Guard that had attempted the action.

The injured Pegasi have been sent to the hospital in Ponyville, and we now have the creature in our custody. We are currently aboard the train bound to Canterlot. We believe it is best that this creature have its fate decided by Your Grace, as it has displayed actions and behaviours unlike any other Human in Equestria.

We arrive in Canterlot within the hour of this message's arrival, and we will be at the castle with the creature in tow shortly after.

Enclosed is a Recording Gem that has footage of the failed first apprehension attempt towards the creature, as per protocol.]

Upon finishing her third re-reading of the note, Celestia's sharp eye caught sight of a patch on the blank portion of the parchment that appeared to hold a quality that she couldn't quite place. A simple spell revealed another paragraph of text, this time written in a tone much less formal. The message painted a much bleaker picture than before, if possible. The Princess found herself frowning as she reached the end.

[Your Majesty. I apologise for the concealing spell, but this is an urgent matter. The other Guards, including the Captain, do not know I have sent this extra message. The creature is too dangerous to be kept alive. I don't care what Captain Armour says: this thing was able to neutralise four of our best Pegasi without any visible strain. I can only say that a being like this should not exist upon the face of Equestria. While that may be cause for others to celebrate a new oddity, I disagree. This Human must be euthanised for the good of all Ponies.]

Until she and her sister could review the recording for themselves, such a decision could never be made. A Royal Decree specifically to euthanise a single Human? Preposterous! It would be akin to a death penalty, and that had been abolished in Equestria for centuries, even before Luna's banishment!

But a part of her, deep down in a place that Celestia would never admit existed, began to agree with Watchful Eye's conclusion.

Author's Note

This chapter was really hard to write and I don't know why. I just had, like, zero idea of what I wanted to say. I knew where it needed to end up, and the main plot points, but still. It didn't help that I had a ton of work to do over the last two days either, and technically I still have some to get done.

Still, trust me to take a full week to upload a disappointingly short chapter straight after talking about being 'as close to daily as possible'.

The ending of this chapter isn't even good. None of this chapter is good. But it needed to happen.

Instead of the usual music segment which doesn't really get much attention, I am instead going to showcase a 20 minute video of the video game Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator, specifically the character introductions, their finishing moves/fatalities, and their victory animations. It's made by the same company as the BlazBlue games.

I specifically do this because Guilty Gear Revelator has the most ridiculously pretty animation for a fighting game, and yes it's anime as fuck.