• Published 21st Apr 2012
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The Shogun Six - Warwolf



AU. A very different and male version of the Mane Six from a very different Equestria must defeat an ancient evil that threatens their world.

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Dusk Shine

The Shogun Six

Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or any characters belonging to Hasbro or any other company mentioned herein. All original characters mentioned here are my own creations. I do this solely for entertainment purposes and in no way make any profit from it.

Chapter One:

Dusk Shine


In the time of Solaris, there were precious few who could be called heroes.
In the time of Lunaris.....there were the Six.

-Blood Jade, Equestrian historian. Known to be descended of one of the Shogun Six.


The Shogun looked up at the night sky and sighed. It had been so long since his elder brother had been corrupted. His ambitions had nearly destroyed Equestria. And eventually he would be free. There could be no question of that. The question in the mind of the Shogun however, was what to do about it once it happened.

He paced his throne room. The guards gave their ruler a wary look. While he'd never given any untoward movement or word towards them in all their years serving him, they knew when he had taken to a bad mood and as such would be somewhat short tempered if provoked just so. Normally this wasn't an issue, but it appeared he was in a particularly sour state of mind at the moment, so they wisely continued to hold their silence.

If only he had listened. If only I hadn't needed to banish him because of his insanity... The Shogun thought to himself. Then shook his head. Such recriminations were foolish now and well beyond the point when he could feel any true right to them. He couldn't wallow in regrets. A clocked announced the hour and he looked up in surprise. Midday already? He frowned. He'd dealt with the majority of morning court business far quicker than usual and actually had much of the the rest of the day to himself, a rare treat. Between his days at the court, his training, and time spent with his prized pupil, free time was a luxury he didn't often encounter. The Shogun smiled.

I have been promising Dusk I would take find extra time to help him with his studies... he thought to himself. Nodding to himself as a grin split his face at the thought of his star pupil, one of the few ponies who could legitimately brighten his mood with surprising ease. He was a joy to teach. One day, he would make a truly fine Samurai warrior.


Dusk Shine, a unicorn pony with green eyes, a dark indigo coat and dark blue mane with a few streaks of bronze in it, was flipping through a few digital pages on the computer screen before him. He had been studying the evolutionary jump that had occurred several thousand years back that had allowed ponies to be able to switch at will between the standard pony form and an anthropomorphic form. He was fascinated by the magical physics behind such a change, and wondered how it was even possible to make such radical changes in physical form without ripping the pony in question apart. Spell creation was one thing. Everypony in Equestria had at least some magic to them. But this was something else altogether. It was an evolutionary change that seemed to take magic and actual biological construction and bind them together in ways he still couldn't wrap his head around. His Warrior Mark, a large silver star with golden points and five golden stars surrounding the larger one, indicated his special talent for magic in and of itself. But even he didn't quite understand this. He was a prodigy with the mystic arts. The Shogun himself had claimed he might be the most powerful pony of his generation and took him as his personal apprentice. He was a terror with Katanas. But this was so far outside his realm of knowledge that he felt like pounding his head into a wall as he kept trying and failing to come up with a working theory on how this was possible. He benefited from this ability as did every pony alive today. But he couldn't figure out how it worked. And it was driving the usually calm and composed scholar up the wall!

"Still on that issue, I see."

The young colt almost leapt right out of his fur as the Shogun had seemingly appeared from nowhere and was looking over his shoulder.

Why is it he can always sneak up on me like that? The unicorn seethed internally. I should be able to sense things like that by now. I can do it with the other teachers in the school and even my classmates! He knew it was hardly a fair comparison. They were normal, mortal ponies while the Shogun was...well, the Shogun. It would be like comparing rocks to water. True he was one of the more advanced students in both the mystic and martial arts, but he was nowhere near as skilled as the Shogun. He bowed once he'd gotten his breathing under control and slowed his heartbeat to something resembling a sane pace.

"Your Majesty." he said with a smile. "I didn't expect to see you for some time."

The Shogun chuckled.

"No, I imagine you didn't. Neither did I, in all fairness. However by happy coincidence, I was able to finish up all of the morning work early and as fate would have it, I had nothing on my schedule for the rest of the day. Since I have, in essence, the day off, perhaps you might like to spend some extra time with me and further your studies aside from the academic ones?"

Dusk's eyes lit up and he nodded vigorously.

"It would be my honor, Shogun!" he replied with a smile that threatened to shatter the muscles in his jaw. "What will we be studying today?"

The Shogun simply chuckled and waved a hoof airily.

"Oh, a little of this, a little of that." he said with a cheeky grin. " Knowing you, I expect you'll have the hang of most of it by day's end. You've proven to be quite the sponge when it comes to knowledge, my student."

Dusk looked away shyly, rubbing the back of his neck at the praise sheepishly.

"Well, I'm not really as much as all that. You just have so much interesting stuff to teach and I want to make sure I don't disappoint you by not getting it as fast as possible."

The Shogun smiled and put a hoof on the colt's shoulder as a father might do with a favored child.

"Understand me, my young apprentice. You have done me more honor just in being so enthusiastic for my teachings than I believe you'll ever understand. I don't expect you to learn everything immediately. I don't expect instant results. You are young and the only way you could disappoint me would be either by ceasing to care about improving yourself, or by working too hard to do so and injuring yourself in the process. I'd sooner see you have to take your time in learning than have it come to you being injured. I would never forgive myself if you came to harm from overexertion or overreaching in an attempt to do more than you are able." The seemingly ageless ruler of Equestria replied. "You have great potential, my student. To burn yourself out so young would be a waste of you. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir." Dusk answered, looking abashed but still eager to please. He tempered it, however. They often had some variation of this discussion seemingly once every few weeks. Sometimes every few days when the indigo coated unicorn got too carried away and nearly hurt himself trying to get something perfected. Luckily, he'd been unhurt on any of those occasions aside from a brief case of exhaustion. After the third time, the Shogun had basically ordered him to practice his magic and fighting only twice a week and had posted guards around the colt twenty four/seven for almost two months to make sure the edict was obeyed. Dusk eventually returned to practicing on a more rigorous schedule, but had yet to truly overextend himself since he was sure the Shogun still had eyes and ears on him in case he went overboard again. "So...what will we be doing today?" he asked again, in a calmer, but no less curious, tone.

"Come with me, child. And find out."


Dusk returned to the room at the palace he lived in, and sank bonelessly into bed, pulling the blankets up magically and let out a tired but accomplished-feeling sigh. It had been a long day and they had continued well into the night after the Shogun had lowered the sun and raised the moon. He marveled at how the Shogun seemed so much more at home during the night. Granted, he was the prince of the night, and had always been. As he dozed off to sleep, he wondered who had trained the Shogun. He may have seemed ageless, but even he had to have been a colt once....

Right?


The Shogun stood as still as stone as he gazed up at the full moon and the brilliant night sky. He considered it one of his better works for the nocturnal canvas. Certainly he felt it was better than the days he supplied to his ponies. He knew they were good. And many ponies considered them beautiful. But they would never truly be a match for his days.

If only things could have been different, brother. If only I had been able to save you... He looked towards the School For Gifted Unicorns and smiled. Maybe I still can, if what I suspect is true.

He'd taken in Dusk Shine only about two years ago. The little colt had been sponsored for a scholarship due to the kindness of an old unicorn who believed the child had great potential. He was very bright for his age and despite his background. Despite a streak of naivety, he was surprisingly street tough. And perhaps in spite of his somewhat anti-social attitude, the colt attracted interest from his tutors like a magnet. He could count on one hand the foals he'd met over the centuries who could claim anything similar and still have fingers to spare.

Nopony knew who Dusk's parents were. Including Dusk himself. He couldn't remember them or how he'd come to be orphaned. But when the Shogun offered to take him in as his personal protégé, he had been excited to the point of hilarity, jumping about and whooping and hollering at his sudden lucky break. He wasn't officially adopted, of course. He was more a ward than a foster son. But there were few things in life the Shogun would not do for Dusk, whom he had begun to consider like a son, and had even been considering offering to adopt the colt formally. It would make him a prince of the realm, and he doubted Dusk Shine would turn it down simply because he knew how much the unicorn wanted to be part of a family, since he'd never known the one he was born to. He also knew that unlike his niece, who had all the signs about her that she would become a spoiled brat of a Daimyo as she grew, being only a minor princess now, Dusk would be almost entirely unlikely to abuse his position as a prince, adopted or otherwise.

The Shogun was convinced the only abuse of authority that might come from Dusk would be him commandeering the library for himself and be damned anyone who got in between him and anything with a printed word. He snickered at this thought and grinned.

It was a grin that slowly began to fade as his mind went back over some of the things he'd begun to see in the colt in the last few months. Something he never believed he would see, touch, or feel again. If he was right, it meant a great number of things. Things he wasn't sure he wanted to think about.

Not the least of which was the possibility that the colt he was beginning to see as his own son had a destiny that was greater than simply being an heir to the throne. A destiny that might one day claim his very life. He didn't like to think of that. But he had little choice. He knew, from painful experience, that no matter how hard one tries.....well, he'd heard it said once that when the call to greatness goes out, you can never avoid it. Because the call knows where you live.


Three months later


The Shogun couldn't deny it any longer. What he was sensing from Dusk Shine was no accident. He would have to make a decision, and soon. He could sense the rumblings within the sun. While they were faint at the moment, they would grow stronger. They would be needed again. But he could no longer use them. But there were those who did have the capacity for it. He was sure of it. One of whom was his own ward. As to the others, he had little clue at the moment. But he was sure he would in time.

He just hated what this would have to mean.


One year later


"Y-You...want me to leave the palace?" The young colt choked, tears already building in his eyes. "You're sending me away? Why?! What did I do? It's not fair! I've always done my best, haven't I?"

The Shogun winced at the hurt look on his ward's face. He no doubt saw this as a betrayal by the only father figure he'd ever really known. He decided he would have to impart at least some of the truth, or he'd never forgive himself to having to cause his ward...no, in many ways Dusk was his son in all but legality now he admitted to himself...such pain.

"Dusk...I wouldn't ask this of you if I had any other choice. I consider you family. The son I never had. I wouldn't do this if I could avoid it." The Shogun said, folding the colt in a firm hug, before holding him out at arm's length. "I wish there was some other way. I detest the idea of exposing you to the dangers I need you to face now at this age. But this is something you must do. I'm not banishing you, my student. I am not sending you away in the way that you think. I am asking you to go on a quest for me."

Dusk looked up sharply at his mentor. The Shogun had never lied to him in all the years they'd known each other. But he'd kept things secret from him at times. Usually for good reason. It had sometimes caused strife between the two when the Shogun had to put matters of state before his relationship with the young pony, and everytime something had blown up in their faces, Dusk had always blamed himself. But now...now his Shogun....his father in all but name....was banishing him. There was no other way around it. He must have done something so awful that the Shogun didn't want him anymore. This quest must have been the pretext on which he would get rid of him. But even a lie was better than the naked truth in front of him. He sniffled a bit and rubbed his eyes to clear them of tears.

"A-a quest?" The colt asked. The Shogun nodded.

"That's right. You know that I have several powers at my disposal, right?" he asked. Dusk nodded. "I have felt a great danger coming to Equestria, Dusk Shine. A danger I cannot defeat. It is far beyond my power." He smiled and raised a hoof to stop his son's protest. "I am powerful, my dear child. But I am not invincible. It is beyond my power to defeat this danger. It is not my destiny to do so this time." He looked the indigo unicorn dead in his deep set green eyes. "This time, the hope of Equestria falls on your shoulders."

Dusk gaped at him. For a lie, this was pretty farfetched.

"But...what can I do?" he asked.

The Shogun gave him a sad smile. "You must venture out into Equestria, my brave little Samurai. Within you is a power lost for over a millennium. It is part of a far greater power, one that now stands divided between six ponies, who must come together if we are all to survive." He chuckled. "Do you remember the story I sometimes told you before you went to bed at night?"

Dusk gave the Shogun a piercing look. He did remember the story his surrogate father was hinting at. It had been— indeed still was— one of his favorites. "The downfall of Anarchy Helios?"

The Shogun nodded. "That's the one. Do you remember how I defeated him?"

Dusk nodded. He was about to ask what that had to do with anything until it hit him like a bullet train between the eyes.

"You don't mean—?"

Again the Shogun nodded. "They have chosen their wielders, my child. You must find the other five. Once you do, they will gain a physical form once more that the six of you can utilize. Together, you will defend this land, as its new guardians."

"But....which one am I?" Dusk asked, not feeling particularly confident, but at the same time almost hoping against hope that this was real. That the Shogun really intended for him to go on an actual quest that would help protect his home. But the Shogun merely shook his head.

"I can't tell you that right now, Dusk. It's something you'll need to learn on your own, or else it might make you reckless. Remember my brave child, Bushido teaches us that there is a fine line between courage and recklessness. Cross it, and you might never find your way back." The Shogun replied. Then got to his feet, as did Dusk. "Come. I'll help you pack for your journey. I will expect you to keep in contact. I want you home as soon as possible, but in the meantime, I will equip you with the means to stay in touch."

The two made their way towards Dusk's room. Each hoping that it wouldn't be the last time Dusk would ever see it, or the palace and imperial capital, again.


Dusk slept, his gear prepared and ready for his journey, which would begin the next morning. The Shogun ran a hoof through the colt's mane fondly. He wondered how long it would take. How many years would go by before he would see the colt he viewed as his son in all but name and blood again? He pulled the blankets tighter over the colt and then left the room, heading to the roof of the uppermost tower of the Imperial Palace. The sun was still in the sky, slowly setting as the Shogun's magic guided it down, causing it to seem as though it had turned blood red. He imagined he could see its prisoner glaring back at him.

"Damn you Solaris...." The Shogun rumbled. "My son could get killed out there, and it's your fault. Why couldn't you have listened to reason?!" He snarled at the sun, stamping a hoof against the tile of the roof.

His elder brother's fall from grace still horrified him to this day. He never was able to figure out what instigated it. But he knew something had caused it. He'd nearly trapped all of Equestria beneath the sun for eternity. Ultimately he would have destroyed their subjects with the everlasting day. Only the Elements of Bushido, the six components of the physical power of the Warrior's Code, had defeated Solaris. Or as he had come to call himself, Anarchy Helios. Now the Elements, long since missing, had resurfaced. He felt one of them had become part of Dusk Shine. It was the only reason he'd have suggested this madness at such a young age. Dusk was often bookish despite his skill with weaponry and the martial arts. As a result, he had very few ponies that called him friend. But now he was going to have to pull up roots and go on a search that might take years to accomplish.

The Shogun wasn't sure Equestria had years to spare.

Pulling off his ceremonial Shogun headgear, he allowed it to fall. His mane, semitransparent and looking like the night come alive at sharp and wild angles was flowing in a nonexistent breeze towards his back. Lunaris, Shogun of Equestria stared hard into the sun, his horn glowing with light almost as black as his fur before flaring his wings and rearing up on his back legs.

"So help me, big brother, if my son dies trying to save Equestria from the madness you would bring down upon us again, I will see you dead, whatever it takes!"

He shuddered as the wind blew over him. He could swear he could hear Helios mocking him from his prison in the sun.

'We shall see, little brother.' The phantom voice on the wind seemed to be saying. 'We shall see.'


Author's note: This is an AU, as you might have guessed from the AU tag. Dusk Shine is a counterpart to Twilight Sparkle, and while he may have some things in common with her, he is also his own pony, as will be other characters you're going to meet here. This Equestria is very different from canon, but is still set in around the same general time period. However because it is in fact an AU, be aware that a great deal transpired differently in the past of this Equestria, which is much different from canon both in the past and present day of this story. A good example is the existence of high tech machinary here as already seen. Further, Dusk is maybe a year or two older than the canon mane six in their flashbacks from Cutie Mark Chronicles (with the possible exception of Fluttershy's analogue, who will pop up later.) as of this chapter. This is deliberate and I'll speak more on that matter in the next chapter. Hope you enjoy the ride, cause it's gonna be a weird one! Any decent questions regarding the fic will be answered by author's notes at the end of each successive chapter on Fanfiction.net or in the comments on fimfiction.net, assuming I find any of the questions worthwhile and/or pertaining to this story.

Constructive criticism is welcomed.

Flames will be used to broil Solaris in the heart of the Sun.