Satsui no Hado in Equestria

by Frogace55

Round 17: Climax Beat

After the mess in the courtyard finished, I was honestly done with today. I asked Pinkie if she could spot me for the train fare. Not only did she do so, she gave me a couple bagels. I quickly made my way to the train station (eating along the way), bought a ticket, and boarded.

As I waited for the train to depart, I thought about Twilight’s friends, or at least the ones I actually talked to. First was Pinkie. She was, in a word, interesting. She seemed like the kind of Pony that could befriend almost any being, mortal or otherwise. Even the challenge I gave her, she threw herself at without any sign of even thinking of slowing down, simply because of the end goal. In a couple ways, she reminded me of Elena.

Applejack, even if she wasn’t my boss, I had nothing truly negative to say about her that wouldn’t be nitpicky. Well, almost nothing. She had brute strength aplenty, and though she knew how strong she was, it lacked the finesse needed for a fight. Still, I didn’t mind her or her family and after next week, I’d still be happy to help if necessary.

Fluttershy was like the calm before the storm with me eagerly waiting for the first drop. I knew she was strong, not only because I could feel it but because of her cottage. Beside that bunny, every animal she cared for there didn’t dare to cross her. I could swear I saw a mongoose and cobra there without either trying to even fight the other. The only reason I personally thought the bunny got a pass was because of some expert-level misdirection skills or hyper awareness.

Twilight seemed to change target. I wouldn’t have minded a little bit of friendly bonding after I finished dealing with my concerns. However, now she was a bit too confident trying to grab everything from her metaphorical Garden of Eden (i.e. knowledge), including the Forbidden Fruit. These things tended to snowball, so I’d resolved to tell Spike soon to keep an eye out and, if possible, subtly curb it.

Rainbow, the most glaring thing I could say about her was her policy. It seemed she liked the “When all you have is a Hammer…” approach and a frontal assault was not only her strongest attack, but the only one she was used to using. To her credit, moving at Mach speeds could help land that blow… if it were from ANY OTHER direction.

A shout of “ALL ABOARD” registered that we would being moving shortly. I got ready to take a nap, but as I got comfy, two mares approached where I was sitting.

“Excuse me, Sir, is this seat taken?” One of them, a gray pony in a nice suit, asked.

“Not until now.” I said. “And save the sir for the knights.”

The other, a ivory unicorn with blue shades, a t-shirt, and orange pants with a black stripe along them said, “Nice!” and flopped into the seat.

“Honestly Scratch? You do that in public? In front of someone?” The gray one said.

I shrugged. “I had a friend that would do the same. He would see how many heads he could turn.”

“He sounds like a riot.”

“Indeed, Scratch. I’m pretty sure we all have a couple funny stories about friends.”

“I’d share mine if you share yours. Better than sitting in silence anyway.”

For a good bit of time, Scratch and I shared stories. Eventually, we ourselves ran out of stories to share and the topic drifted.

“You’re a temp?” Scratch asked. “Lame.”

“Only for the next week. After that, I don’t know. I‘m a fighter at heart, so I may start a dojo or become a bouncer. I don’t have anything long-term.”

“Wait, you can fight?” She asked.

“Like a fish can swim.” I said.

“Mind showing a bit of what you can do?” She asked.

“Scratch, I’m sure he has other things to do than satisfy your idle curiosity.” The other mare said

“Not really, Ms…” I started.

“Octavia.”

“Octavia, I started fighting before I learned to fight. My parents even joked about it. To me, fighting is fun, as long as my opponent can fight back. Asking me for a demonstration is like giving me candy.” I said.

“Your parents supported such a thing?”

“My mom took me to get enrolled. My dad paid for it. I do believe they did.”

“How long?” Scratch said.

“I was seven when I started, so thirteen years.”

Over the loudspeaker, a voice shouted, “Ten minutes to Ponyville!”

“Almost done already?” I said. “Well, Where and when do you want that demo?”

Scratch handed me a note. “There’s the time and place.”

---

After leaving the train, I headed for the farm. I figured Jigoku would be there and, whether I liked it or not, he would want to know about Mirror. They seemed a bit closer than protector and protected. I shook my head. No matter what the actual relationship was, I knew one thing: He’d be pissed.

I arrived as the sun begun to set and went to knock at the door. I didn’t have to wait long, as Apple Bloom answered the door. “Yo, you get any help around the farm today?”

A shake of her head was all I needed. I turned to go when she asked me a question. “Career Day is comin’ up soon, and Ah was wonderin’ if you could come?”

I remembered Career Day from grade school. It was one of the better days at school. “If your sister says yes, sure. See ya tomorrow.” In reality, I wouldn’t mind in the slightest, but two things stuck out: One, Applejack is currently my boss and this was her sister. If something went wrong… Applejack could break a tree if she wanted and knew how to follow-up. I’m not as sturdy as a tree. Two, a ‘career’ was not a ‘job.’ My current job was a temp. My career was more along the line of ‘martial artist instructor.’

I headed back to the castle and saw Jigoku waiting by the door.

“I was wondering when you’d arrive.” His voice was nothing like before.

“I have a bit of bad news, something happened with Mirror.”

Jigoku lunged at me and I jumped to the side to evade it. “Before you continue, let me finish.”

“Why?” He said.

“She was being manipulated. If I wasn’t there, she’d be dead.”

“WHAT!?”

“Her ‘message’ designed as nothing more than a kick to a hornet’s nest and there was no escape plan.”

I saw him shift from a wolf to a tiger. I was curious why he picked this form but, for the moment, muted my unnecessary questions. Instead, I gave him a simple command, one he’d have done himself without being told.

“If you know something that can help, short of rushing to her side, do it and don’t stop until it’s done.”

He left without a word.

Comments

[Chaos Nightmare]

So when will Goki tell them of his battle agenst Asura?

[Frogace55]

7831489 If he has one, probably never

[Chaos Nightmare]

7836934 i was referring to this fight