A Warrior's Soul

by masterbrave13

Chapter I

The path before him was a long and winding one. He could no longer remember the day or the month, but the man could only assume it was autumn due to the color of the leaves that drifted about him in the breeze. Through simple observation, the man had also noticed that, for the last few days of travel, the sun had moved very little, if any, as the day went on. It stayed at high noon most of the day, slowly setting at a given time. He hated the heat of the sun and was glad that winter was right around the corner. The man's thoughts turned unpleasant as he thought of what it would be like here in the middle of August. His clothes were a black t-shirt and a pair of worn blue jeans, simple yet practical. He never was fond of aesthetic clothing. The cheap boots and sandals he had had when he left were long since worn out, so he had gone barefoot for the last few weeks. He looked at it as another challenge in life, but hoped he could find some new shoes soon.

Stopping to rest, the man sat beneath one of the many trees in the surrounding woodland. He set down his backpack and the tall black case he carried. The pack was full of travel essentials: a comb, deoderant, a pair of jeans, an extra pair of socks and underwear, a couple of books, a small notepad, and...his knife. The man removed a black cloth bag that held his small treasure. Untying the small knot, he pulled away the sleeve. The knife was an eastern-style, called a tanto, with a frayed cord wrapped around its black scabbard. The hilt wrapped in simple ray skin and adorned with small floral ornaments. This was Toge - meaning "thorn" in Japanese - the blade that was a tool, a shield, and a burden. Admiring the folded steel of it's blade, the man noticed some minor imperfections on the surface. "I need to clean you," the man said nostalgically to himself.

He removed a small pinebox from his pack and set about cleaning the blade with oil and powder in a ritualistic manner. Once finished, he returned the knife to the black cloth bag and placed it in his pack. The man had removed his notebook to write a haiku on his surroundings, as he was known to do when the mood struck him, when a series of shrieks were heard. These were cries he knew: children in distress. The man unzipped his case and removed a length of wood that resembled a slightly curved sword. He moved quickly in the direction of the screeches, and arrived to an unnatural sight. A wolf made completely from sticks and branches, at least twice the size of any the man had ever seen, had cornered three small, colorful...horses? Ponies, maybe? He couldn't really be sure. All he knew was they were in danger and he was the only one who was here to help. The man took a breath to steady his resolve as he always did before undertaking something. Then, he stepped forward.

Holding the bokken at his left hip as though it were a sheathed katana, he knelt down in seiza position. "Oi, wolf!" the man said forcefully. The creature turned around to confront the seated figure. Good, the man thought, now I have his attention. The man rested his hand lightly on the hilt of his bokken, waiting for the wolf to be drawn into his attack. The three little ones had stopped yelling and were watching him with a mix of curiosity and apprehension. He watched the beast settle into a crouch, preparing to lunge at the man's throat. When it attacked, the seated warrior was ready. "Uuu-ooooooohh!" the man shouted as he struck. As though he were drawing a sword, he twisted to his right as he rose. The man continued to "draw" his bokken, turning it into a downward cut to the back of the wolf's neck and the top of it's head. The wolf yelped in surprise at the sudden pain that tore through it's skull. The beast lashed out at his attacker, but the man had already rolled away to a safe distance.

The man had been nervous before, but now that he had delivered the first blow, victory would soon follow, for the wooden creature now knew that this prey might not be worth it. Still, the man was ready for another attack from the wolf as he locked eyes with it, forcing his spirit into battle with the wolf's. He saw the monster falter and the man let it have a taste of his inner strength. The man shouted, "Ei!", with all of the power he could muster, stomping forward in the wolf's direction. The beast cowered and ran deep into the woods. He "sheathed" his wooden sword into his left hand as he gave a sigh of relief.

It was then that the man remembered the colorful horses. He turned to look for them, hoping they had not been scared off. They had, but not too far. The man chuckled to himself as he saw a quivering pink ribbon sticking out of a bush. He recalled one of the horses wearing it when he arrived because he had thought it looked cute.

The man walked towards the bush and crouched in front of it, placing his bokken behind him. In a soft voice, the man said, "Hey. You can come out now, little ones. The wolf is gone."

"Are ya gonna eat us?"

"No. Of cour-," the man hesitated. One of these horses had spoken to him. With a southern accent, no less. "Did you...speak to me?"

"Y-yeah," the voice said timidly. The man reached out in surprise and opened the bush to regard it's occupants. Three very small horses stared up at him: a yellow one, an orange one and a white one. The yellow one looked pretty normal with her ribbon tied in her red hair, but the other two were the strange ones. The orange one had purple hair and small wings, while the white one had pink and purple hair and a little horn in the middle of her forehead. "Who-," the man began,"what are you?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing," the orange one said. "Scootaloo, quiet! He might yell at us again," the white one said to her friend. "Scootaloo" looked concerned and was silent.

"Look," the man said,"if I promise not to hurt you or be loud, will you come out of there so we can talk? I'm not quite sure where I am or what you are for that matter."

The three ponies looked at each other quizzically. Then, they stepped out of their hiding place and stood in front of the the man. The one with the bow looked up at him with her big orange eyes, and said, "Well, mister, we're ponies from Ponyville. I'm Applebloom. This here's Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. What kinda...thing are you?"

It was strange how kids work: once they realize they aren't in trouble, they go back to being kids. Applebloom, as the one with the bow was called, seemed much more intrigued of the man than she was afraid of him. Sweetie Belle looked anxious, but Scootaloo just looked skeptical. After taking in the introductions, the man replied. "I am a human, Applebloom. My name is...Ryu. I come from a place very far away. I was resting when I heard you three cry for help. And, well, you saw the rest." Ryu observed the length of the shadows, judging that it would be dark in a couple of hours. He offered to guide the children back to town, to which the trio agreed.

After Ryu had collected his things, he slid the bokken into his belt. As they travelled, the children never stopped bombarding him with questions. "What's up with your front hooves? Why do you carry a bag of sticks? What does the symbol on your headband mean? Where do you come from? Do you have a 'Cutie Mark'?," they rambled on. Ryu did his best to answer most of their questions and interject with questions of his own. Eventually, Ryu learned a bit about how their society works. "Cutie Marks" are a symbol that appears on a pony's flank when they discover their special talent. Apparently, it was a pretty big deal, big enough that these girls had formed a club in order to earn there's. The name made Ryu laugh inwardly, as he had studied history in college: the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Night had fallen upon the land as they finally exited the forest. Ryu voiced his concern that they had not reached Ponyville yet. "It's just a few more miles, mister," Applebloom urged. He knew that he could not get them back in any short amount of time. Then, he spotted a small cottage beside a stream. "Come on girls. Let's ask the owner of that cottage if we can rest in their home. I promise i'll take you back in the morning." The girls got excited. "YAY! SLEEP-OVER AT FLUTTERSHY'S COTTAGE!," they shouted, and began running for the house. They obivously know the owner, Ryu thought, this will make things easier. The door opened as Ryu was coming up the small steps.

A yellow pegasus pony with a flowing pink mane stood partially in the door way, hiding behind a part of the frame. She gave a yelp as the Crusaders rushed inside. "I apologize for intruding, miss, but I was won-," Ryu was cut-off by a scream and a slamming door. "Brilliant," Ryu said. Luckily, Applebloom opened the door and let Ryu inside. The inside of Fluttershy's home was rather warm and welcoming. But, anything was welcoming when one has been traveling through woodlands in solitude. Ryu spotted the timid pony cowering behind her sofa. Not quite sure how to deal with her, Ryu found an open corner and set his things down. The Crusaders asked Fluttershy about food to which she quietly told them to help themselves.

With the children in the kitchen for a while, Ryu took it upon himself to meditate. He had much to think on and absorb. He also figured his presence would lower enough to calm down his hostess, as he had used similar methods on frightened creatures before. Soon he became lost in his breathing exercises. Then, he felt someone near him and jerked his head up, only to see a flash of yellow streak across the room behind the couch. So my method did work, Ryu thought. Glancing at the clock, Ryu suggested that the girls should go to bed. As he expected, they ignored him. Fluttershy noticed the time and asked them to go to retire. Strangely, they politely agreed. Fluttershy took them upstairs to tuck them in.

Ryu, believing that he was now alone, continued his meditation. His concentration was broken once more, but this time was much more pleasant. He heard singing coming from the second floor, and could only guess that it was Fluttershy. It was probably the most lovely thing he had heard in a long time. Ryu decided to close his eyes and listen. But, the more he listened, the more he thought. The more he thought, the more he remembered. He soon became haunted by his memories once again.

Before he went to deep, Ryu rose to his feet and pushed aside his thoughts. "I can't stay here," he said to himself, "I can't disturb the peaceful lives of these creatures." He began gathering his things and, as Fluttershy's song ended, he slipped out into the night.

Comments

[Chewed Pencil]

Sorry if I sound like a dick, but I could probably flesh this out and make it, at the least, a 4k chapter. It all seemed a tad bit fast paced and there were so many places where you could have added some thoughts, or even more descriptions on Ryu's surroundings. Also, Ryu is such a generic name. It fits, but seems so generic. I would have went with something like Taeshi or Yamamoto. I also think the character itself is a tad bit bland. Sorry if I seem mean and all, but this is my honest opinion on your story. I have yet to read the second chapter, and it is even shorter so it might not be worth my time.