The Ponyville Junior Ninjas came together that Sunday morning, eight o’clock sharp, in front of Ponyville Library. All except one.
“Where’s Scootaloo?” Spike asked as he and Twilight exited.
“I don’t know,” Apple Bloom said. “She said she didn’t wanna fight, but she was gonna show, at least.”
Sweetie Belle winced. “You don’t suppose Silver Spoon…”
“We’d better go check.”
The kids galloped towards her house, or waddled, or limped at a relatively fast pace. By the time they got there, there was a white unicorn with a spikey blue mane and tail, both with a light blue streak down the middle, looking out at the sky.
“Miss Vinyl?” Apple Bloom asked. “Where’s Scootaloo?”
Vinyl Scratch shook her head. “You just missed her; she left about a minute ago. Something’s got her pretty rattled. I don’t suppose you’d know what it is?”
“Umm, I got into a fight with Silver Spoon,” Sweetie Belle said, her voice still raspy. “And she beat me up pretty badly. I think Scootaloo might be feeling upset about it. But it wasn’t her fault.”
Vinyl sighed and nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense. Scootaloo doesn’t worry a lot, but she does it real good when she gets around to it. Probably guilt-tripping again, I guess.”
“What do you mean, guilt-tripping?” Spike asked.
Vinyl nodded to the pegasus colt in their midst. “Ask Rumble over there. He was with her when it happened.”
Rumble lowered his ears and backed away. “W-well, I…”
Apple Bloom squinted, suspicious. “Rumble, what do you know? What is going on? Is this about that Wimpy kid?”
“His name is not Wimpy,” Rumble said.
Vinyl slowly stepped out of the doorway and sat down. “If you’re not gonna tell’em, kid, I will. I don’t know what she made you promise, but I’m not sworn to secrecy.”
Rumble sighed. “I guess I can’t really help it if you tell.”
The unicorn nodded. “A couple of weeks after she got back from Flight Camp, Scootaloo came home all shaken up. She’d gone to see her friend in Bogsdown again, with him.” She gestured to Rumble.
“Shaken up?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Shivering, wings buzzing, she couldn’t fly straight for some reason. I asked her why, and she said that Whimper didn’t want her to come over again.”
Sweetie Belle furrowed her brow. “But I thought they were friends?”
“Me too. So, naturally, I asked her what happened, exactly, and, umm, the way I understand it, the kid had been having some anger issues, and one of the local martial arts teachers wanted to recruit him. Only, the martial arts he was teaching required the kid to get angry at his opponents, to be cruel. And Whimper didn’t agree with that. Can’t say I’m surprised; he seemed like a nice enough boy to me.”
“So why did he want Scootaloo to stay away, then?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Beats me. Scootaloo never told me.”
“He attacked some kids,” Rumble said.
Vinyl raised an eyebrow.
“We were at the park, and some kids came over to us. They started saying some stuff about him and… things got a little... out of control.”
“I don’t get it,” Sweetie Belle said.
“The martial arts school trying to recruit him was the Feather Cloak school, the one Silver Spoon is in. And the excuse they had to make him attend those classes was that he’d hurt a classmate. His coach from school kinda blackmailed him into it,” Rumble explained.
“But they can’t do that; that’s awful,” Apple Bloom said.
Rumble winced. “Not here, no, but that’s how they do things in Bogsdown. It’s the athletic capital of Equestria: you don’t just sign up to a school, you sign up to a sports club. The rules are different there. Schools can exchange students like sports teams do. I guess his coach wanted him to be more valuable to trade away.”
“I still don’t understand why Whimper would want Scootaloo gone, then,” Sweetie Belle said.
Rumble let out a heavy sigh. “Because after that, the second time he lashed out, they said he had to join the Feather Cloaks. They assigned one of their green belts to keep an eye on him, make sure he wouldn’t, you know, fall in with the wrong crowd. The Feather Cloaks got it into his head that he had to be strong, not get pushed around by anyone, not take orders from anyone. And, well, you know Scootaloo.”
“Oh. She didn’t take that very well, huh?”
Rumble nodded. “You might say that. Whimper didn’t agree with the Feather Cloaks on everything, but he was pretty good at what they do, and they turned out to be right about a couple things. So, you know, he kind of… got confused, I guess. Whimper said he needed time to think, he’d come over here to tell her everything was okay again. Only, he never did. That green belt girl stuck around, even when I tried to hang out with him. She never told me to leave, but it was pretty obvious she wanted to.”
“And Scootaloo just left it at that?” Apple Bloom asked. “That don’t sound like her at all.”
The boy shrugged. “Maybe she’s snuck out of town a couple times to see him again, but I wouldn’t know. He never talked about it; he couldn’t, not with another Feather Cloak watching him all the time. He made me promise not to tell when I went back there.”
Apple Bloom pondered that. “Wait. Miss Vinyl, did Scootaloo say where she was goin’?”
“Nope. Probably just some quiet spot to think. Or Bogsdown, maybe, wouldn’t surprise me. I don’t pry into my little niece’s life as long as she doesn’t hurt herself. My guess is, she got scared, seeing those Feather Cloaks around here.”
A shiver ran down Apple Bloom’s spine. “Hang on, so is that Whimper kid here, in Ponyville? With them? Is that why Scootaloo ran off?”
Vinyl shook her head, thinking. “There’s a lot of stuff going on with that ninja school, is how I heard it. She might be scared of seeing him now, if he did join that school. What do you think, Rumble?”
Rumble grumbled. “I can’t say, I’m sorry.”
“Why not?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Because Whimper’s the only reason I know how to fight. He’s the one who showed me how to move, how to breathe properly, how to meditate. He kept showing me stuff even after he got in trouble, even after the Feather Cloaks started bullying him about the ponies he hangs out with. He’s crazy good at fighting. He never told me to stay away, even when he should have. He’s my friend, and I promised I wouldn’t tell on him. So I can’t. I’m sorry, but I just can’t.”
“Well, can you say if she’s scared of him, at least?” Sweetie Belle asked.
He bit his lip and thought long and hard, before nodding. “Yeah. I think she is. To tell you the truth, so am I, sometimes. And if you ever met him, as nice as he is, you’d be scared too. You’d be terrified.”
“I doubt that,” Apple Bloom said. “Takes more than just a regular pegasus pony to scare me.”
Rumble looked away. “Yeah, sure, regular pegasus pony… Funny you should mention that.”
“That answers that, then,” Vinyl said. “I’m sure Scootaloo’ll be back soon. Just give her some breathing room, let her find a quiet spot to think, she’ll be fine.”
“Well, I guess we’ll just have to go to the Warrior Meet without her. Thanks, Miss Vinyl.”
“No problem. You be careful when you fight, okay? There are some mean little monsters in town right now.”
Apple Bloom snorted confidently. “There always have been. But now we’re gonna show’em we’re not scared of any of ‘em.”
Scootaloo kept the tears at bay, but just barely.
“Thanks again, Thunderlane,” she said as they crossed the border of Froggy Bottom Bog. No hydras out today, that was a plus.
“Don’t mention it, all in a day’s work. But, umm, why do you need to be here?”
“I need to talk to somepony,” Scootaloo replied.
The undergrowth made way to reveal a road, then a sterile-looking outpost building, then some houses. Before long, they were flying over parks and courts, all taken by jocks of various stripe: hoofball, dodgeball, then the other kind of hoofball, and the third kind of hoofball nopony really cared about, and then the martial artists taking up the nicest parts of the parks. Apparently the kids of Bogsdown hadn’t gotten the memo that today was a holiday. That’s just how things were in this town.
“We’re here. You need me to come along?”
Scootaloo sighed, but managed to smile anyway. “No, I can handle it from here. I know some ponies on the Weather Patrol here, I can make it back.”
“Okay. See you around, then!”
“See you. And thanks again.” She gathered up all her courage and flew down to ground level.
Bogsdown. The athletic capital of Equestria. The town where every pony was a competitor.
Home town of the only pony she felt truly safe around.
She walked up to her target and knocked on the door.
“Oh, hey, Scootaloo. What’s up?”
She caught her breath, before forcing out a smile. “Hi, Peachy Pie. Can I come in?”
“So Scootaloo won’t be joinin’ us, then?” Ash asked.
“No, sir. We think this whole business with Silver Spoon, and whatever happened with her friend, it might be a little too much for her,” Sweetie Belle said, before coughing.
The Shadowbolt nodded. “She’s gotta fight her own battles, I suppose. So, which ones of y’all are gonna be making an entrance into the arena today?”
“I am,” Apple Bloom said. “I’m not gonna let Silver Spoon walk all over me.”
“Me neither,” Rumble agreed. “I’ve been practising that magic thing, like you said. Plus, Whimper taught me a few tricks. I think I can take her.”
Moongazer chuckled. “You just might, actually. But you’ll have to catch her off guard. A fighter that can do that kind of damage to a pony, you don’t get a lot of room for error.”
“I won’t be fighting,” Sweetie Belle said meekly. “My throat really hurts.”
“Try not to talk too much, Sweetie Belle. Silver Spoon may not be very accurate, but the way she can discharge her energy, she doesn’t need to be. Let your voice rest,” Moongazer said.
“Well, I am fighting,” Spike said.
The ponies all stopped to turn and look at the little dragon.
He shrugged. “What? I wanna see how I measure up. Twilight’s brother used to show off his moves, I want to see what I can do.”
“You do realise that means the Feather Cloaks might challenge you, right? I know at least one of their rookies trains in dragonslayer techniques,” Ash said. “Dragons have a reputation, and some ponies might want to build theirs by fighting one. They’ll be gunnin’ for you.”
Spike grimaced, but didn’t relent. “I’m not scared of any sleds! Besides, I’ll probably run into that sooner or later, might as well prepare.”
Ash rolled his eyes as they resumed their trek, ignoring Spike’s misunderstanding. “Doesn’t your guardian have something to say about that? She’s not going to try and use magic to help you win, is she? She seemed like the type.”
“My guardian? You mean Twilight?” He chuckled. “Yeah, she would do that. But she got asked to do a demo on shield magic. I’m not sure if she can even make it to my fight. She told me to be careful, and that’s it.”
“Wait,” Sweetie Belle said. “There’s demos while you fight?”
Moongazer nodded. “Yes. And speaking of which, now might be a good time to learn some of the ground rules. You’re going into a challenger’s circle, one meant specifically for children. There are several of those around town today for the different weight classes, along with a few demonstrations. Since the challenges for recognition are all for foals today, Ash will be presiding over that.”
“When we get to the Meet, the other head of the Equestrian Warrior Society will be sitting next to me,” Ash continued. “If y’all want to fight, you’ll be sitting close to either me or Moongazer. If your fights are over, or if you don’t want to fight, just join the crowds. Are the other Elements of Harmony coming?”
“My sister is gonna watch somethin’ on how to fight predators, actually,” Apple Bloom replied. “And then she’s taking Winona to a defence dog training.”
“Really? Applejack isn’t gonna watch you fight?” Spike asked.
“Big Mac convinced her to stay away. I wouldn’t want her to make a scene.”
“Good thinking.”
“But Rarity’s gonna be there, and Pinkie Pie’s gonna be up in her balloon, I think, taping the whole thing. I don’t know about Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy, though.”
“Rainbow Dash had a previous engagement at the dam,” Ash said. “Weather Patrol business. As for Fluttershy, she’ll be the medic for your fights.”
This was a slightly more difficult piece of info for Apple Bloom to process. “But Fluttershy’s not a doctor. Or a nurse.”
“We needed those for the other demos.”
Still, the girl felt something was off. “But Fluttershy only takes care of small animals.”
“So do you object to being labelled ‘small,’ or do you mean to say you’re not an animal?”
“Point taken.”
The plaza came into view. Crowds were gathering around the ring already, and the seats of the two heads of Equestria’s Warrior Society stood open and waiting.
Hammer liked to meditate before putting on his armour. It was a good way to ground himself, to become rooted in the moment.
With a touch of magic, he put on the first piece: a chest piece, like the ones the Royal Guards wore. Then came the inner layer of fabric, a less comfy sensation, but a necessary one, nonetheless. He stepped into the costume with his arms and back first, then wriggled his legs through and tied the whole thing down like a corset. It covered him fairly tightly, head to hooves, leaving only his face open, but it wasn’t enough.
More rope.
With another steady breath, cords around him sprung to life and coiled around his arms and legs, carrying thick metal bracers along and weaving through the padded fabric. He tightened them around his limbs and neck, then made a firm knot under his outer chest plate. Another wriggle, and his wing protection was in place, adding more plates to his sides.
He chanced a look in the mirror. He almost looked normal, once he got his tail covered in metal flaps. Black cloth padding under shiny metal, he almost looked fine.
Almost.
The heat started to build, and with a whisper, the rope covering him started to cool. Standard circulation magic, and with his practice he could move naturally with his armour now.
Wizard armour, like that of the Eastern Unicorns of old: plates and guards woven into a costume, not clumsily buckled or riveted like a grunt’s. No one would know him like this. No one would recognise him.
Last came the helmet and mask. His head disappeared under it, then some coverings for his muzzle completed it. What looked back at him was a walking enigma, no hint of the shape of his muzzle, eyes occluded.
He was a warrior now, a soldier who could blitz through any opponent.
Unseen, unknown.
No name, no pain.
“No name, no pain. No name, no pain,” he repeated to himself until the mantra sunk in. His fur lightened under the padding, becoming numb to all but the friction of the rope harness that bound the pieces together. He became isolated, cut off from the world. All the better to focus on his task. He felt the magic course through the threads, making them resistant to foreign influences.
Perfect.
“Are you ready, Hammer?” Fleur asked, knocking on the door.
“Ready.”
She came in and smiled. “You look lovely, and your armour is as keen as always. I’m sure everypony will be impressed.”
“Thank you.”
She raised her hoof in clear view of him, and he nodded.
The hoof came down to pat him on the back, then went down lower to pull him into a hug.
“Try to fight at least once without your coverings today, alright? Just once, if you have to, take it off, if only as a sign of respect. You can’t keep this on forever.”
He shivered, then tensed up. He didn’t want his composure to break, but he was slipping. “I will. Take it off, I mean. But not right away, please? I don’t think I can do it just like that.” He gulped and took a deep breath to steady himself.
Fleur pulled away and stroked along the plated surface of his wings, then his armoured horn. “Wait and see. If the Ashen Blizzard wants to fight you unarmoured, you know what to do.”
He gulped. “Do you really think I’m ready?”
“I know you are. You are a capable fighter, and an honourable one at that. When you feel up to it, step out into the light, and stop hiding.”
“But what if I don’t feel up to it? What if I can’t?”
“That is a question I cannot answer. If that happens, it will be between you and your fears. One will have to bow before the other, simple as that. Now, come on, we mustn’t be late.”
The Warrior Meet’s challenger’s circle was everything the kids had been expecting. Especially Spike, who still hadn’t cut back on his Neighruto consumption and as such had been expecting exactly this.
In the central square, a rounded rectangular platform had been raised up from the ground, presumably using unicorn magic to either teleport the stone or pull it up from the ground. The crowd building around it was the predictable mess of Ponyvillians who wanted to mark ‘kids beating the snot out of each other’ off of their Ponyville Strange Sights Bingo, mixed in with a gaggle of Royal Guards at the end closest to City Hall, as well as the actual warriors.
And in between the civilians and the warriors, there were two seats. One was currently occupied by the only Shadowbolt in Equestria – almost prompting Daisy from the flower shop to yell ‘Bingo’ -- the other was empty.
The Ponyville Junior Ninjas, at least the ones who would be fighting, stood patiently behind their master.
“Now where is that silly pony? You’d think the head of the Warrior Society would be punctual,” Ash started.
“Who is the second head, anyhow?” Apple Bloom asked.
At that moment, there came a blood-curdling cry, the likes of which struck terror into the hearts of nightmares, monsters, and croissant bakers everywhere.
“Citizens of Ponyville! Your Princess of the Night hath arrived!”
Ash slapped himself as the alicorn landed. “Princess Luna, always a pleasure.”
“Master Ashen Blizzard, good to see you,” Luna greeted. “And hello to your apprentices. Spike, I didn’t know you were studying the finer arts of combat.”
The little dragon waved meekly. “Hi, Princess Luna. Yeah, I’m, uh, I’m learning.”
“Good. Now, what is it you were saying about punctuality, Ash?”
“Would you mind tellin’ me why we’re even here? We had a Meet in Manehattan in the summer. If anypony wanted to be tested, they could’ve just waited for the next one,” Ash said.
“Oh, don’t be such a buzzkill,” Luna joked. “The Warrior Meet is a sacred tradition, we must do our duties.”
“And this wouldn’t have anything to do with the foreign delegates arriving in Canterlot today?”
Luna humph-ed as innocently as she could. “Now whyever would that matter?”
“Well, you do have a bit of a reputation for skippin’ out on meetings, Your Highness. Some ponies might think you’re bigoted.”
At that, Luna scoffed and held her head high in typical Canterlot ‘I can’t see where I’m going, and may run into a wall, but at least I don’t have to look at you’ fashion. “D’oh, really, I am not bigoted; I am annoyed. And some individuals, I find more annoying than others.”
Ash grunted. “Which ones are you avoiding this time?”
She waited, for a moment. In high society, this was known as the ‘Royal Second.’ Much like the ‘Academic Quarter,’ its name didn’t refer to the actual length of time that passed through it, so much as it did refer to when it was appropriate to be annoyed by it. “The Asstralians.”
Ash flicked his ears, but that response still sounded silly, so it wasn’t his fault, at least. “Really? Those didgery-do-nothin’ donkeys are why we have to do this whole circus? What’s wrong with them?”
“Forgive me if I don’t trust anything that asks me to breed at the end of every sentence. Then there’s the Germanes and their exasperating flatulence problem. I wouldn’t mind it so much if they at least owned up to it.”
There, at least, the Ashen Blizzard had to concede the point. “Yeah, Germanes do have a bad habit about misrepresenting their gas emissions.”
“Now, then, is everypony in place?”
“I believe so.”
Luna squinted, somewhat confused. “There aren’t that many young ones out today, are there? Most of the masters are-ah, of course, the Feather Cloaks are participating. Silly me.”
“They are. Do you wish to begin, or shall I?”
The princess smiled evilly. Or rather, reformed evilly, which was kind of like an evil smile but would pass the national censors much more easily. “Oh, let me. Unless you want to give your students some time to prepare, mentally?”
“Give me a sec.” He turned to the kids. “Youngins, after Princess Luna makes the announcement, you’re gonna have to step up up to that platform and officially stand as a challenger. If any of you want to back down, last chance.”
None of them did.
“Good. Now, just one more thing you gotta know. You’ll be fighting under the eyes of the Royal Guard, and the Princess. Try not to make too much of a scene, if you don’t have to. Most of the ponies here on official business have seen all the drama, but the locals might be new to it. Keep that in mind. Oh, and one more thing, very important, might save your life.” He leaned in to whisper.
As one, the little ninjas leaned in closer to hear.
“Keep your aural channels closed while Her Royal Highness makes her declarations.”
“What?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Cover your ears while Luna’s talking. You’re close by and, err, I think she gets a tiny bit carried away sometimes.”
In… and out…
In… and out…
My body is heavy and relaxed. My Inner Pearl is clear and pure. My Jade Gates are guarded.
I am calm, and centered.
I am in trouble.
Everything I do is wrong.
I can’t meditate like this.
Whimper sighed in the shade of a tree in the park, his usual meditation technique failing spectacularly. He couldn’t even be bothered to enjoy the nice summer day. He leaned back and looked up, and tried to stop thinking altogether. For once, he was sad to find that even that didn’t take. Nothing felt right anymore. Not his mind, not his body, even his soul, if he even had one left at this point. It wouldn’t have surprised him if he didn’t.
Starfall didn’t say a word when she approached him. She sat down next to him and sighed, looking down at him with sympathy in her eyes.
“Hey, Starfall,” he said.
“Hey. I heard about what happened yesterday. That fight.”
Whimper buried his head in his hooves. “I didn’t mean to.”
“I know. Scootaloo did it.”
“Uhuh.”
“She threw the first punch?”
“Yes.”
Starfall nodded. “And… did you do anything to stop her?”
He let out a breath with a hiss. “I told her not to. I told her to let it go. It’s me they wanted to fight, not her. They wanted to get me upset. The stuff they said, it was...” he gulped and shivered. “But it was my choice. I didn’t want to fight.”
“So Scootaloo chose for you.”
“Yes.”
“She wouldn’t listen.”
He closed his eyes, pouted, and nodded.
Starfall shook her head. “I told you. I warned you this would happen. You wouldn’t listen to me. You see what happens?”
He sobbed, his ears already down and his wings clenched against his sides.
It hurt her to see him like this, it really did. All that talent, all that raw strength, not to mention his cutie mark, and all it took was one careless girl to make him shrivel. “So… Coach Buster told me he’s thinking of getting you suspended before the school year starts. Disciplinary action, protecting the teams and all. Doesn’t sound fair to me.”
“It’s not,” Whimper moaned. “But there’s nothing I can do.”
“You could still sign up with the Feather Cloaks. Master Blazing would vouch for you. Coach Buster wouldn’t bother you anymore. And I’d make sure you don’t get into trouble with any girls.” She leaned in to nuzzle his head. “Doesn’t that sound nice? No more grownups yelling at you, no more girls telling you what to do, how to act. You could be yourself; a real alpha. All you need to do is sign up, and you’d be where you belong. That wouldn’t be a bad thing, would it?”
His head rose up from his hooves. A tiny smile formed on his face. “No, it wouldn’t.”
“So? What do you say? We could go to the dojo right now, Master Blazing’s still got that costume ready for you.”
Whimper shivered. “I guess… but I can’t sign up now.”
“Why not?”
Finally, he rose up and looked her in the eyes. “I told Master Blazing I’d decide after the Warrior Meet in Manehattan. If I go back on that now, I’d be breaking my word. I’d be acting weak.”
“You can’t afford to wait that long, Whimper. You’re going to keep getting into more trouble the longer you wait.”
“But-”
“Hey, Whimper!”
The boy looked to his right. “Oh, Rumble. Sorry, I didn’t think you’d show up.”
“Well, you said we’d go to that panda shop in Canterlot today, right?” Rumble looked at the teenaged unicorn. “Hi. You must be Starfall.”
Starfall gritted her teeth, as stealthily as a ninja filly could. “I am. And you’re Thunderlane’s little brother, huh?”
“Yup, that’s me.” Rumble smiled widely.
“Better keep working hard if you ever want to catch up to him, then.” She winked.
Whimper turned back to Starfall. “Umm, I kind of promised I’d go, so...”
“It’s okay,” Starfall said. “You don’t have to do it right now. I mean, you do agree it’s for the best, right?”
He bit his lip. “I need to think about it. And I’d rather think about it on my own, if that’s okay with you. I really need to decide this for myself.”
“Of course. You just come back when you’re ready. I’ll be waiting.”
Rumble and Whimper both took off towards Canterlot.
Of course Starfall knew he was lying; if he’d agreed to meet Rumble there, there was no way he’d forgotten. Still, he saw the light now. He knew where he belonged, and that’s all that mattered.
She could wait for him to sign up.
And after that, he’d be real alpha worthy of the Feather Cloak name in no time at all.