Hoof to Hoof
Chapter 4: Origin
A couple of days had passed since the fight. The sun was high in the sky as Applejack and Rainbow Dash walked back to the barn, both were drenched in a thin layer of sweat. Their skills were improving and at this point Sensei trusted the both of them to behave responsibly with the training. He had taken the day off to focus on meditating and relaxing. They found him in front of the barn levitating a few inches off the ground, his face stern. A strange mood had come over him in the days since the fight, he talked less than before and his eyes grew distant whenever he did. This exacerbated the fact that Applejack and Rainbow Dash hadn’t truly discussed the fight with him, with him talking less the topic hadn’t managed to creep up in conversation. Rainbow Dash had a few burning questions for Sensei, thinking back on the fight she remembered the strange way he had fought Lefty, He barely touched that dog and he knocked him out; they all ran after that, what did he do?
Applejack’s thoughts mirrored her friend’s, Some strange mystical hoo-ha w he pulled th’ other day, he gits stranger and stranger. An’ it seems the more ah know ‘bout ‘em the less sense he makes, what in th’ world did he do to that dog?
Sensei lowered to the ground as the two friends approached, a large smile on his face. The two returned the expression in kind, when Rainbow begins speaking, “We ran through our forms, and got in some light sparring today.”
She smirked looking over at Applejack, “I got my flank beat!”
Applejack snickered, sarcastically remarking, “Yeah, right, ah beat you up. You got th’ leg up on me! I ain’t never seen a pony that can move ‘s fast as you can,”
As Applejack finished Rainbow added in shyly, “Well yeah, but I mean I’ve fought everything from changelings to dogs at one time or another, but I have never fought anypony or anything that can even come close to you.”
Sensei’s eyes sparkled as the two talked, they had regained and solidified their friendship. He went to sit and meditate again when Applejack started talking about the fight a couple of days ago, “Yeah you too, ah mean you remember how ya was flippin’ around those dogs? Looked like ya was in three er four places at once!”
Rainbow Dash started floating in the air, waving her hooves excitedly as she spoke, “Oh yeah! And I remember dogs being thrown left and right, you actually picked them up and set them down, hard!”
They continued discussing the fight, commenting on each-other’s skills. They talked for several minutes slowly going through the fight, remembering where they were and what had happened. When they neared the end of the fight Applejack spoke of the way the fight ended, her voice trailing off as she finished, “And then they all ran away, I didn’t get too good a look at that, did you see what happened?”
Rainbow Dash concentrated on her memories, “Yeah, Sensei just touched the little dog, one of the ones that was in charge, in a couple of places on his arm and back. The dog just fell over, and Sensei warned them to go away and never come back,”
Applejack nodded, “I thought that was what happened, ah mean I didn’t git a good look at it, but I heard Sensei an’ saw ‘em runnin’”
Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked at each other, able to tell what the other was thinking right then and there. They both turned to Sensei, Rainbow asked, “What did you do to that little dog?”
Sensei, who had returned to trying to meditate, opened one eye. Sighing forlornly he said, “This one incapacitated the dog.”
Applejack wouldn’t accept this answer, “You did more than that, we saw ya jus’ touch em an’ he fell over. Ah mean Rainbow an’ I knocked out a couple of em, but we hit them, you just kinda… I don’t know poked em a few times. What was that?”
Sensei spoke quietly, opening both eyes and standing “This one believes it is time to tell you two where this one came from, can you get us some privacy?”
Applejack quickly replied, “Of course, let’s get inta th’ barn, quietest place on th’ farm.”
They made their way inside, Sensei motioned for them to sit, “It is a long story and this one will tell all of it, the two of you will be more comfortable seated.”
He spoke, telling his story with a lingering melancholy that struck deep into the duo’s hearts, “This one was not always so friendly, so amiable, there was a time when this one was an entirely different person.“
“This story occurred many, many, years ago and this one cannot forget what has been done. It all started, oh so long ago, in a faraway place this one’s homeland. The ponies there do not know happiness like the ones here in Equestria, this one’s home did not have a fair and equitable system of governance like the one here. The realm was instead ruled by a terrible and tyrannical emperor. This one knows not if he is still in power or what the current situation there is, as it was left long ago. There, from the day of birth, young foals are groomed and trained in whatever direction the emperor demands. Under this system many do not discover their one true talent, and they go their entire lives without knowing what their special place in the world is.”
“This one was, until long after leaving, similarly unlucky. This one was trained how to combat in hoof to hoof combat from a young age, and as a hot-headed young stallion rose in the ranks of the military to become a general in the glorious emperor’s army. This one committed many acts of war in the emperor’s name, and this one regrets them all. Another important part of this land is that there was an abundance of dragons. These dragons are quite unlike the dragons of Equestria, and do not grow to the monstrous sizes that the ones here do. They are of a much more, agreeable, size and temperament. There are so many of them that they intermingle with the general population of ponies. They are no different there than you are from any other pony in town. They are mail-dragons, bakers, librarians and keepers of scrolls. Many of them find love and companionship with the ponies as well. The fruit of these unions creates earth ponies, all of them with extraordinary strength and tactile ability, perfectly suited to the martial arts.”
“Many ponies assigned for duty in the emperor’s armies are from these unions, all of the top generals were, this one included.”
A pin-drop would be as thunder in the silence that followed. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were awestruck, their teacher was half dragon. Rainbow opened her mouth to speak when Sensei raised a hoof solemnly stating, “This one will answer all of your questions in time, please allow this one to finish,”
Rainbow Dash closed her mouth, and resumed listening intently, “This one was doing his duty, performing as expected, when rumors of a startlingly strong and powerful dragon arose. He was ruthless, cunning, and worst of all completely driven by ambition. His eyes were always set on the next goal and he lived his life out of tune with the needs of others. His name was Hóng Long.”
“Selfish and proud he was, these qualities were at the time hidden from this one’s eyes. All that this one saw was a good recruit, and he was taken in to the fold. This one was commanded by the emperor to teach the dragon everything that he needed to know.”
“His training was not unlike yours, rigorous and difficult; however there was a greater dedication to it. Unlike the two of you his only purpose in the emperor’s eyes was to train and to learn to be the best and most effective tool he could be in war. This one and he trained day and night, for several years. The time was also spent fighting the enemies of the emperor. Numerous, long, heart wrenching battles, all of which left memories as black as a moonless night, these days were some of the most turmoil ridden ones in this one’s life, and it was in these hours of darkness that a spark of brilliance came.”
“This one developed a new technique over the course of training Hóng Long. After months of intense study this one discovered that the vital points on the bodies of all living things can be struck, manipulated or shut off. This one learned how to do anything from knocking an enemy unconscious, to stopping their hearts. It is a powerful technique, one that can be used to fight dozens of enemies at a time. This one hasn’t had need to use this ability for several years, until the other evening.”
His eyes became cold, terribly cold, as he resumed speaking, “It is strange the providence that is found in a name, many of us long before discovering what our purpose is in this life need only look to their names to catch a glimmer of the future. Take you Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in Equestria, or you Applejack, making a living on a farm of apples. It saddens me to think of it but, before this one forsook it, this one was named Dim-Mak, the Death Touch.”
“Long discovered this technique by observing this one performing for the emperor. He wanted to learn it, to use it to sow discord and destruction amongst his enemies. He dogged me for months, and try as he I would not teach it to him. This one did not want his student to surpass him; this one did not want to be out done, for this one knew that as soon as Long got ahold of such a powerful ability, he would use it to take this one’s place.”
“The emperor however saw Long in a different light, to him the dragon was the most feared and respected soldier in the land, qualities he sought in his commanders. This one had maintained silence for as long as possible, but there is no resisting the emperor’s command. This one taught Long his technique, and he learned it quickly. Impatient, Long was unable to master it in the time before he struck. Long moved in and callously crippled or otherwise removed several military commanders, they were unable to best him in combat with the use of my technique, becoming de-facto leader of their troops. He used this to take many different villages and areas in the realm. Unlike this one, or any of the previous generals, he dispatched his goals with ruthless efficiency, carving a way from one end of the Dragon Lands to the other.”
A single tear rolled down Sensei’s cheek and his voice became shaky, “This one has never seen such wonton destruction, such needless violence. Villages burned, lives destroyed and the children…”
His voice trailed off as more tears welled up in the stallion’s eyes. Rainbow Dash, for the first time seeing her teacher get emotional, moved to his shoulder with Applejack following suit shortly afterwards. They comforted Sensei, while he quietly cried for several minutes. When the tears stopped, he resumed speaking, “This one saw what had been done and he complained to the emperor. The macabre sight that the Dragon Lands had become had all come at the hands of Hóng Long, and by extension, this one. The emperor merely looked at it as a successful military campaign. This one couldn’t accept it, and in the dark of the night, left the lands. This one had for his entire life believed in and trusted the emperor implicitly; this broke this one’s faith in him, and revealed him as what he truly was.”
“This one is sure that his services are sorely missed by the emperor, while Long is ruthless and efficient, this one was much more tactful and capable in actual conflict. This one does not miss that life though. This one forsook his name, and now this one refuses to acknowledge himself as anything but a tool to defend. This one vowed to never, ever use any technique but for the defense of others. That is this one’s story, this one is glad to have told somepony after all of these years.”
The stallion finished speaking, the barn grew eerily quiet. Applejack was the first to break the silence, “It don’t matter what you done all those years ago, you did me a huge favor the other day. You saved mah farm, you saved mah family’s livelihood, ah can never repay ya.”
Rainbow Dash continued a teary eyed smile coming to her face, “You have also taught us skills that we are going to use to right the wrongs that come our way, you have done a lot of good here, and we appreciate you so much.”
The three friends hugged and exited the barn, Granny Smith had a pie waiting for them inside.