Sasuke poked half-heartedly with a stick into a small, burning fire that he’d created in the middle of the Everfree forest. He’d made it to cook the manticore that he’d killed- its corpse was disemboweled off to the side, stomach torn open and slightly charred by a dangerous sword. He’d taken his time to extract the best meat and cook it, though he made sure he wasn’t taking forever to do it, either. He had a small pile of bones to the side after he’d finished devouring his meal. Now he thought about what to do next.
They’d been hunting him for a little less than a day now, but as much as it hurt him to say it, since he’d grown up in the Land of Fire and in the Leaf Village, he wasn’t exactly confused when it came to forests. You could almost say it was home turf, even though Sasuke wasn’t likely to agree mostly just based on principle. He could hide in here for a very long time, living off the land and killing the beasts inside the forest like it was some extended version of the Forest of Death challenge in the Chuunin Exams.
The ponies, however, didn’t have the same ability.
They hated the place, as far as Sasuke knew. He wasn’t sure about how much they knew of traversing dangerous forestry like this, or how much they knew about this forest in general- because it was just like a forest where he was from, and the rest of their lands were child’s play and kiddy in comparison to surviving in the forest- but so far, after he’d initially escaped who he’d inferred was the Princess of the Night, he had not yet been found again. He’d had some close calls, but his camp was well hidden, and for now, he was good.
Sasuke wasn’t surprised that after he’d attacked Princess Celestia, the ponies had tried to come crashing down on him hard for it. It was honestly what he’d expected- and the same sort of thing would happen- a lot worse, because they’d be ninja- back home, if he’d attacked a Kage again or if he’d dared to try to assassinate or attack one of the Daiymo’s. It still annoyed him, though- because he was being attacked for, admittedly, killing somepony who’d have only killed and terrorized others. Even though it was a heroic act, it instead fucked him over.
Sasuke didn’t like that.
For such a long, long time now, so many people- and even ponies, even if not to the same extent or for the same duration of time- had been asking him to see the light or go back to the ideals he’d had as a younger shinobi- and, if not go back to being happy as he once was, to, at the very least, become good again. Sasuke could only laugh at the pleas of the people, and of the ponies. They’d never been possessed by vengeance before like him. They thought you could just banish the sadness and the hatred away.
How naïve of them to think that way.
Fixing yourself just like that- not only was it not possible, but fixing yourself in general and going back to a previous, and not to mention undesirable, state of mind, was incredibly hard to begin with. It required a complete turnaround of your way of thinking; mentally, you had to do a one-eighty. Sasuke wasn’t sure if he was capable of that, not after all the things he’d done and still planned or felt that he needed to do. There were still people that wronged him, and that had to die, and until then…
Until then, he wasn’t sure if vengeance could leave his heart.
Sasuke, once his dinner was finished, had other matters to attend to. He got up, and started walking around camp, noting the particular locations, and how the camp could be accessed from every location. It was a fairly good spot, with only three entrances, plus the air, but Sasuke wanted more coverage than that.
He wasn’t going to move the camp; no, no. That would require way too much work this early in the night, and since he was so far uncaught, he wanted to stay where he was because this was apparently a good spot for hiding from them. He hadn’t been found yet, and that was what mattered. So now, he wasn’t moving camp.
He was going to trap it.
The trees and brush of the forest were much too thick to do anything but block something from getting into his camp. Ponies would probably get caught inside the rough undergrowth of the forest, but there were still open spaces where they would no doubt wriggle themselves through, like ants. As for them, he had that all planned out.
A ninja was always prepared, after all. He looked around the camp for a little while longer- old lessons from the academy on basic trapping coming back to him. They didn’t have to be great traps, mostly because the ponies were stupid, and they would be arrogant enough to believe they could capture him so easily. He slowly removed tools from his pouch and went to the first opening in his camp.
He had ninja wire for this specific occasion. He removed it, and went outside of his camp momentarily- gathering sticks and small branches to help him set up the trap. They didn’t have to be particularly strong because he knew how to set this up and knew the strength requirements, and how much the stick had to be able to bend; things like that. If the wood in the forest had been much drier and flimsy; easily breakable, that might’ve been a problem, but since it was not, it was not a problem. He gathered the materials and put them back at camp.
He took a few sticks and worked on the first opening into his small camp- and by setting and bending a few branches inside the forest; they were tied together with ninja wire. When something walked into them, or over a line that he’d set up that was at the same spot, they’d set off the trap. The ninja wire would encase them and trap them- he made sure that it wouldn’t harm them too much, as he didn’t want to get blamed for a pony death when he did nothing of the sort. Sasuke wondered if he was getting soft.
He tried to put such thoughts out of his mind and went back to work.
For the other two normal openings, he repeated the process similarly, until there were three traps like that across the openings in the camp. They were small, but they were still there, and so Sasuke felt that he’d need to cover them. Now that they were covered, though, he was much less worried, and knew that he’d sleep easier, tonight. With those problems taken care of, he moved onto what would no doubt be the biggest issue of making camp tonight. He glared up, hatefully, at the large gap in the trees that opened up into the night sky.
He’d had to make sure that his fire wasn’t making too much smoke once he realized how open the canopy was in the particular spot he’d chosen- but by the time he’d found that out, he’d already set himself up here, and there was no time to find or set up a new camp, anyway. The fire wasn’t very smoky, so it was good, but that didn’t meant that the gigantic hole that was lying right over Sasuke was in any way more excusable. He’d need to use more ninja wire for this, but he could always retrieve it afterwards. He wasn’t wasteful with his ninja tools.
He stretched some out, and bit it with his teeth, holding the metallic wire in place as he leapt upwards silently into the night. He landed adroitly on a tree branch- one of many that made up the outer ring that was the hole above his campsite. The long line that went from the roll of ninja wire to his teeth wouldn’t be enough, and Sasuke pulled his head away and stretched the wire farther with his teeth before leaping across and dragging across the entire hole, after tying one of the lines to the branch he’d been standing on.
He repeated this process- tying to a branch, and then leaping across the gigantic gap- a few more times before he stopped momentarily, ascertaining whether or not the trap was good enough. He’d formed something similar to a spider-web, all in order to catch nosy Pegasus ponies who thought they could run in through his trap and try to take him away to their stupid Princess who didn’t even thank him for what he did.
It was a few lines of ninja wire, only, but Sasuke had always been a prodigy, and he wasn’t in any way weak at traps- if they flew into it, the wire would snap and surround them, and pin them to a random branch.
Then they’d be found by Sasuke when he woke up- which would probably be then, because when the trap activated it would probably be fairly loud.
Satisfied, Sasuke leapt down from his trap and looked around his campsite at his handiwork. He needed sleep- mostly because he hadn’t been found yet, and he would take his rest when he could get it. He walked around the camp a few more times, paranoid, checking over each trap more than once to make sure they’d accurately protect him. After looking them and the brush over, ensuring it was indeed as thick and impassable as he thought it was, he walked back over to the fire and snuffed it, stomping the ashes into the dirt and grass.
Sasuke strolled over to a small bed of leaves and grass that he’d made. He had no tent here, and he couldn’t make one, because he had no fabric. Manticore pelts were too thick and didn’t have the right material, and he hadn’t seen an animal he could use- besides a pony, but he wasn’t making a tent out of a pony. He jumped down into his makeshift bed and tried to lay down, and become comfortable, but even now, he wondered idly if he’d be found or not. As he went to bed, the voices started fighting in his head again, and he winced as he drifted off into unconsciousness- the silence of sleep a welcome reprieve from the chaos in his mind.
______________________________
It must’ve been eight or nine in the morning, at the very least, the next day when Sasuke woke up. He’d probably gone to bed at one or two in the morning- after running for most of the night, and then having to set up camp, and catch dinner and eat traps, he’d wasted a lot of time and had to go to bed late- and as such, had woken up fairly late. He was sure that his sleep was a fraction of what a noble got in a night, though, and didn’t worry about whether or not he was getting lazy or not, from needing more sleep.
He was careful in getting up- instantly, checking his traps around and above him to see if he’d caught anything. He’d prefer if he hadn’t. That would’ve been the best situation. While catching a pony would surely be better than being caught or a pony seeing him, and running back and telling the others about him, he still wanted to use this campsite as long as he could, just because it was a good spot and he didn’t feel like moving.
The ninja wire gleamed slightly in the morning sunlight, and Sasuke knew that it wouldn’t be as effective in the day, because the traps were much more easily revealed. Still, at the very least, they’d be very annoying hindrances, and he knew that if they weren’t paying attention, they’d run into them anyway and it wouldn’t matter how visible they were. He cut himself a path through the underbrush, and once he was through, stacked the mounds of grass and leaves and growth back against itself- that way, no one would be able to tell that he’d ever been there. He could come back and his campsite would most likely be undisturbed.
He’d resolved to explore the forest more, if only to know where he’d be living for the next while. Sasuke knew that while he’d probably pissed the ponies off, and it was likely that they wouldn’t leave him alone for a while, he also knew that there was no way they could ever catch him- not out in the open, and especially not when he was well-hidden by the cover of a dangerous forest. Sasuke figured that he could only increase his rates of staying unfound and un-captured if he knew the forest like the back of his hand.
So Sasuke set out and started running through the forest some more, making sure to stay hidden most of the time and to not move too fast. The entire thing would be for naught if a pony saw him and they started chasing him again. He’d eventually have to double back to his clearing- camp place, and then he’d have to move if they found him there, and he didn’t want them doing that. He’d worked hard yesterday making that camp more habitable.
He jumped from branch to branch and looked around, usually spotting nothing but the same, over and over. The same trees, the same flowers and grass –everything was mostly the same. He’d spotted a few blue flowers, and he wasn’t stupid enough to touch them or try to do anything with them. For all Sasuke knew, they could be poisonous, and he could easily imagine the stupid ponies eating them, because they had no idea of how to be safe inside of a forest or any kind of dangerous area or conditions.
There were plenty of timber wolves and multiple Manticores inside the forest, though the Manticores were rarer. Still, despite being attacked by both multiple times while he was out exploring, they were obviously no challenge to Sasuke. Even as a genin, he knew they would’ve posed him little trouble- maybe at most requiring a Jutsu or two to kill.
He didn’t even bother covering the bodies- he knew that other animals would fight over the corpses as food, and it would just look like they were slaughtering each other. He wouldn’t be implicated in the death of a stupid wolf made out of wood, and even if he would be, they had to search the entire forest. He doubted they’d find him just based off of that.
He’d found a stream or two while he was traveling through the forest, and drank from them more than once, sometimes doubling back towards them just to get a sip or two of water. Now that he knew where they were, he could always go back to them for more water. He already filled his canteen up from one, but now that he had unlimited water, he could prepare better dishes and also bathe himself much easier- not be completely filthy, covered in leaves and dirt and grass inside of this forest. He did still have to take care of himself.
As he explored, he found what he’d thought he’d find: more and more of the damn same. The same shady, concealing trees that he was glad for, the same grassy forest floor, and the same animals- he hadn’t seen much more than Manticores and timber wolves so far, and it was starting make Sasuke curious as to whether or not that was all that was really in there. A sudden roar determined that it was indeed not.
He was more than interested in something that could possibly give him even a sliver of entertainment, and he started jumping and leaping through the trees, traveling in the direction of the sound that he’d heard. It had been something else- he’d been sure of it. The roar was much louder and deeper than a Manticore’s, and wolves didn’t roar, they howled, and even when they did that, they weren’t that loud. Sasuke was hoping for a much more dangerous opponent- or at the very least, if not dangerous, something that could occupy his attention.
The roar boomed out again, and Sasuke could tell he was closer, though not entirely there yet. It seemed to be destroying a lot of trees, whatever it was, because he could hear it rampaging somewhere out in the forest here. As he got closer and closer, he discovered that the other animals were apparently scared of it- it was causing even the normally prideful and arrogant Manticores to flee, and the timber wolves were forming temporary pack alliances and running in large groups- strength in numbers, after all.
Sasuke pulled out his sword, a quiet screech of steel echoing throughout the forest before his neck of the woods again became quiet. Like a predator, he waited and listened. In the ruckus of the fleeing animals, he’d lost its position. Sasuke could just run in and find it, but he wanted to be careful. He wasn’t going to charge in recklessly without, at the very least, knowing what they hell he was going up against. The forest was quiet, and for a moment, he wondered, sadly, if it had actually left and gone somewhere else.
Then he heard that loud, booming roar again, and he knew that it was no such coincidence. He momentarily stopped as the roar echoed throughout the forest loudly, and he lit up his sword with electricity. Chidori Nagashi, one of his original techniques- even if it was based off of an original technique, Sasuke was still and always would be, proud of it. He checked his six and his supplies- and he had everything. He was ready.
He started sprinting and leaping through the trees, landing on the branches adroitly and promptly launching himself off of them again, almost instantly. He darted from tree to tree and seemed a natural part of the forest. He stopped, halfway hidden inside a tree, vision captivated by a huge, massive being that was stomping around the forest.
He could only see the lower parts of its body- four stubby, but still massive legs, and a huge belly that all was strangely colored. It looked incredible- and Sasuke wondered what kind of other strange creatures were wandering throughout Equestria. This couldn’t be the end of the enthralling native species here. He moved closer, even if he did it slowly and cautiously.
He stopped again, and watched as the giant star-bear thing rooted around in the ground for what he assumed was either food, or just for simple curiosity. The bear thing didn’t eat, so he assumed it was just exploring. Its paws were gigantic limbs, and he knew that no matter how weak the creature might’ve been to him, it was certainly the king in a place like this. It abruptly dropped down onto the floor, sending a booming crash throughout the forest, and jolting Sasuke as he nearly fell out of his tree, though he regained his balance instantly.
It was… napping?
Sasuke wasn’t going to interrupt it. For some reason, he didn’t feel that it would be right. All the same, he still wanted to watch it, and he figured with how large the thing was that he’d be able to get closer and not be noticed. The thing probably overlooked smaller things all the time, and he had his ninja skills, anyway. If he couldn’t hide himself from an animal, he was no kind of shinobi, anyway. He jumped through a few more trees, and stopped as he was nearly right above the massive animal. He looked down at it, interested.
It looked so… peaceful, sleeping there. He jumped down and petted its side, strangely, he was enthralled by the creature. Even though it was certainly dangerous- and probably immeasurably cruel and ferocious when awake, Sasuke couldn’t help but think it was cute when asleep. A much, much louder roar made him turn though, and the smallest inklings of fear ran through him as he turned around, and met what he considered could’ve been his maker.
The gigantic star-light bear certainly resembled a god, if that was one of the conditions.
He idly realized, as he stared down the absolutely titanic bear, that it was a baby.
A baby.
He leapt a hundred feet or as away as a massive paw crushed where he had just been, awaking the baby but not hurting it. It started to cry, and the baby bawling sounded like a hundred lions roaring. Sasuke covered his ears in pain and watched as the thing completely ignored him- he was hidden in trees now anyway, and if the baby didn’t notice him, the mother certainly wouldn’t. He could hardly imagine how huge it was- it reminded him of the tailed beasts. He knew that it probably wasn’t as strong, or with the same amount of energy, but it still possessed the sheer stature and strength, and that was half of their advantage, anyway.
The mother star-light bear reached down and picked up the baby with one gargantuan starry paw. She cradled it and cooed to it- a sound that was similar to grating steel, intensified, and booming, and it made Sasuke crinkle his nose in displeasure as his ears were repeatedly assaulted. Eventually though, the bear eventually left and stomped off to another area of the forest, taking its massive baby with it. Sasuke could only look and watch as it left before shaking his head, and turning around, deciding that was enough excitement for today.
He began traveling back to his campsite when, on the way, he caught sight of a pony rummaging through the forest floor. He stopped instantly and hung from a branch, watching from above. After a few moments of observation, he discovered that the horse wasn’t actually a pony- at least, it didn’t look like it. It had different coloring, with all kinds of stripes and alternating colors on its coat. Most ponies he’d seen had had simply one coat color.
If anything, she looked exotic.
Her mere location interested Sasuke, though. While every pony that he’d ever met- save the ponies that were pursuing him under royal orders in the forest right now- all avoided the forest, and wisely it was that they did so. Sasuke, while normally disgusted by their weakness, had to admit it was smart of them to just completely stay out of an area where they’d be killed. Especially when it wasn’t even that hard for them to avoid and stay out of the forest.
But this other striped pony was different. Sasuke could tell that she had confidence, courage, and above all, wisdom. She was gathering things from the forest floor- most likely, herbs. Sasuke had recognized several species in the forest that were similar to his world, although they had minor differences- and on the other hand, there were plenty here that he’d never seen before- the blue flower patches were a good example.
She didn’t seem to notice the brown, wooden timber wolves creeping up behind her.
Sasuke, about to leap down from the trees to intervene, decided to wait, and see.
Something about this pony was different.
She perked her ears momentarily- signaling that she’d heard them, but did not reveal this to them. Sasuke didn’t know this. The striped pony continued gathering her herbs as if she didn’t notice them. She had a small bag with her- similar to a satchel, Sasuke noticed- that she kept on her person. She gathered more herbs with her mouth and placed them inside the bag gently, with precise, quiet movements. He realized that she knew of the dangers of the forest and was trying to be as stealthy as possible.
With a wild howl, full of hunger and desire for a filled belly with pony meat, the three timber wolves that had been clumsily hiding themselves among bushes and shrubs directly behind her. With grace, speed, and poise, the striped pony leapt up, her golden earrings glinting in the small amount of light that there was in the dark forest.
She bucked one in the head and landed on all fours, and did the same and leapt again and repeated it. Only one remained, the other two were unconscious, from strong hooves to the head. It charged her stupidly and recklessly, and she reminded Sasuke of Applejack as she turned around and planted both hooves firmly in its face before backing off and letting it fall down, unconscious.
She then finished collecting herbs and promptly left.
To say that Sasuke was impressed by the physical display of combat ability would be an understatement. He was a great fighter, naturally, and with his Sharingan he was even better at Taijutsu, but he didn’t need it to see what she’d done in that short encounter there. She obviously had some form of experience fighting these creatures, as not only did she act quickly and effectively, she also fought calmly without any terror or panic evident on her features.
He followed and stalked her quietly in the forest. The striped pony was much different from the others, and Sasuke liked her immediately, even though he didn’t know her name, had never heard her talk, or anything else. He was impressed by her courage and boldness to come into such a dangerous place for such trivial things- in comparison, at the very least. Sasuke wondered if the herbs were truly that important to her, or if she was just justifying going into such a dangerous forest to challenge herself.
She was slow compared to him, and he could still slaughter her in an instant, but that was not what mattered. He felt that he’d finally met a pony that wouldn’t be completely annoying. Someone that might be able to help him out even- in other words, an ally. She looked smart, wise, combat capable, and most importantly of all, competent, unlike the other idiots that seemed to be the dominant species of this world.
While Sasuke had lost a good deal of his arrogance, and his hatred in his time in Equestria, it was still there nonetheless, and he still felt that the ponies had way too many delusions about reality that frustrated him to no end. It seemed that the striped pony- whoever she was, as Sasuke had never seen her before- suffered from none of these things.
He continued following her for a short while, and watched as she calmly walked through the forest. She seemed to have no fear of the place, and after what he’d seen, Sasuke could understand why. She stopped for a short time once again to collect a few more herbs, but it wasn’t for as near as long of a time compared to the last time, and she soon moved on again. Sasuke was contemplating on talking to her, if only out of curiosity.
He had never been desperate for social interaction- ever, even when he’d been here, mostly away from the other humans. He was interested in the pony, however, and resolved to talk to her soon. She walked quietly for a while longer, and suddenly sped up, though Sasuke couldn’t see why. He followed her slightly faster through the trees, and soon saw her arrive at what he assumed was some sort of small cottage home in the middle of the forest.
His respect for her only swelled more, and he leapt down from the trees, landing on his feet silently right behind her. He decided to speak up then.
“Hello,” Sasuke said simply, and she turned around in fright, backing up.
“Strangest creature I’ve yet observed,” she muttered, dropping her satchel to the floor, and defensively backed up against the door of her house, and then completed the rhyme, “Your appearance makes me unnerved.” Sasuke put some distance between the two, but did not leave her sight, instead responding to her. He especially made an effort to show that he was not holding any weapons or meant to harm her.
“You’re the bravest pony I’ve seen. You live in this forest?” Sasuke asked, gesturing to the cottage that she stood in front of. She looked behind herself, glancing at it fondly, before turning back and replying in turn. She picked up her satchel and put it back over her as she did so, turning towards the door.
“I like to live in places green; as for the creatures though- obscene.”
Sasuke had a confused expression before he covered it with a calm look as the pony turned around again. At first, he thought that she’d simply rhymed either by accident or complete coincidence- either way, it was not something intentional. A second set of rhymes, however, were already straining that explanation thin as it was. His mind instantly flashed back to a ninja he’d once battled- Killer Bee. Her rhymes were better than his, though.
“Are you a warrior, with that blade?” She asked, pointing with a hoof towards his sword that hung off of his back. He nodded, and she nodded back as she walked into her home, inviting Sasuke in with a wave of her hoof. As he walked in, he noticed that while it was small, she seemed to have one of everything in here, literally. Pots and jars lined the shelves, all no doubt filled with ingredients and herbs, much like the ones he’d seen her gathering before.
“As I thought. Your skill seems of the highest grade.”
“How can you tell? You’ve never seen me fight.”
“Admittedly, in fighting, I perceive more than most,” she said, as she sat down and laid her satchel on the floor, “and I can tell you’re strong- but of my observational abilities, I do not meant to boast.” Sasuke nodded as he sat down on the floor with her, though it was harder for him because he was so much larger than her. She watched him do so, and then opened her satchel and began to sort through and put away her herbs into their respective jars and pots, and Sasuke watched with a small amount of interest before he spoke up.
“You’re strong for a pony. I watched you fight,” he mentioned. This gave her pause.
She looked surprised at the fact that she’d been followed and hadn’t noticed. She obviously put a good deal of pride into the fact that she was able to detect the predators of the forest and not only notice them before they could attack her, but also out battle them and outwit them as well. She muttered a response quietly as she finished putting her herbs away.
“A pony, I am not. I hail from the land of Zebrica. I sailed, and then across the land to get here I did trot.” She paused, as if to consider something, and then added on, “You must be like a cat, for me not to notice you, like that.”
“I’ve had experience in stealth,” Sasuke said.
“Would you like some tea? I’m about to make some, for me.”
“Sure.” Sasuke replied, and he watched and waited as the- not a pony, she hailed from Zebrica, so he guessed something like a zebra- zebra collected the herbs and the leaves that she’d use in the mixture. She hummed as she worked, but offered no further words. She dumped the leaves inside a small kettle, and heated this in the same spot that a large pot was also resting- nearly as large as the zebra herself- certainly cooking something important.
“Creature, what is your name? For me, not knowing the identity of a friend is a shame.”
Sasuke froze, clearly not expecting such a development. He wondered if the other blue princess had gotten into contact with this zebra yet. A bunch of other considerations ran through his mind- one of which was whether or not the zebra was even under the princess’ jurisdiction, and if not, and then she probably didn’t know. In the end, he gave her his true name- if nothing more, he knew that he was in no real danger as of yet.
“My name is Sasuke Uchiha.”
“Interesting, I’ve heard of you. They do not say nice things about you- it’s true.”
Sasuke froze again. He wasn’t sure whether to attack her, or to run, or to stay.
“Hardly believe idly gossip, do I,” she said, pouring the tea from the kettle into two small cups, “Though every time they turn me away, in exasperation, I sigh.”
Sasuke slowly understood what she’d been saying. Oh! She didn’t believe what she’d heard because she was also… an outcast?
“What do you mean?”
“The ponies, they run from me scared,” she scoffed, “as if I’m a Manticore with my teeth bared. They offer me no time to explain, and upon me, heap and heap fear and blame.”
Sasuke scowled at this. He wouldn’t put it past their stupidity to be afraid and ostracize of one of the only respectable, honorable beings he’d met while he was here.
She passed him a cup of tea, and he drank from it- enjoying the way the tea tasted. It was delicious and refreshing. As he watched her drink, he thought, and thought deeply.
It was even obvious to Sasuke by now. He was no longer the cold, heartless person he’d once been. That didn’t mean he wasn’t still cruel, or easily upset, or didn't want his revenge, but.... but he was a lot more… balanced, then he’d once been. He still wanted revenge, but he was often questioning himself if it was the right thing to do lately.
His mind had been hurting more and more, as his Pride, Hatred, Guilt and Anger had never stopped talking lately. He winced as they talked again in his head. They never shut up now- they had been quiet before, compared to this. Guilt was still the worse, though, and Guilt was the loudest out of any of them- often blocking them out like one yelling voice that was louder than the others managed to shout over them.
The criminal sprints, and the criminal runs, and he does his crimes and has his fun. And he runs from the moon and the sun, and soon they will end his run and his fun. They’ll capture you, Sasuke, and then you’ll be forced to admit to your crimes. You’re despicable, and I couldn’t be more disgusted with you- you were so much nicer as a child, you never refused or ignored your Guilt then, but now you do, and it’s honestly something to be both-
Any more of the mindless babble was cut off as Sasuke emitted a grunt of agony.
“Sasuke Uchiha, you look pained. Perhaps from my mixtures, healing could be gained?”
She was offering him medical help. He almost considered it, but he refused, instead.
“No, I’ll be fine.”
They drank tea silently for a few moments more, and then a hoof was heard, tapping on the door. Sasuke froze and glanced over at the zebra, whose name he still didn’t know, who was moving to answer it. Sasuke moved to the back and henged into a pot. She seemed flabbergasted by this, but soon understood the meaning, even if not how he did it- he didn’t want to be seen or have anypony knowing that he was here. With a nod, she opened the door.
A yellow Pegasus stood there, and looked nervous, even though she was maimed. She had bandages all along one of her wings, and Zecora didn’t think that it looked like it was going to heal, at all. She turned her attention back to the Pegasus, though, as she spoke.
“I’m looking for an Uchiha Sasuke. Have you seen him? They’re… they’re hunting him down because he killed somepony who was threatening Sweetie Belle- at least, it’s what I heard from Rarity…” She mumbled into her wing. She started up again, a little louder, “Anyway, I’m looking for him. He violated a law of Equestria and the princesses want him, but if I can find him and convince him to come back now, I’m betting that they might go easy on him. Even if he killed somepony, I don’t know if he deserves imprisonment.“
Sasuke scoffed internally, but made no noise, still disguised as a pot.
Zecora considered this. She now knew that Sasuke was a murderer- apparently- and while that frightened her, she wasn’t one to completely trust ponies, either, putting into account that all they did was avoid her and complete ostracize her from their society. After remembering that, it only took her another second to decide.
Any creature can harbor hatred, even if they don’t express it violently- and her way of showing her resentment was to make her job of finding Sasuke as hard as possible.
“I’ve never heard of such a pony. As you can see, I’m quite lonely.”
“Oh, he’s not a pony, he’s a human, and a shinobi, very tall, black mane-“
“I’ve never seen him,” Zecora repeated, and watched with a small amount of satisfaction as Fluttershy visibly deflated. “I apologize; I’ve noticed that you did dim.”
“Oh, I’m not that sad, I just really want to find him… I’m sorry for wasting your time. I’ll be leaving now.” She closed the door and walked off, and then Sasuke released his henge.
“I’m not sure whether you can be trusted, or whether you should get out,” the zebra said to him as he moved back to the center of the room,” but for now, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.” Sasuke nodded to her as he moved to the door of the house.
“Thank you… by the way, what’s your name?”
“It’s Zecora, Sasuke, remember it well. When you come next time, you have much to tell.” Even though he knew he didn’t have to obey what she said, he felt compelled to do as she’d asked of him. As he walked away, he spared one last glance back at the strange zebra.
There was the smallest spark of disapproval in her eyes- no doubt at the information about the murder- and Sasuke, likewise, felt the smallest spark of shame enter him.
It didn’t seem that it was going to go away, either.
TO BE CONTINUED