The Second Act: The Five are united as One, Enter Shinken-oh
As with anything that has been started fresh and new, there are always a few problems that have to be worked out from beginning to end. As the previous battle with the Ayakashi had drifted into memory, there were several problems that were beginning to develop between Pinkamena-sama's retainers. Most could have been dealt with easily, but there were some that had to be called to my attention immediately.
"Oh wow!"
As Igneous Rock and Pinkamena led the other Shinkengers back to their home Surprise had stopped and took to the air, surveying the site around them. Her face was filled with glee and brightened significantly amongst the scene before them.
"Well now... This is interesting." Octavia commented. "It's good to be home, and good to see that nothing much has changed since I left father."
"Looks like the rocks are growing nice this year." Bellamina added, looking curiously over another boulder before turning towards the old stallion. "Did you happen to get the Kuroko to help you with it?"
Igneous just simply shook his head. "No, I didn't." He replied. "The Kuroko wouldn't know geodes from limestones or quartz from diamonds here. It takes a Pie to grow good rocks around here."
"You... Grow... Rocks?" Humble asked, looking at Igneous from over the top of his sunglasses. "Seriously?"
"Well duh." Bellamina replied, turning towards the unicorn. "The Pie clan is one of the richer families in Equestria. Where do you think all of the gold for Princess Celestia's castle in Canterlot came from?"
Humble shook his head. "But... You can't actually grow... This doesn't make sense!"
"It'll help if you don't think about it." Octavia replied, shuffling her cello case over her shoulder.
"If you all are finished."
Everypony looked up, seeing Pinkamena standing in the doorway with a small frown on her face. Igneous Rock was standing near her, as were several Kuroko, also with a frown on his face which caused the ponies to share a bewildered glance before turning back towards them.
"There is still the matter of getting you all situated before we start your training." Pinkamena replied before turning her back on them. "Meet me in the courtyard in a few minutes, after which we'll see what you all are capable of." She said, before disappearing into the house.
The four ponies followed after, wiping their hooves on the mat outside the front door before entering the small home. It was cramped, but something that they could all manage, barely holding enough room for the four Shinkengers in the living room as they looked about the place. Several older looking chairs stood comfortably in front of an old fireplace as several pictures which bore Pinkamena and her sisters along with the rest of the family rested on the mantle. They all stopped to look for a moment before Octavia and Bellamina went deeper into the house.
Humble and Surprise shared a look, stopping only as Octavia turned back towards them. "Well? You coming?" She asked. Both the unicorn and the pegasus said nothing, following the cellist deeper inside.
Quickly and quietly they followed both Octavia and Bellamina through the small farmhouse's dining room and kitchen and out through another door which led into a modest-looking courtyard. A training mat was placed in the center, right alongside a pool of koi fish that peacefully swam nearby. A huge garden took up the left side of the courtyard from where they were all standing, and on the opposing side inside a hallway that led deeper in the mansion stood Pinkamena near a rack of wooden swords.
"It took you long enough." Igneous Rock said, coming out from behind the sword rack and giving each of the ponies a stern look. "What were you doing? Lollygagging?" He asked, holding out his hoof to silence him. "Don't answer that. But now, allow me to introduce you to your new-
Daddy Pie, enough." Pinkamena commanded, calmly trotting down onto the training mat in the middle of the courtyard. "This is the new home for the Pie Clan, after the first one was burned down during the attack made by Chimatsuri Doukoku and the Gedoushuu twelve years ago," Her eyes narrowed, gazing at each of the ponies in front of her, "We will all train here. Though the majority of our time will be spent in battle together, this is the place where you will prove whether you have earned the right to be truly called a Shinkenger. If you cannot keep up with that, you don't deserve to be here."
Nopony said anything, doing nothing in an attempt to attract the pink mare's wrath. Casually Pinkamena turned and gave a curt nod to her father, who motioned towards several Kuroko nearby who then moved the rack of practice swords nearby. "We'll start with your swordplay." Pinkamena said quietly. "If you aren't good with your sword or I deem that you need more practice, then we will keep going until you do. Is that clear?" She asked, before turning towards the sword rack.
"Yes my lady." They all replied, kneeling slightly before her.
"Psst... Hey, Surprise."
The white pegasus cast a glance over to her side, seeing the unicorn look over in her direction. "Can't talk now. Getting ready to train." Surprise whispered back.
"Come on, loosen up a little." Humble whispered, a smirk on his face. "It's not like we're in boot camp or some-
THWACK!"
Everypony looked up, seeing a long bamboo pole that was clutched in Igneous Rock's hooves. Humble cringed slightly seeing the end of the pole appear dangerously close to his face, before meeting the gaze of the old stallion.
"You would disrespect your lady in this manner?" Igneous Rock asked coolly, glaring at Humble. "We haven't even gotten-
Enough." Pinkamena rounded on Humble, a wooden sword in her hooves. "Seeing as how you're the first to say anything, you're the first up." She replied, tossing the unicorn the wooden blade.
The unicorn took the wooden sword in his hooves and smirked, wiping his hooves off on the stone that he stood on before walking onto the mat. Pinkamena said nothing, her face affixing into a solid glare as the unicorn used his magic to move the origami from his neck and back to where he stood. "You sure about this?" Humble asked, sliding the hoof that held his sword against his shoulder off to one side as he assumed a ready stance.
"If you are confident enough to speak out while I am giving instruction, I would assume that you are confident enough to handle yourself in a sparring session against me." Pinkamena replied, the sword that she was using rested underneath her hoof, gleaming almost like a metal blade.
"Right then."
The air suddenly got thicker for the ponies that were not involved. Pinkamena grasped the end of her sword with her hooves, using the tips of said hooves to maintain balance. Humble remained in his stance, his sword resting on his shoulder in a casual, almost relaxed manner.
"Oooh..." Surprise whispered, pulling a bag of popcorn from out of nowhere and taking a seat where she stood. Octavia and Bellamina each cast her a curious glance but said nothing, turning their attention to Humble and Pinkamena.
"So... she's using Griffin Kendo." Octavia said quietly.
"It doesn't seem to suit her though. Maybe it's a handicap?" Bellamina asked.
"What's that?" Surprise asked, through a bite of her popcorn.
"It's a technique that was created by the Griffins that hung around Ancient Nippony, a few hundred years before their Warring States period." Octavia replied. "It simply means way of the sword, and the way that the Griffons used their swords, several Neighponesian swordstallions and swordsmares tried their hooves in the technique, though our version is a heavily bastardized version of what a griffon would be capable of."
"Well... Why's that?" Surprise asked, her interest piqued.
"Because of two things," Bellamina replied, continuing for Octavia, "First and foremost, they have claws and we don't. Sure, we can use our hooves to grip things, but those said things have to be made larger for our hooves and legs to wrap around. The Griffons had better control over their weapons because of the claws that they were given."
Surprise nodded. "And the second Reason?"
"They had been training at it for at least several hundred years longer than the Neighponesian ponies had been." Octavia replied, her eyes narrowing. " The Griffons had been around and well organized long before the Ponies of the Three Kingdoms had united under Harmony's fires. Nippony was almost no exception, and was only united at times when the entire smaller nation was in jeopardy. One of those times was when a rogue group of Griffons had attacked the nation's capitol, and had roused the entire strength of the nation to force them out. The griffons that did not participate instructed the ponies on the way of their sword, as reparations, and had brought peace between the two nations up to the present day." She took a deep breath. "They're about to start. Just watch."
Neither pony could honestly say for sure what they were going to see next, only that the two ponies hadn't made a move since they finished speaking. A breeze that didn't exist before kicked up a little, which caused Humble's cloak to flutter slightly in its hold.
A small drop of water had fallen into the nearby Koi pond from the roof, scattering the fish with a gentle splash.
Before anypony could blink, Pinkamena and Humble were on top of each other. Their swords were clashed, and the force of the impact of the first blow generated a small ring of dust to circle both ponies in the air.
Pinkamena was the first to break the guard, shoving Humble backwards before hefting her sword into the air in an attempt to bring it down on the unicorn's head. She stopped in mid-swing, hastily throwing up a guard as the unicorn retaliated with a horizontal slice towards her exposed middle.
Humble smirked before throwing all of his weight into breaking her guard, knocking Pinkamena off balance in an attempt to end it quickly, bringing his sword around for a downward strike. The unicorn's attacked was blocked by one of Pinkamena's hooves even as she lay with her back on the mat which caused him to take a half-step backwards.
The pink mare rolled over righting herself and spun, using the momentum of the spin to add force to her next strike. Humble ducked, aiming another strike at her throat only to have Pinkamena's sword guard and block the incoming attack. Before the unicorn could react, the sword was wrenched from his hooves and sent sailing into the garden, impaling the ground blade first.
As Humble looked from his fallen weapon to where Pinkamena's was, he saw that it was at his throat. "You have some skill." Pinkamena said calmly, keeping the wooden blade where it was. "However, some skill does not win you battles."
"Wow..." Surprise uttered, "That was totally amazing."
"Heh, you're good. I'll give you that much." Humble replied. "But if you think I'm going to go down that easily, you've got another thing coming."
Pinkamena said nothing, lowering her blade and turning towards the other three ponies. "I said you had some skill. I never said that it was good." She turned back towards Humble and continued glaring at him. "I could have killed you before you picked up the sword, and you would have never even expected it. You think this is a game? Ponies could die from this conflict, your teammates could die from this conflict, you could die from this conflict. Until you understand the consequences from fighting in such a reckless manner, you cannot be my equal."
Silence fell on the grounds as Octavia, Surprise, and Bellamina shared a nervous glance. Humble growled but said nothing, stamping his back hoof before turning away.
"Well... You..." Humble growled, casting a glance at Pinkamena before stamping off of the training mat in a huff.
"Pinkie's never acted that way before..." Bellamina thought, watching out of the corner of her eye as several of the Kuroko had replaced the damage that was done to the sword landing in the garden.
"Well then, let's see what the rest of you can do." Pinkamena snapped, turning on her hoof and wiping her face with towel that was placed in her hoof. She immediately turned back to face the other three ponies, a glare of determination on her face as she rested a new wooden sword on her shoulder. "And don't be like him, come at me with everything that you have."
Without another word, the remaining Shinkengers each took their turn against Pinkamena. Octavia was the first to spar, taking her time and planning her strikes according to Pinkamena's ever changing offense. This resulted in her falling on her face several times when the pink mare switched her stance to a better version of Humble's own, before making it impossible to land a strike against her. Bellamina followed Octavia shortly after, but was unable to get a proper rhythm going to keep up with her sister before shortly falling in defeat. The only pony to get close to scoring a hit on Pinkamena was Surprise, who took to the air after a few moments of clashing with the earth pony mare before dropping down like a rock on top of her. The resulting impact shattered both swords, but it didn't stop her downward momentum from having her slam onto the mat harder than any of them.
Igneous looked from Pinkamena, who was presently sitting down on a mat in the nearby hallway, towards the potential Shinkengers, who were laying in a disorganized pile nearby the entrance to the farmhouse. "Oh Faust... We have a lot of work to do before they're ready to face the Gedoushuu for real." He thought nervously, stepping out towards the resting samurai. "You were all too sloppy in your attacks towards Lady Pie," He snapped, glaring at each pony in turn. "If she were a member of the Gedoushuu then you would be-
Daddy Pie."
Igneous Rock turned, watching Pinkamena calmly wave away a towel that was hovering in the black aura of a unicorn Kuroko's magic. "Y-Yes my Lady?" He asked.
"While it is true that they were being too sloppy, they each have their own ways of fighting to bring to the table." Pinkamena began, picking up a small teacup with her hooves and taking a sip, "That's not what I was concerned about. I was concerned about how they would handle themselves against a stronger opponent," Her eyes narrowed, "However, there are major improvements that are to be had. Major improvements indeed."
The Shinkengers looked up, only to see Pinkamena set her glass of tea down before standing back up a second time. "Now let's see how you are with Caligromancy."
----
"That sounds a bit rough don'tcha think?"
Everypony that could hear the story go on looked up to see Applejack turn towards Pinkie Pie and Igneous Rock. "Ah mean, Ah understand tha' hard work an' its somethin' that Ah can git by. No doubt about that but... They jest' came from a battle, why'd you go ahead and start with that now?"
"We did what was necessary for us to defeat the Gedoushuu Applejack." Igneous Rock replied. "The war had officially started, and we were still dealing with plenty of unknowns. Like how much training the Samurai had received from their predecessors in both the sword and Caligromancy before they had moved on. Also, we hadn't known how much the enemy knew about our strengths and weaknesses. We were caught off guard, but we weren't allowed to let the world pay for our mistakes."
"It does sound like you guys had it rough." Applejack replied, giving a polite nod to the ponies across from her.
"It wasn't that bad," Surprise began, smiling a little. "It's always the first day that's the worst. That's what they usually say anyways."
"Okay, so you all are good with swords," Rarity began, before clearing her throat, "I wish to know, what is this Caligromancy that you've kept on saying? We've been told about it, but nothing's really happened with it."
The room immediately fell silent. The Shinkengers turned their attention towards Pinkie and Igneous Rock, the former of which gave a brief nod towards the four ponies sitting on their respective mats. Quickly several Kuroko appeared, bearing small tables which bore the Shinkengers Mobile Brushes. As the cloaked ponies stepped away, each of them took their brushes in hoof and held them out for the others to see.
"Caligromancy is one of the many forms of Magic that is available to Earth Ponies," Igneous Rock began calmly. "It's simple in its form, using the elemental forces of nature to manipulate the world around us just like a unicorn could. However, unlike unicorns which use their horns as a channel for their magic, we Earth Ponies use words for objects we wish to manipulate like so-"
Igneous Rock then nodded to each of the Shinkengers, who then began to draw in the middle of the air. Twilight and her friends sat transfixed as the words for Dirt, Sprout, Breeze, and Drizzle appeared before the ponies before being concentrated at a singular point before the Princess of Magic. Before their very eyes a small lump of dirt dropped from the symbol that came from Surprise's brush before it was followed by a tiny tree, whose roots were covered by the dirt carried in a small breeze, which was then doused in a small Drizzle of rain.
"The result is whatever we can think of to write down can be made possible." Humble Pie continued, smirking at Twilight's dumbstruck look. "But that doesn't mean that it's easy."
Octavia nodded. "Earth Ponies have to train for most of their natural fillyhood's to gain mastery and control over the ability itself. Plus, it's a type of magic that's generally reserved to Earth Ponies."
"But Humble and Surprise aren't Earth Ponies." Rainbow Dash said finally, looking up from the demonstration. "If Caligromancy is a type of Earth Pony Magic, why can you use it?"
Surprise smirked a little. "Well now, that is an interesting point." The pegasus smiled, setting her Mobile Brush down back on the plate where it came from. "You see, unlike Humble here, I had to work really hard to get even the simplest of Symbols to work for me when I started Caligromancy. Pegasi are the most removed from the earth as they can fly. However, the ponies that were in my mother's line were all Earth Ponies, and their influence made it so that I could use Caligromancy."
"Tch," Humble sniffed, "You make me seem like a bad pony Surprise." He said, taking his Mobile Brush and setting it down. "I didn't have the training that the rest of the guys had. However, it didn't slow me down from actually getting my act together. I had to improvise if I was going to actually be useful to the cause."
"Improvise?" Twilight asked. "What do you mean?"
"Allow me to explain your highness." Igneous Rock replied, before clearing his throat a second time. "This next part should make sense after what we have explained here. I would not have felt it best to continue had you not known what we had been talking about further." Igneous looked up to Pinkie, who nodded in his direction before continuing again. "Now we said that there was to be an immediate start into their Caligromancy exam, just to see how they had prepared for the battle but there were even more problems to work out in the team itself...
----
"To be useful to your Lady is to not only be skilled in the use of the sword, but in the arts of Caligromancy. If you cannot accomplish this, then you cannot be effective as a Shinkenger."
Igneous Rock paced in front of a set of easels, behind which stood the four Shinkengers, their Mobile Brushes in their hooves. Calmly Pinkamena sat nearby, observing the four as they continued to provide their skill with Caligromancy for her.
With a final stroke Octavia was the first to finish her word, "Torrent," which began to glow with a bright blue light. Cringing the Earth pony shielded her face from a blast of water which knocked her off of her hooves into a wall behind her, which earned a snicker from Humble. The cellist staggered to her hooves, gratefully taking a towel from one of the nearby Kuroko before trotting back to her place and toweling herself off.
Bellamina was the next to finish, gently placing her last stroke onto the page before smirking. In a flash of pink light her word, "Wind," lit up before the wind in the area picked up and blew the bangs from her mane out of her face. She smiled, lowering her Mobile Brush before turning towards Igneous who gave a pleased nod in her direction.
Surprise seemed to be struggling with her word at first. "Stone," appeared to remain dull for a few moments, forcing the pegasus to look down in defeat, only to begin glowing as she looked away. When Surprise looked up, a modestly sized rock took the place of the word on the page before dropping into her hooves. "Yes!" She shouted, leaping into the air with glee as Igneous passed behind her.
"It would seem that most of them have the general understanding of Caligromancy Pinkamena-sama." Igneous replied, trotting over to where the pink mare sat and smiling.
"I'm not so sure about that." Pinkamena replied, nodding towards where Humble Pie stood, appearing to get frustrated with his word, "Growth." "He's trying his hardest, but it doesn't seem to be getting anywhere." Pinkamena added, calmly taking her teacup with her hoof and taking another sip.
Igneous Pie nodded, before narrowing his eyes. Unlike the others that had written their symbols by hoof, Humble Pie had his Mobile Brush written with his Magic and was trying to write another one on a different page. The old stallion trotted over to Humble and blinked, watching as the unicorn rewrote the word stroke for stroke but received nothing in response.
"What am I doing wrong?" Humble uttered, his telekinesis dropping the brush into his hoof as he stared at the word on the page. "I wrote it down as exactly as I could but-
Your magic was interfering with the transference of the Caligromancy."
The unicorn turned and nearly jumped as Igneous Rock stood by him. "W-W-Where did you come from?" Humble asked, blinking slightly.
"I said, your unicorn magic was interfering with the Caligromancy's energies." Igneous Rock repeated. "You need to stop using your telekinesis for this part otherwise you won't be able to be a use for our Lady Pinkamena."
"Whaddya mean I have to stop using Telekinesis? That would be like asking Surprise to stop flying every chance she got!" Humble snapped. "Besides, it's worked for me before. I just need to..." He stopped, wrapping the Mobile Brush in a dark green aura again and turning another page before rewriting the word another time. As soon as he finished and placed the brush back into his hoof, the word began to glow a bright green before fizzling out and reverting back to black.
"It's as I was telling you, you need to stop using your magic and let the Caligromancy work for you." Igneous Rock replied, stepping back as the unicorn rounded on him.
"And really, how do I-
You just do it."
Everypony stopped as Pinkamena stood up from her pad and calmly trotted over. Her gaze was firm, but it wasn't as fierce as it could have been. The mare trotted over to where Humble and Igneous Rock stood before looking over Humble's work. "You know the stroke order, and you have appropriate force when you write your strokes. However, your basic unicorn magic is interfering with the transference of the symbol to the page." She turned towards the unicorn. "Do it again."
"What?" Humble asked.
"I said, Do it again." Pinkamena replied. "And do it without your telekinesis this time." She ordered, using a hoof to turn to a blank page. She heard the unicorn growl slightly before moving back in front of the blank page, and smirked as he began to draw the symbol. After a few moments the completed symbol glowed a bright green before bathing a nearby flower in the same light which caused it to rapidly grow into a bush. "You haven't had a lot of Caligromancy training have you?" Pinkamena asked, watching Humble round on her.
"Of course I have!" Humble snapped. "I just had to improvise when I couldn't do it with my hooves anymore."
"And that improvisation has led you to slack off." Pinkamena countered, glaring at Humble. "You may be good with the sword, but your skills with Caligromancy leave much to be desired. You are a liability, and could cost somepony their life one day if you don't concentrate and practice."
"What was that?" Humble snapped. "I'll have you know that I worked my hooves off to the bone just to get to where I've gotten in life. You know it's not easy-
Well then you need to work harder." Pinkamena countered, turning her back on the unicorn. "If you can't do simple symbols, you can't count yourself as a proper samurai. And I don't accept anything less than the best from you."
"But that's what I've been doing damn it!" Humble snapped. "You act all high and mighty like Princess Celestia on her throne, when you're doing the same Faust-damned thing like the rest of us!"
"Humble!" Bellamina snapped, glaring at the unicorn. "You would disrespect Pinkie like that?"
"Oh?" Humble replied, rounding on Bellamina. "I'm disrespecting her? What about you, not using her full name?" He asked through a growl. "If you get to call her what you want without penalty, then so should I."
"Hmph, only cowards act as belligerent as you are." Pinkamena replied, walking back towards the hallway that led deeper into the manor. "You may not see me as the Head of house here, and I'm not going to force you to give me the same respect as the others do However," She stopped, turning towards the unicorn, "You will give this household the respect it deserves. If you can't do that then you're fired."
"Hey, what the hell! You can't-
I can make that decision and I will if I must." Pinkamena snapped, her face contorting into a glare. "There will be no weak samurai in this house. And that's final." She finished, turning on a hoof and marching back inside, leaving the other Shinkengers and Igneous to their devices.
----
"So... Kagekamuro has fallen then." Doukoku snarled, staring out at the Sanzu River from his vessel.
"It would appear so Doukoku." Shitari replied, nodding in response. "He was a fool, trying to make a name for himself so early on."
The leader of the Gedoushuu said nothing, continuing to gaze out into the river as the sounds of Dayu's Shamisen continued to float in the air. "It would seem that we need a better understanding of how we're going to flood that pathetic world beyond ours." Doukoku commented, turning on his heel as both demonic ponies remained still. He could see that Shitari was busily flipping through several books nearby, his horn enveloped in a black aura as several of the books that he was looking through were colored in the same way.
"Doukoku-san, I have an idea that may work. I have noticed something during my time waiting for your arrival that you might find interesting." Shitari said finally, looking up from one of his books and setting it down on a crude bench nearby. Doukoku stepped forward, looking over the squid-pony's shoulder and said nothing for a few moments.
"Well?" Doukoku snapped, glaring down at the squid who turned back towards him.
"Well it says here that when the Mortal world encounters some form of suffering through Misfortunes, the rivers of the Sanzu will raise." Shitari replied, presenting the book before the demon, which he took.
"I see what you're saying... Hmm...." Doukoku thought, looking over the page in question.
"That sounds simple enough." Dayu replied, stopping her song before fluttering over to the Doukoku. "Hey Doukoku, let's try something like that."
Doukoku nodded, before letting the book go, turning towards the only entrance on board his ship. "HEY, OOTSUMUJI! Get your ass up here!" He roared, taking several steps towards the back of his ship and glaring. Both Dayu and Shitari watched as the splashing of waves could be seen from where they stood, as several blades rose from the water like a group of sharks. The blades rapidly began to move in a circle generating a whirlpool which drew the ship closer. After a few moments a figure leapt from the whirlpool, landing on the open portion of the deck of the ship and stepping forward.
"General Doukoku, you rang?" The figure asked, stepping into the light. Ootsumuji was small for a demon, about as big as a Nanashi Renchuu, and was covered in grey armor. A long sash ran up from the demon's breastplate to the top of its head, which bore several blades that looked like fins on a fish. The face of the demon took the guise of a sort of snarling beast, as several wisps of blood red hair made it look like it had clouds flowing through an unseen wind. The rest of the armor had curved blades built into the armguards and boots that it wore which all ended in vicious looking claws. Casually rested on one of its shoulders was a vicious looking scythe-like sword with serrated fangs running down one edge of the blade.
"We need you to cause some havoc for those Equestrian Worms in the Mortal World." Doukoku replied. "It should possibly raise the water level of the Sanzu River."
"Cause trouble in the Mortal World?" Ootsumuji asked. "Heh, of course I'll go!" He said, turning to go.
"Wait a second. Before you head out, send some of these-" Doukoku paused, throwing Ootsumuji a bag filled with several small spheres which radiated a dark red light. The spheres appeared to have something growing in them, but what was in there wasn't clear to the demon. "They'll be useful to our cause, plan out our strikes better." Doukoku added before taking a seat near where Dayu played her shamisen before turning towards Ootsumuji. "Just toss them into some water nearby and call out if you get into trouble. Those'll know what to do."
"You honor me Doukoku." Ootsumuji replied before turning to go. "Now, I'm off." He added, turning to leave before leaping into the water of the river.
"Weren't those gems for summoning the Oonanashi Renchuu?" Shitari asked nervously.
"Yeah? What of it?"
"You don't think that he'll need it do you?" Shitari asked.
"Don't really know." Doukoku replied. "But it's better to have back up in case something goes wrong. Hmph, though there shouldn't be anything going wrong now..."
Shitari said nothing, turning away from Doukoku before looking through his staff. "Hopefully nothing goes wrong..."
----
-Several Hours Later-
As the day wound down into night, each of the samurai were shown to their quarters. Each room was spartan, only having a small bed lying against the wall furthest from the entrance to their rooms underneath a window along with a small dresser and the things that they brought with them.
"This is... Nice..." Octavia commented, calmly stepping into her room. She could see that her cello was resting in its case after opening it, before quickly closing it back up and leaning the instrument against the wall. "It sure beats some of the hotels that Vinyl and I stayed in over the past month."
Bellamina smirked as she trotted towards the dresser in her room. On it bore a budding rose ready to bloom and a picture with her standing behind a group of rambunctious foals, all with big smiles on their faces. "Surely... I'll come back to you guys." She thought, using a hoof to move a bang from her face.
As soon as Surprise entered her bedroom, the white pegasus immediately flopped on the bed, giggling as she rolled around on the covers. "Hehehe, it's not as cozy as a cloud mattress, but it'll do for now." Surprise looked over and saw a small yellow saddlebag that sat across from her and got up, trotting over towards it and opening the contents. Inside sat a tiny picture, one big enough for a personal wallet like the rich ponies would keep on them, of a bright white earth pony with a pink mane and tail standing next to a younger version of herself, both smiling generously in the picture. "Sissy... I'm finally a Shinkenger, just like I promised you I would be,” She thought, picking up the picture with a hoof and wiping one of her eyes with one of her wings, "I hope that you're okay with my decision. It was for the best after all." She clutched the photo tightly against her chest, taking a seat on the floor as the smile nearly evaporated from her face.
As the other mares on the floor were settling in, Humble's jaw had dropped as soon as he set hoof into his room. "Wow... A bed and room just for me?" He thought, staring at what was inside as though it were a godsend. Gingerly he stepped into the room, looking over his shoulder multiple times before touching the blanket cautiously. "Am I dreaming in this hell-hole? Is this where we're going to be sleeping for the rest of our time here?" The unicorn climbed up into the bed, pushing his weight down on the springs several times before realizing it was real. A wide grin then plastered itself onto his face as Humble flopped on the bed, falling asleep a few moments later.
"You would think that he never slept on a bed before." Octavia whispered, staring at the slumbering unicorn. Surprise and Bellamina both shared a glance, before trotting back off to their own bedrooms in question. The cellist lingered behind for a few moments, hearing the gentle snoring of the unicorn, before shaking her own head and heading back to her own room. "Glad I'm not sharing a room with him..." She thought before falling asleep as well.
----
-The Next Day-
"Aww man... What the hell was that?"
The peace and quiet of the samurai's meeting hall was abruptly ended as Humble stormed into the room, his body covered in visible bruises and his mane drenched in sweat. The meeting hall, which had a pair of pads for anyone to sit down on along with several raised platforms for those who were of great importance was something that had not been mentioned at all by Igneous Rock or any of the Kuroko that had worked there. Humble proceeded to flop on one of the raised platforms, one which gave him a perfect view of the courtyard from the windows, and groaned as the Kuroko were proceeding to clean up after the earlier training session they were given.
"I know I can do better than that... Man, this sucks all the fun outta this... If only-
If only you took your place as a samurai more seriously, that wouldn't have happened." Octavia said calmly, trotting into the room and taking a seat. "Both Pinkamena and our father want us to be in top form after all."
"I know that." Humble groaned, flipping over onto his side and glaring at Octavia. "If we aren't at our best, we can't beat the Gedoushuu and save the world."
Octavia only shrugged. "If only it were that simple." She said, causing the unicorn to sit up.
"What do you mean if only it were that simple?"
The cellist said nothing, looking away from Humble. After a few moments she turned back to the window. "I-I've heard stories. Stories about how powerful the Gedoushuu can be."
"Really now?"
Octavia nodded, looking down at her hooves. "Father was always telling Pinkamena, Myself, and Bellamina that even though we discovered who we are we needed to be strong for the world. There were monsters back in the days before the three tribes united, the previous forms of the Gedoushuu, that were immensely powerful. Some could even level cities with just a thought..." She turned away, shuddering slightly.
"Level cities huh? That bad?" Humble asked.
"Yeah." Octavia replied. "I may be a trained samurai, but I'm still afraid. I have so much to live for, so much to fight for. But there are those that don't have the power to fight, those that may have just as much reason to fight as I do but don't carry the same strength as me. That's why... that's why I'm here. To do what I can. And if it beats the Gedoushuu back then-"
A hoof was placed on her lips, which caused the cellist to look up. Humble said nothing, his eyes filled with some warmth that she herself couldn't explain. As he lowered the hoof, Humble turned to the window and began to look skyward. "You know, my old colt used to say things like that."
"Don't you mean stallion?"
Humble shrugged. "Colt, stallion, it makes no difference. A pony's a pony. And everypony does what they can to keep this world in some semblance of Harmony. We're just doing the harder parts." He turned back towards Octavia. "But seriously though, we have our own problems in dealing with the Gedoushuu, and making sure that it doesn't get out of hoof. Before he dumped me off to set out for my own he told me this once, "Don't let fear get the best of you. Do what's right, and do it to the best of your ability. If it's something that you believe in, then give it your all." It's been one of my motto's ever since."
Before Octavia could ask anymore, Bellamina appeared from around the corner. "Hey, have you guys seen Surprise?"
Both ponies looked up, shaking their heads.
"Haven't seen her since training ended." Humble replied.
"Well she kinda ran off after training, and I went up to her room to check on her, and she was gone along with her bag and most of her things."
Octavia and Humble shared a glance.
"You don't think that she could have..." Octavia began.
Humble shook his head. "Not this early, come on. We've gotta find her." He said, leaping up from where he lay and charged out of the hall. Both earth ponies watched him leap rapidly across the courtyard, picking up his cloak and his glasses in his magic, before disappearing into the farm house. They both then got up and galloped after, thinking the same thing.
"Let's follow him before he gets hurt."
----
Their search carried the three ponies all throughout the city, looking through as many side streets and talking to as many ponies that would be willing to listen. The damage to Rockford had been moderate, several buildings had been damaged slightly while others were getting major repairs done. According to several ponies, while they were grateful that the damage wasn't too severe they had hoped that the battles didn't take place within Rockford's walls. Some were even less helpful, ignoring and walking away from them as soon as they were stopped.
"Man... Ponies don't like talking much here." Octavia said quietly as a lavender earth pony trotted away in a huff.
"Your hometown that you've been living in for the past few years has become the sight of a battle zone." Humble countered, narrowing his eyes. "On top of the fact that said home is the center for trade and convenience in the center of Equestria since Canterlot was formed, and you'll have a bunch of snobby upstarts who wouldn't know how to help others even if it bit them in the-
Hey, do you guys hear something?" Bellamina said, raising one of her hooves to an ear. Octavia and Humble watched her closely, and blinked as her other hoof began to tap to a beat that they hadn't heard.
"What are you doing?" Humble asked.
"There's a party going on somewhere near here." Bellamina replied. "Come on!" She said, galloping into the direction of the sound. Both ponies shrugged, following Bellamina's retreating form as she weaved in and out of other ponies that were going about their daily business like it came naturally to her. The sound that she was apparently hearing was the sound of a light and upbeat polka, which carried through the air and had several ponies tapping their own hooves to the beat as they passed.
Bellamina herself stopped at a small park, just near the outskirts of town and was dumbstruck. Standing underneath a tree, surrounded by things one would consider to be placed at a relatively young filly or colt's birthday party, was Surprise. The white pegasus held a wooden sword between both of her front hooves, a blind-fold for a piñata wrapped around her forehead like a bandana, as she hovered above the ground with her wings. Her bag was sitting near a table which had a spread that looked like it could feed a good hundred ponies easily, as several balloons seemed to float out of it and take their positions at several key points that were surrounding her. Ribbons and streamers hung down from the tree branch above her head, and gently rustled as Surprise lifted and swung her sword in rapid succession never appearing to break a sweat.
"W-What the heck?" Bellamina whispered.
"Surprise?" Humble asked, watching as she swung her sword again before stopping.
"Oh!" She said, turning towards the other samurai. "Oh hey you guys! What... What are you doing here?" She asked, watching as they shared a glance.
"We were about to ask you the same thing." Octavia replied.
"And why does it look like a filly's birthday threw up here?" Humble replied.
Surprise nodded, setting her wooden sword down and trotting over to a nearby table, which had a full punch bowl and proceeded to serve herself some. "Oh, I do my best practice when I'm surrounded by something I love." She replied, taking a small gulp before turning to the others. "It's what my Cutie Mark says. I'm great at parties. Specifically surprise parties. But what nopony else knows is that I'm also good at using the sword."
"Good at parties and the sword? Never heard of that before." Humble said quietly, watching as Surprise finished her drink.
"Well before I wanted to do parties and make ponies happy, I was interested in being a great swordsmare." Surprise began, smirking slightly. "My big sister was so good at it. She made it look like a dance, it was so so so pretty. But..." She paused, setting the cup down on the table.
"But?" Bellamina asked.
"But she got really bad sick. Really really bad sick." Surprise said quietly. "I wanted to know if I could help her, but she said that she just wanted to know that I was okay. I wasn't going to accept that as an answer though, and threw her a small surprise party just to make her feel better." She looked up, tears were in her eyes but she wasn't anywhere close to crying. "She liked it, and said that it was the best medicine that anypony could give to anypony. So... I figured out how to do them better and better, and I got my Cutie Mark out of it. But because she was sick, I had to take up her mantle..."
The other samurai shared a glance before looking back to Surprise. Her mane had dulled slightly as she hung her head low. "Look... Surprise, somehow I think your sister is proud of you." Octavia replied, gently trotting over and putting a hoof over her shoulder.
"I know... But-
No buts about it Surprise." Humble said, trotting over to where the pegasus stood and lifted her face up. "Nopony needs to cry at a party. And I'm sure... No we're all sure that your sister is really proud of you." He said, using his magic to move his cloak around the pegasus.
"Humble has a point." Bellamina replied, stepping forward. "Your sister sounds like a good pony, and must've understood the risks of letting you be here with us." She paused, smiling generously. "Personally I wouldn't have had it any other way."
The pegasus' face brightened as the other samurai were gathered around her like her friends. "Thanks you guys." She said, the faded color in her mane re-brightening. "I guess we have to head back to the house now huh?" She asked.
"Yeah." Octavia replied. "I guess we do."
Surprise nodded, wiping her face with a hoof before turning to the party that she had set up. With a gentle clap of her hooves against each other, the other samurai looked on as all of the decorations proceeded to fly towards her saddlebag, leaving the small park as clean and as normal as it was before.
"H-H-How... How did you-
Saddlebag of Infinite Space, plus one." Surprise said as she cut Octavia off, giggling a little before grabbing her saddlebag and trotting over to the entrance of the park. "I told you earlier, fourth-wall humor is something I do. Don't worry about it."
Octavia, who was still trying to process what just happened, said nothing, her jaw almost locked into a half-opened position. Humble and Bellamina just shook their heads, the former throwing the cellist over his back before they all proceeded to leave the park. "I think you broke her Surprise." Bellamina said quietly, watching the pegasus stop.
"If she breaks that easily, then I don't think she'll be able to handle what I'm really capable of later!" Surprise said through a laugh, happily trotting off back towards the Pie clan farm.
----
As the samurai returned back to the manor, in a nearby market shops were winding down as ponies made their final purchases. None were even close to wanting to remember the attack that had happened the previous day, and had relaxed to a sense of false security.
That all stopped as a gap between a pair of vegetable carts began to glow with a dark red energy, black lightning crackling from the entrance. Ponies stopped for a moment, some trembling at the spectacle and some in awe at the sight until a silver-bladed claw reached out and grabbed the edge of one of the cart.
Ootsumuji stepped out from the vegetable carts just as ponies started to scream and flee in terror. Casually the Ayakashi rested his sword on his shoulder as Nanashi Renchuu began to file out from other nearby gaps and cracks, surrounding the ponies.
"Well. This is the mortal world now?" He asked, taking a deep breath before stretching. "Heh, this is going to be interesting." Hefting his sword high into the air the demon turned to the nearest pony and smirked, a town guard had attempted to stop the attack all by himself and made a very valuable target, before bringing down the blade on his victim.
----
"And so after we had our first big gig in Manehatten, me and the other mares who set the big party up-
Eh-hem."
The samurai looked up from Surprise as Igneous Rock stood in the doorway that led deeper into the house. His face was slightly stern, but not so much as to look like he was about to snap.
"I'm sorry to be interrupting your story, but there is something that I have yet to show you at all." Igneous Rock said, turning his back on the ponies and entering the meeting hall. Curiously, all four samurai followed the old stallion, staring at a small table which had a map placed on top of it. Gesturing over to the left corner of the room, the stallion pointed towards a small box that looked like a holder for straws one would see in a movie theater which had a rope that was attached from the back of the box to a pair of bells that were stuck on the ceiling. "That's the Crevice Alarm. We also call it the Gap Sensor or if you wish to go with its traditional name, it's called the Sukima Sensor. It's what we use to locate the Gedoushuu that have invaded our world."
"And what's with the map?" Humble asked, looking down at the map on the table.
"That's the secondary part of the sensor." Igneous replied, placing a hoof on the map. "When the sensor detects an incursion from the Gedoushuu, it will activate and cause a layout of the city to appear with the exact location of the incursion. This will help you in to locating and exterminating the threa-"
The sound of ringing bells cut the old stallion off as a small stick gently rolled out of the bottom slot that came out of the sensor. Immediately the stick was in the magic of a unicorn Kuroko and placed into the hooves of Igneous Rock, who then looked it over. With a gentle tap against the table the stick unrolled itself into an exact copy of the map on the table before being placed over the present map.
"I guess we got a live demonstration then huh?" Humble asked.
"Plus it gives us the strength of the enemy." Octavia whispered. "There's going to be a bunch of them huh?"
"That's what samurai deal with."
The ponies in the room looked up to see Pinkamena standing behind them, a gently glowing bright red ribbon wrapped in her mane as she stared at the map from above where they all stood. The earth ponies eyes narrowed. "Five-hundred and sixty of them huh... Interesting." She whispered before turning to go. "Daddy Pie, I'm heading out to meet them." She said coldly, calmly trotting away.
"Was she always like this?" Octavia whispered to Bellamina, who shook her head.
"She was a silly filly no doubt, but I don't think she would be this crazy." Bellamina answered.
Igneous tapped a hoof onto the floor behind them. "Crazy or not, she is your Samurai. And as her retainers, you need to go after her." He ordered, watching as they shared a glance before beginning to follow after her. Igneous shook his head, watching the four ponies leave before looking down at the map overlay. "Five-hundred and sixty three of them... Though samurai are built to face those odds, I personally don't like them..." He thought, shaking his head nervously.
----
"Aaaah... This is a fine setting isn't it?" Ootsumuji thought aloud, looking at the scene of destruction that had just recently formed. Several buildings were full of gaping holes, carts and stands were reduced to rubble, corpses could be seen littered here and there and it made the demon felt good. Sure several ponies died in the process, and yeah there were several, "Accidents," that had happened but Ootsumuji shrugged them off as minor occurrences. "What Doukoku doesn't know doesn't hurt him.” He added quietly.
The sounds of ponies screaming could be heard as he rounded another street corner, the Nanashi Renchuu rounding up stragglers and keeping them from moving at any chance they could. They were weak and stupid, but could be smart when they needed to be. "Now now... Don't kill'em yet, after all the Sanzu River needs to raise from their suffering so-RAAAAGH!"
The demon was flung back several feet as a small miniature lion charged forward before crashing into the demon and knocking him to the floor. The assault was followed by the sounds of a large drum being played as five ponies in particular charged out from the chaos with a large white banner being presented behind them.
"That's far enough Gedoushuu." Pinkamena snapped, glaring at Ootsumuji as he got up on unsteady feet.
"Why you little fuckin' bitch!" The demon snapped. "Talk about a fuckin' warning next time why don't you? And who in the hell..." He stopped, staring at the crest that was on the banner. "Oho, so you're the members of the Pie clan that wasted that good for nothing Kagekamuro eh? Well then, let's have it. Let's see what you've got."
"WITH THESE STROKES WE REPORT TO THE PRINCESSES!"
The samurai said nothing, drawing their mobile brushes before writing their respective symbols into the air. After flicking their hooves around to flip the symbols in the air, they all vanished in a flash of blinding light, only to reappear in their samurai uniforms, with their swords gleaming at their sides.
"Samurai Pony of Flames, Shinken-Red! Pinkamena Diane Pie." Pinkamena declared placing the sword guard from her belt before drawing it, resting the dull side of the blade on her shoulder.
"The Same, but of Water! Octavia Marie Pie!" Octavia shouted, pulling the dull side of the blade across a set of imaginary cello strings.
"The Same, but of the Heavens! Bellamina Ann Pie!" Bellamina cried, drawing her sword closer to her heart.
"The Same, but of the Forest! Humble Alexander Pie!" Humble said, thrusting his katana forward before resting it on his left shoulder.
"The Same, but of the Land! Surprise Lydia Pie!" Surprise finished, doing a flip in mid-air with assistance from her wings before clutching the katana with both hooves.
As soon as Surprise was finished, she and the other ponies with the exception of Pinkamena kneeled as they placed their katana behind them. Pinkamena took a hoofstep forward, running a hoof along the dull side of her katana. "We are the Samurai Sentai authorized by Faust's providence!" She shouted before swinging her sword downwards, the other samurai following suit.
"SHINKENGER!"
"GOING FORTH!" They finished before each struck a pose.
"Eh... I've seen better... But it doesn't matter." Ootsumuji replied, before lifting his sword at them. "Get them!"
The demons that were under his command immediately swarmed the Shinkengers, giving those ponies that they had trapped ample time to escape. Quickly, before any of the samurai could react at least thirty or fourty of their enemy had immediately set upon them, throwing them on the defensive.
Picking out the weakest in the enemy lines, Pinkamena shoved the demons off of her, swinging her sword in a V-like motion to strike two of them down. Three more fell into their place, but were easily blocked before meeting the same fate as their fellows from a well place strike to the lower chest. The red-clad pony then charged, seeing the Ayakashi turn away as the crowds of innocent ponies had been fleeing the scene, only to be stopped by a few more demons who swung their swords down on her. Pinkamena blocked the attack, throwing the blade over her back to protect herself before rearing up and forcing the other demon's swords to slide off, before retaliating with several more slashes from her own katana and cutting her assailants down.
Octavia was pushed backwards, the number of enemy swords that she had to defend against kept her forward momentum almost null. The cellist only stopped upon hitting the back of a wall before throwing her attackers off of her, placing each of her strikes at exposed points in the enemy's armor. Five fell before her attackers retaliated with several wild strikes of their own which were easily parried, leaving their guards exposed for the samurai to move in for the kill. After looking up from the last Nanashi she struck down, Octavia could see that Pinkamena had already rounded the corner and began to chase after the Ayakashi, making quick and effortless strikes as she went through the crowds of Nanashi Renchuu left in the demon's wake. Octavia wasted no time before charging after her, cutting through several more before being stopped by another group of Nanashi.
Bellamina had immediately ducked as soon as the enemy pressed upon her, using a fluid motion to cut her blade through their armor and through the bodies of the monsters from the Sanzu. Getting a rhythm and a pattern down, the pink-clad mare skillfully cut through several more before guarding and evading attacks that were sent her way. Six of the demons all attempted to end her flowing movements with a strike all of their own, only to swing at air as the mare danced and evaded their blades, before retaliating with several swings of her own. Calmly she looked up, guarding another high swing from another Nanashi before retaliating with a swing of her own at the offender's chest, watching Pinkamena chase after the Ayakashi and shook her head. "Pinkie... What happened to you?" She thought, reflexively dodging several swings from more of the demons before retaliating with several strikes of her own.
Humble was immediately thrown backwards just as the Nanashi had set upon them, his sword almost wrenched from his grasp before he got it under control. From the ground the pony immediately threw up a hastily formed guard before shoving the demons off of him, wildly pushing off and countering any that got close. Three of the demons fell, suffering major stab wounds as the unicorn repeatedly thrusted the blade forward like a small spear, before getting to his hooves and ending the careers of four more. Quickly the unicorn galloped to a nearby light post, jumping up to it before grabbing it with a hoof and swinging on it with his sword drawn. Several of the Nanashi Renchuu stayed back, not wanting to get close as the unicorn stopped his spin, before charging the pony and attempting to get close. As they approached, the unicorn easily broke their guards, and cut down any that would get near him. With room to breathe, Humble Pie looked up and saw Pinkamena charge after the Ayakashi and shook his head. "And I thought I was eager to get this battle finished." He thought, charging forward and cutting down two more.
Surprise was having the time of her life, even though she was being put at a disadvantage. After throwing six of her assailants off of her with assistance from her wings the pegasus sprung up like a rocket, using the initial thrust to knock several of the Nanashi to the ground before dive-bombing several more while swinging her blade at their heads. The groups of Nanashi ran in terror as more and more of their number were cut down by the flying menace even as she passed over their heads and landed in front of them. Surprise stopped, taunting the bravest of the Nanashi to come at her with a stomp of her hooves only to have the group of about thirty or so run into her comrade's blades. The pegasus charged forward, with the intent of helping her comrades but not letting the sight of Pinkamena chasing the Ayakashi from out of the corner of her eye escape her thoughts.
As the first group of Nanashi Renchuu were being dealt with by her teammates, Pinkamena continued to chase after the Ayakashi and stopped as he swung his blade, parrying the attack quickly before shoving the red-clad samurai backwards. "You think that little butter knife's gonna take me out pony? You don't know who you're dealing with!" Ootsumuji challenged, smirking a little as even more Nanashi Renchuu charged the pony with their swords drawn. The demon turned, thinking that the samurai was dead, but stopped at the pained roars and growls of the Nanashi that were attacking the samurai.
"REKKA DAIZANTOU!" Pinkamena countered, resting her massive sword on her shoulder.
"That still changes nothing." Ootsumuji scoffed, glaring at the pony before readying himself as she charged, guarding the first downward swing before throwing the blade off of him. Before getting a swing at the pony's exposed body, he had to guard another downward swing from the pony's blade, before throwing it off to side and backing off, using two of the Nanashi nearby as living shields as the mare swung the blade horizontally in his direction. "Hmm... This might get interesting.” He commented before guarding another swing.
As Pinkamena was dealing with the Ayakashi, Octavia had moved on towards the next street over and had drawn a blue disk from her belt. "Water Arrow!" She cried, her katana changing into a bow before placing the disk into its slot on the top portion of the bow. Before the demons had a chance to retaliate with the red clad mare, several of them had dropped to the ground, arrows punching through their bodies as Octavia drew their attention towards herself and begun to bombard them with said bow. The cellist then charged as the enemy ranks thinned, leaping to a nearby wall and running along the side before firing another barrage at the crowds of Nanashi that were beneath her, using the momentum to leap over the crowd onto a nearby balcony before dropping several more with a set of point blank shots from her bow.
Nearby, Bellamina's katana had already changed into her fan and was being used to counter and dispatch a group of Nanashi that had survived Octavia's initial bombardment. "Heaven's Fan!" She cried, using the sharp edge of her fan to cut three Nanashi down before generating a small tornado in the direction of a group of about ten that were in her way, which caused them to be thrown into the nearby river. The pony turned, leaping backwards as several more Nanashi had attempted to flank her, and threw and threw another cyclone in the direction of them which knocked them into the direction of where Humble Pie was fighting another group.
"What the..." The unicorn growled, staring at the fallen Nanashi before seeing the earth pony in the air with her fan. "Dammit Bellamina, what are you trying to do? Crush me?" He snapped, using his spear to drop at least ten to twenty at once with big sweeping strikes.
"I'm sorry, I'll try not to let that happen again!" Bellamina replied, landing on the ground and countering several attacks with her fan and dropping several more Nanashi.
"See that you don't!" Humble snapped, before continuing to drop more with his spear, before thrusting forward, catching several demons with the blade and tip of his spear and throwing them over his shoulder into a group of demons directly behind him. "This is the power of my Wooden Spear!" He snapped, running through several more demons before continuing his long sweeping strikes and driving the Nanashi Renchuu back.
"Really now?" Bellamina whispered, knocking several more demons to the ground with a gust of wind from her fan, dropping them easily before scanning the battlefield. "Hey, where's Surprise?"
As Bellamina said that, Pinkamena and Ootsumuji were continuing to fight on the next street over, the demon and the samurai matching each other sword-stroke for sword-stroke. Neither appeared to give each other an opening, and even though the pony was smaller than her adversary the demon was struggling. Pinkamena leapt backwards, throwing her paddle over herself as the Ayakashi swung the blade down on her.
"WHY THE FUCK IS IT SO HARD TO HIT YOU, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Ootsumuji roared, kicking the pony backwards before taking a deep breath. "If you want to play that way, let's play that way! Take this-" He roared, beginning to spin his head to undo the sash that was attached to his breastplate, said sash growing significantly in length. "SHINKUTSUMUJI MUCHI!" He roared, swinging his head and in turn swinging the sash like a whip at Pinkamena, throwing it at her at the last minute and having it smash into her blade. The red-clad pony slid backwards but said nothing, charging forward and bringing her blade down onto Ootsumuji only to have the blade blocked with his own sword.
As Pinkamena and Ootsumuji were clashing nearby, Surprise had chased a small group of Nanashi to the end of the street and was cutting through them like butter. Her Land Shuriken was doubling as a bladed shield as she flew through the crowd and cut several of them down, shoving several to the ground before throwing the weapon at the stragglers. While it did take out the monsters, her shuriken began to fly towards where Pinkamena and the Ayakashi were fighting. "Look Out!" She cried, causing Pinkamena to look backwards and leap back out of the way from the weapon as it passed between them.
"I appreciate the opening!" Ootsumuji cheered, throwing his weight into his next swing which smashed powerfully into Pinkamena and knocked her into a nearby wall. Her weapon had changed back into its previous form before spearing into the debris-strewn street below just as the pony dropped to the ground at the same time.
The remaining samurai turned their attention towards the next street over as Ootsumuji readied his next attack. Quickly they all rushed over to the fallen samurai, quickly finishing whatever foes that were in the way before the attack was unleashed.
"SHINKUTSUMUJI MUCHI!" Ootsumuji roared, throwing his bladed sash at Pinkamena as she staggered to her hooves. Before the sash could make contact, Octavia leapt into intercept the attack, spreading herself out as far wide as possible just as the initial hit struck her, the demon's follow up attack finishing the remaining samurai and de-morphing the four of them.
As the four samurai collapsed Ootsumuji turned on his heel, scoffing slightly. "Hmph. You actually think that this was a big problem? I don't see why Kagekamuro lost. These guys were pushovers." He said, before beginning to walk off.
Pinkamena was the first on her hooves, resting slightly against the wall she smashed against. "Can you guys stand? If you can stand up, there's still work to be done." She said, not looking at the other samurai as they struggled to their hooves, with Octavia lingering on the ground.
"Octy? Octy come on, we need to-
Leave her." Pinkamena snapped, stepping over the fallen mare and retrieving her sword. "I told you once before, either the Gedoushuu are defeated or they defeat you. If you are that easily beaten, then we don't need you." The red-clad mare was about to charge when a green hoof stopped her.
"What was that you? She's your teammate! She stuck her neck out for you!" Humble snapped.
"I told you once before, take after yourselves." Pinkamena replied, brushing the hoof aside and charging after the Ayakashi.
"She's your own flesh and blood Pinkie!" Bellamina replied. "She did her best for you! She's doing her best for you, you don't need to say it like that!"
"Doing your best isn't enough for the world!" Pinkamena roared, preparing to charge at the demon. "Doing your best isn't enough to save ponies that are in trouble!" She added, galloping forward after Ootsumuji.
"But she risked herself for you, you cheap b-
Humble stop."
The unicorn stopped, turning as Octavia struggled to her hooves on her own. "But you-
I'm not so easily beaten, but that's not the reason." Octavia replied, pointing towards the ensuing rematch between Pinkamena and the demon.
Quickly the pony slid underneath an incoming strike on her belly, scooping up a small filly with one hoof and parrying an attack that was aimed for her back. Quickly forcing the enemy blade off of her, Pinkamena turned and went on the defensive as Ootsumuji continued to swing wildly in frustration as several of his attacks were blocked and countered. The demon staggered backwards taking several slashes to the chest just as the sounds of another pony, a unicorn mother, filled the air.
"SUNSHINE!" She cried out, scanning the battlefield. "SUNSHINE!"
Immediately Pinkamena raced over to the noncombatant, and gently set the filly down, who was immediately scooped up into the mother's hooves. With a quick, "Thank you," the unicorn galloped off, just in time for Pinkamena to dodge another attack which came from the Ayakashi.
"It doesn't really matter about protecting Pinkamena." Octavia replied, continuing to watch the earth pony do battle with the Ayakashi. "She can handle herself, and it was a mistake that I made. Our job isn't to protect her, but to keep others safe and make sure that the Gedoushuu don't hurt anypony else." She finished, drawing her Mobile Brush.
"Well when you put it that way..." Humble replied, scratching the back of his head and drawing his brush just as the other samurai did so.
"Don't react, just do." Bellamina said, stepping forward. "That's what my instructor taught me."
"Come on now! Let's do this thing!" Surprise shouted, finishing the line that they formed as the Ayakashi forced Pinkamena backwards.
"WITH THESE STROKES WE REPORT TO THE PRINCESSES!" They roared, writing a singular stroke into the air as they charged, their suits reforming.
With a singular blow, Pinkamena sent the demon flying backwards, smashing into the remains of another fruit cart and into a far wall. As Ootsumuji staggered back to his feet, he growled and began to shake and spin his head wildly again. "SHINKUTSUMUJI MUCHI!" He roared as the bladed sash erupted from behind him and flew directly at the red-clad samurai. Before the attack could connect, the remaining samurai struck the sash, splitting it into four separate pieces before destroying it entirely, leaving nothing but a harmless flash of air to wash over Pinkamena. "WHAT THE TARTARUS?" Ootsumuji roared, staggering backwards as samurai formed up.
"Pinkie-
Attack at the same time as I do." Pinkamena ordered, cutting Octavia off as she replaced her sword's black disk with a red one. The earth pony nodded, replacing her guard with a blue one just as Surprise replaced hers with a yellow one, and Humble and Bellamina replaced theirs with a green and pink disk respectively.
"SHINKENMARU!" They all roared, their swords all glowing with the same colored light as their suits just as they assumed ready stances. "RASEN NO TACHI!"
Just as Ootsumuji finished getting to his feet they charged, leaping into the air as they cleared half of the distance. The demon didn't have time to throw up a guard, and could only watch in horror as the samurai cut through his body. Each blade that passed through was met with an explosion of the element they represented: a burst of flame, a splash of water, an explosion of the earth, a gust of wind, and a barrage of leaves. As the attack finished, Ootsumuji collapsed, falling backwards before exploding in a ball of fire as the samurai sheathed their swords.
"We got him!" Surprise cheered, taking a relaxing breath.
"Not yet, there's still the second life." Pinkamena replied, retrieving her origami.
"DON'T THINK THAT IT'S OVER SHINKENGERS! WE'VE GOT A SCORE TO SETTLE!" Ootsumuji roared, his body reforming from the fireball and growing to the size of a giant.
"Let's go!" Pinkamena ordered, drawing her mobile brush quickly with the other samurai following suit.
"ORIGAMI DAIHENGE!" They all cried, setting their origami on the ground before drawing the symbol for, "Big," above them. In a flash of light the origami grew, before unfolding into their respective animal shapes outside of town.
"Where d'ya think you're going?" Ootsumuji roared, swinging his blade and kicking up a storm with it, which blinded the mechs and their pilots.
"Ah man!" Humble snapped, unable to see anything from the smog. "I can't see anything!"
"We need to combine." Pinkamena said coolly, looking through the screen as the fog cleared.
"You mean the Samurai Gattai?" Octavia asked. "I've heard about it from father back before I left! You guys heard about it before right?"
Humble nodded. "Yeah, it's supposed to be stronger than what we're facing now."
"Hehe, sounds like a good Idea."Surprise added. "Let's do it!"
Octavia smirked proudly from within her helmet. "Well then, Samurai Gattai!" She declared, pushing her joystick forward.
"You guys wait!" Bellamina cried, only to have it fall on deaf ears.
Ootsumuji watched curiously as four of the five mechs folded back into each other, before they all stacked one on top of the other with the square and hexagon being on the bottom and the circle and triangle on top. The Ayakashi scratched his head with a free hand. "What the heck? Is this some kind of joke?" He asked, glaring at the odd construct.
"Shinken-Oh! United under providence!" Octavia declared from within her mech.
"Uh... Yeah, there's just one problem..." Humble replied, looking upward from his mech. "Why in the world am I on the bottom?" He snapped, glaring upward.
"Hey easy down there, it isn't exactly steady up here!" Surprise shouted, looking downward from her perch towards the mechs below.
"Well maybe if you had listened to me we could have done this together! You know, as a team?" Bellamina had snapped from underneath Surprise.
"Octavia... Please tell me why you left me out." Pinkamena asked, staring at the scene from inside her mech and shaking her head.
"Oh... Uhm... oops?" Octavia replied, looking at something that wasn't the demon or her fellow samurai.
"Okay, now I get it. You're trying to give me a free shot! Well, no sense in looking a gift horse in the mouth so... HERE WE GO!" Ootsumuji roared, swinging his blade at the samurai's construct and knocking it down. Almost immediately, the samurai within were thrown around inside their mechs, leaving Pinkamena to shake her head.
"Here, let me do it." She finally said, taking her brush and drawing the symbol for, "Combine," in front of her. With a gentle flick the symbol flipped around, and began to glow, which also caused the other mechs that were on the ground below to glow. Ootsumuji had to shield his eyes for several minutes, but as soon as he lowered them he was dumbstruck.
The machine before him stood as tall as he did, using the rectangular and hexagonal mechs which were folded along the middle to form its legs. They attached to the pentagon, which took the form of a lion which made it look like a torso as a small head popped up from beneath the surface of the mech. The triangle and circle mechs had each formed the arms of the machine as a giant samurai's helmet covered the head on top. A long katana, filled with grooves that appeared to be runes that he couldn't understand appeared at its side, and as the machine's cold green eyes glared at him the demon could feel that the ponies had all gathered in its core.
From within the other samurai's cockpits had appeared next to Pinkamena's, forcing the other to look around in surprise. "So this is Shinken-Oh?" Humble asked aloud.
Pinkamena nodded as the others turned towards the main screen. "Focus now, this is the main event." She ordered as they returned to their senses.
The machine drew its sword from its side, clutching it tightly as it and Ootsumuji began circling each other. The demon made the first move, swinging high in an attempt to end the machine before it started. The attack was parried however and cast aside, but the follow up was evaded by Ootsumuji, who casually stepped aside and tossed a leathery bag in the nearby river.
"GET OVER HERE OONANASHI RENCHUU!" Ootsumuji roared. With a flash the nearby river glowed blood red, before erupting to nearby gaps between nearby buildings. With a flash, several gigantic Nanashi Renchuu appeared wearing black armor and carrying spears instead of their smaller sized cousins.
"So they come in this size too?" Surprise said calmly.
"Let's take'em all out!" Humble roared, pushing his joystick forward with the other samurai.
The giant demons charged the mech just as it swung its sword, cutting down the first few in the initial stroke. As two more approached from the side, Shinken-Oh smashed into them before catching them on the backswing. This caused the demons to back up, forcing Shinken-Oh into a ready stance. The Oonanashi Renchuu reacted quickly, charging the mech with spears ready, only to be knocked backwards from a gout of flame that erupted from the lion's head in the center of the mech.
"Don't worry about the Nanashi Renchuu and go after the Ayakashi." Pinkamena commanded, urging Shinken-Oh forward. The other Samurai followed suit, continuing to pilot the mech through the crowd towards Ootsumuji.
"You think that tin-can's gonna stop me?" He roared as several of the Oonanashi Renchuu backed off. "Then try THIS! SHINKUTSUMUJI MUCHI!" He roared, throwing his bladed sash at the mech.
Shinken-Oh stood firm, swinging its blade only once before shattering the incoming attack and staggering the demon. The Oonanashi Renchuu behind it stepped back and cringed at the sight, some fleeing for the cracks they had come out of before the mech launched its next attack on the demon, slashing its chest.
"Bu-BU-BUT IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE THIS WAY!" Ootsumuji roared as another strike pushed him further backwards, causing him to fall into the river. The Ayakashi staggered to his feet, his blade forgotten under the surface, and held his hands up to defend himself.
"The finisher!" Pinkamena declared, drawing her sword from its holster in the cockpit and pointing it at the screen. The other samurai followed suit, their blades all glowing with a bright white energy as they did so before the symbol of, "Cut," appeared before them.
Shinken-Oh's sword began to glow and radiate the same white light just as everything around both it and the Ayakashi darkened to almost nothing. Sparks of energy flew from above them, illuminating where both the machine and the demon stood, just as the sword was held high into the air.
"DAISHINKEN! SAMURAI GIRI!" The samurai all declared, swinging their swords downward.
The symbol for cut appeared directly where Ootsumuji stood, just before the blade split him in two. There was a loud gurgling roar then nothing as the demon collapsed, erupting in a ball of flames.
"And with that, this chapter comes to a close." Pinkamena declared, placing her sword back in its sheath.
----
"You all did well for your second battle." Pinkamena said later on, calmly walking ahead of the group. The damage from the battle was minimal, and there were minimal casualties, but at least the Ayakashi was driven off.
"Pinkamena-sama, I'm-
Don't bother. You just reacted. That's all that matters." Pinkamena replied, placing a staying hoof in front of Surprise. "I'm going back to the house." She said finally, trotting away and leaving the samurai alone.
"I think that we need to start looking out for ourselves first, protecting her will come naturally after that." Octavia finally said, watching Pinkamena's retreating form.
"I don't like how she treats her comrades." Humble snapped, glaring at Pinkamena. "But if it protects the world, I'll work for her."
"I don't know what happened but..." Bellamina stopped before wiping her eyes. "Something's changed in our little sister." She said, looking to Octavia who said nothing.
"Let's just finish this out okay, Igneous is going to be mad if she goes back home alone." Surprise replied before chasing after Pinkamena, leaving the others behind her. They all shared a glance before following suit, leaving the battlefield behind.
Though their bond was true enough for Shinken-Oh to hold together, I still had my doubts on the situation. A fortress is only strongest at its weakest points, and those weakest points were going to make themselves apparent in the weeks that followed. I as a stallion could only do so much, but that's just hearsay now. After all, the team worked its own problems out as time went on and grew stronger because of it.
-End Act 2-