Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or any characters belonging to Hasbro or any other companies listed herein. All original characters mentioned here are my own creations. I do this solely for entertainment purposes and in no way make any profit from it.

On the Mountain Trail

In the four months since Ash Jade had joined the two unicorns, the group had travelled farther from Ponyville than AJ had ever been or had even dreamed of going before. He loved every moment of it, and was more than willing to listen to some of Dusk's facts on some of the various places they had gone. Though Ash quickly learned something Flash had himself discovered not long after he had begun traveling with the other unicorn.

"How often does he have his nose stuck in that book?" Ash asked Flash as the trio, all in pony form at the moment, were settled in for the night at the local hotel. Dusk was engrossed in a novel off to one side while the other two had been engrossed in discussion up until Ash had noticed why Dusk wasn't participating. "Ah mean seriously. This's the third time this week he's read that one."

"I'm not entirely sure about it myself, AJ. He has something of an attachment to it, though. He about had a panic attack the one time he thought he lost it not long before we met you." Flash replied. Then shrugged. "I'm not really sure why. But then again, it seems to be personal for him, so I've never considered asking."

Ash frowned. Then got to his hooves and walked over to Dusk. And poked him in the side. "Question."

Dusk looked up. "Answer. Let's see if they match." he replied. Flash gave a dry chuckle and Ash rolled his eyes at the odd pun.

"What's the deal with this book? Ah've seen ya read a lot, but this one you seem to come back to a lot more than anythin' else Ah've seen ya read since we met. Ah mean, sure it's prolly good, but it's the only one Ah ever see you constantly pullin' out ta read over an' over again."

Dusk closed the book, a copy of Vampire Hunter D, volume 1, and set it in his bag with the kind of reverence one would treat a priceless artifact. "To be honest, it's really the only thing I have to connect me to my parents."

"I didn't know them." Dusk replied. "I have no idea what they looked like or where they were from or why they abandoned me. But this was with me from as far back as I can remember. There was a small barrelfull of preservation and protection spells put on it, to boot. I actually learned how to read thanks to this book. I used to eavesdrop on some children in the park in the northern part of the Capital when they would have classes during the day. I learned the alphabet through them, and from there, I started applying it to the book. I guess it was something they wanted me to have and hoped I would hang onto it as a way to identify me if they ever met me again. Or vice versa, or whatever." Then he looked himself over. "Not that it would matter in the long run I guess. If they saw me now, they wouldn't recognize me."

Dusk was still acclimating to the radical change in his appearance. The fact that he'd had to have all of his ID changed to match his new look did little to set his mind at ease about it either. He still expected to see the same indigo coat and bronze stripe in his mane that he'd known for most of his life. Not the green coat and silver stripe that he now sported, or the fact that he had started letting it grow out more in the back, trying to achieve something of what Ancient Earth history would have called a 'punk' look simply because he felt his old and somewhat bookworm-like look didn't feel right now that he was in what felt to him like an entirely new skin. Ash grinned and patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't sweat it, Dusk. Ya got us an' the rest o' the Jade and Burst clans, an' ya got the Shogun. If'n yer folks ever come back, Ah'm sure you'll know. Or at least they'll know. They gotta know you're tight with the Shogun. It ain't exactly like either of ya ever tried t'hide it or nuthin' like that." the stetson wearing pony said. Dusk eventually nodded and smiled. "That's the spirit. Now c'mon, yer the leader on this little expedition of ours. So you oughtta be helpin' us look over this damned map t'figger out where ta go next. Them Elements ain't exactly makin' themselves any easier to find now than they did when y'all started this mess, ya know."

Dusk let out an annoyed grunt. "Tell me about it." he quipped. The trio opened up the map they had been looking at on the bullet train on the way in. "Okay, we're here." the green colt said, tapping a spot on the map. "And here's the ruins I think we should check out." he added, tapping another spot on the map.

Flash leaned in for a closer look. "Isn't this out in the Scottsdale Highlands?" he asked. "That's pretty rough terrain for anyone not from the area. You planning to hire a guide?"

"I'm hoping we won't need to." Dusk said with a shrug. "The ruins are pretty close by the train station. Might be....maybe two or three days travel both ways, assuming this map is to proper scale and the landmarks are still accurate. So, maybe a week tops, all things taken together. We can stop in town real quick before making our way up there."

"What exactly are we lookin' fer up there anyway, Dusk?" Ash asked. he was looking over the map himself, keen to figure out where the rivers and the like where in case they became necessary.

"I'm hoping to find some clue as to where the Elements might be located." Dusk replied, walking over to a mini-bar in their cabin and pulling open the door to the mini-fridge on the other side of it and pulling out a bottle of Dasani spring water. "So far every stop we've made, I've hit up the local library's myth and folklore section if it had one. Most of the books I've had the chance to read seem to agree that the Elements exist but few clues to their current resting place are still around. One place that keeps being mentioned however," he said as he returned to the map and tapped the mountain on the map again, "are these ruins. So there might be something worth checking out there."

After purchasing a few extra supplies in town— Dusk had insisted, citing there was no telling what they might run into and having a few days extra rations would mean less time needing to forage if things went south— the trio had begun to make their way up the mountain. Ash had more experience with plants than the two unicorns did, so he kept an eye out for anything dangerous that might impede their way. Dusk had resolved that he would brush up on his botany studies as soon as possible. Ash shouldn't have to carry the entire load of warning them about dangerous plant life in any given area. Not that the gunblade wielder seemed to mind. He enjoyed having something beyond his raw strength to contribute to the expedition.

"Remind me again how a miner knows so much about plants?" Flash asked as they took a brief detour around a growth of shrubs that Ash claimed were dangerous.

"Mah family's land is pretty rich in plant life, remember." Ash pointed out. "Plus, Grampa and Cut would take me campin' ever so often, and taught me what to look out fer. Cause we always planned t'expand our property at some point when the mines we had started t'run low. So they hadda do a lot of land surveys of surrounding land that could be bought or claimed."

"Makes sense." Flash conceded with a nod. Dusk took a quick snapshot of the plants they had avoided to make a point to catalogue later. The way once more safe to travel on the pathway up the mountainside, they increased their pace a bit, wanting to make it at least another three miles before nightfall. They stopped briefly for a quick, utilitarian lunch, and then resumed their trip. They had made it up maybe an eighth of the way to the ruins when the sun began to sink below the horizon and the team set up camp, unfolding a high level tent with a spell on it to make it far larger on the inside than out. It had been something Dusk had perfected a few years back and it allowed them to have a small 'home' out in the wilderness. Armed with protective spells and a few traps set around it, the team decided to forego use of the kitchen inside the tent and instead cooked out over a campfire.

"Nice night." Ash said, looking up at the sky as the sun's last rays of light had faded away and the moon began its ascent into the heavens.

"Yep. Nocturne must be having an easy time of it if he was able to get the switch made so smoothly." Dusk said absentmindedly as he continued to cook the hot dog he had impaled on a stick. Then looked up at the confused silence and questioning looks of his friends. "What?"

Dusk blushed a bit. "It's the Shogun's real name. Lunaris is his Regnal name, the one he took when he ascended to the throne. Found out about it a year or so after he took me in." Comprehension flashed across Flash's face and he nodded.

"It's an old tradition that some rulers still adhere to, Ash." Flash said. "Sometimes a ruler will take on a secondary name, different from the one they are given at birth, by which they will be addressed in all official capacities. It's also sometimes referred to as a 'reign' name or 'Imperial' name. While some choose to only have this name be how they are known in official or posthumous capacities, others will take it to the extreme of only responding to that name at all times. The Popes of the human religion of Christianity still practice the latter form of it. The Emperors of Japan have a slightly different take on it; when they ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne, they end up choosing the name they will be known by when they pass. For example, one of the longest lived emperors of Japan in the days of Ancient Earth's twentieth century, Emperor Hirohito, chose the Regnal name Showa. His son Akihito chose the name Heisei. As such, the years of Hirohito's reign are referred to as the Showa era, and the calendars of the age that did not conform to the gregorian calendar would have referred to each year of that reign as Showa One, Showa Two, etc. For basically every year that Hirohito was emperor, the calendar used the term Showa and then that year. So he would have been said to die in either the year Showa 63, or Heisei 1. I'm not entirely sure how that aspect of it works when a new Emperor ascends the throne."

"No." Dusk replied to Ash, joining in on the explanation. "That's purely the choice of the ruler or religious leader in question and not everyone abides by the tradition. The previous Shogun took up the tradition. His personal name was Hyperion, but took the name Solaris when he was made Shogun. Nocturne took the name Lunaris as a way to honor the tradition, though he's told me he's not as fond of the imperial name as he is of his personal name. But he felt he should follow the tradition since he felt that it was what his subjects would have expected."

Conversation continued a bit further into the night, turning from one topic to another seemingly on a dime. They discussed everything from sports to magic to even curiosity about who had murdered the Baron. They had learned about his death a few weeks ago during one of Dusk's check-in vidcalls with the Shogun. The Baron was harmless by this point, but he had enemies. A lot of enemies. But the Shogun had no idea how any of them could have gotten at him in a cell patrolled by ponies loyal to him above all others. Ash had wondered why anyone would bother, figuring that the humilation of his defeat would have been a more effective revenge than just killing him off. Eventually, they headed inside their tent-base and each chose a room to head to sleep in as the spells and wards were strengthened one last time before they all turned in for the night.

Had they stayed up a bit longer, they would have seen a shape dart past the moon from where it had been hidden in the foliage of a tree within the perimeter of their protective enchantments. As it was going out rather than heading in, the spells made no attempt to arrest its departure or even signal to the occupents within the tent that anything had been there.

Dawn broke over the horizon and the trio began to break up camp after shifting into anthro form to save on magical expenditure. Dusk checked the map again, making sure they were still headed in the right direction. Once he was satisfied that they were, he set it into his pack.

"Anyone for some quick practice before we get on the move?" Flash asked of his two companions as he twirled his Naginata a few times.

"Normally I'd say yes, but I think we might want to save that for when we settle in for the day when we stop next." Dusk said. "We still don't know what's on this mountain, after all. Just getting up there's going to be a chore. Expending extra energy and needing more time to rest afterwards would probably slow us down."

"Also probably a good idea t'keep things quiet in case anyone else is around who ain't particularly fond'a strangers in these parts. Don't wanna attract the wrong kinda attention, right?" Ash added.

With that decided, the trio headed off as soon as they had finished breaking down the camp. As before, Ash took point, due to his greater knowledge of plants and animals, while Dusk this time took the rear guard, leaving Flash to take mid-point. They kept conversation to a minimum this time. Ash had raised a valid point they hadn't considered the previous day; They had no idea who or what might call the mountain home. About three hours into their upward trek, Ash called a halt, staring at something on the ground. Curious as to why he had called a stop since it was barely noon, and lunch wouldn't be for another hour and a half, the two unicorns came forward to meet him.

"Tracks." Ash said, pointing at said with one finger. "Recent too. Maybe two hours ahead of us."

"Look at the gait though. This isn't a normal stride." Dusk said, nodding. "I think we're dealing with a flyer. the tracks seem to jump every few feet."

"A trap?" Flash asked, looking around. Then he frowned. "Look." he said, poiutning to a nearby tree. His horn lit up and from it he plucked a few ragged feathers of dark sky blue. "These aren't bird feathers."

Taking the feathers into his own magical grasp, Dusk began to scan them with a spell. Then he nodded. "Pegsus type. Probably our age, given the size. But what the hell was it fighting? This isn't the kind of natural damage that happens to a feather if a pegasus crashes or has to pull feathers loose to get free from entanglement."

"Must'a been durin' the night, too." Ash said, musing as he rubbed his chin. "Scuffle like that would'a caught our attention even this far away. Only way we'd've missed it would be if'n we were sleeping at th'time." He began searching for signs of whatever had attacked the Pegasus. When he couldn't find anything that immediately stood out, he frowned.

"Yes an' no." he responded. "It's hard t'put it inta words. But...if this flyer was in a fight, you'd think we'd see tracks of whatever it was fightin', right? So why's it we don't see any tracks aside from whoever left the feathers behind." he looked around. Even turned his eyes to the sky. "Not a damn thing. How're we sure this pegasus ain't just tryin' to mess with us?"

"Or maybe there isn't even a pegasus to deal with at all. How do we know that whatever made these tracks was an actual pony? I mean, we know there are those who can use magic to disguise themselves. Hell, think about the Changelings of myth. If there are any around..." Flash trailed off. Dusk considered that. Then shook his head.

"Couldn't be changelings. Assuming they actually exist. They wouldn't leave feathers behind. Not this clean anyway. There'd be blood, if nothing else." he said. "Besides, what if whoever this flyer was fighting— assuming Ash is right and it was an actual fight and not something else— was also a flyer and wasn't the type to have feathers? It works out that we'd only see the feathers knocked loose by the confrontation."

"That or whatever it was fighting didn't have legs." Flash quipped in a sotto voice. His friends still heard it, though, and soon all three were laughing at it, even though it could very well have been true.

Not sure what else to do, they headed further up the mountainside, but now keeping a lookout for more signs of what was going on with that pegasus, which they were assuming to have been what left those feathers behind. Each had their own theories, but they all kept their own council. Particularly since for all they knew, they might have misread what they found earlier. Maybe the pegasus had been drunk. Maybe it got in a fight with a bird. Maybe it was a magic user who tried to teleport and got its wings stuck where the feathers had fallen out.

Another half an hour up, Dusk stopped dead in his tracks. His friends, after another few minutes trek, realized he wasn't with them and returned to where he was standing, looking lost in thought.

"Somethiong wrong, Dusk?" Ash asked. Dusk took a few more minutes to think then turned to him.

"Something's wrong here. Those tracks, you said they were indicative of someone maybe only an hour or two ahead of us, right?" Dusk asked. Ash nodded. "Well, then how could the fight have happened when we were asleep? The wards I set up should have detected something like that."

"A silencing spell?" Flash asked, starting to see where the green unicorn was going. "Or some counter-spell or anti-ward incantation or some such? Something that would disguise whatever was fighting with that flyer?"

Dusk looked around, horn lighting up and pulsing. Flash frowned in confusion, not recognizing the type of spell Dusk was using.

"If it is, it's a good one." Dusk said after a few minutes. "I can't pick up traces of any ambient magic of any kind. And that worries me. Spells that powerful usually leave behind some sort of tell."

"Maybe it ain't magic then." Ash suggested. "There's tech that can deaden sound, and even mess with time nowadays."

Dusk looked up at Ash in surprise, and then slapped himself and laughed. "Good God, how did that not even occur to me?" he asked. "I should've thought of that. I grew up in the freaking capital. I was surrounded by as much tech as magic. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!" he said, thwacking his forehead with the heel of his palm with each repetition of 'stupid' before nodding at Ash. "Good call AJ."

"You're not stupid, Dusk. I live not too far from the capital and I didn't think of it either." Flash said.

"Grew up aroun' miners. Tech and magic're just two sides o' the same coin when it comes to that. Plus, you guys're a bit too close to the problem. Yer used to usin' magic when there ain't no tech to use." AJ replied with a grin. Dusk and Flash shared a bemused look. They'd never really thought of it like that.

"Well, if we're talking tech, that leaves a pretty wide field to choose from when it comes to what could have been used. Keep a lookout for anything unusual. No matter how innocuous it seems." Dusk said, getting nods from the others.

So resolved, the three friends moved further up the mountain again, now keeping a sharper eye on their surroundings. Dusk would occasionally use the spell he had used earlier.

"What is that, anyway?" Flash asked, two hours, three and a half miles, and some ten uses of the spell later. "I don't recognize the spell. It feels totally different from anything I've seen or felt used before."

"Hmm?" Dusk looked around at Flash from the ravine he'd been giving a look over. "Oh. Home made detection spell. I realized when I first started studying under Nocturne that some spells had a unique tell if you knew what to look for magically. I created a kind of 'catch-all' sensor spell. It's not as specialized as other detection spells, so it can cast a pretty wide net. I've been checking to make sure there aren't spells or traps of any kind waiting for us. It's not infallible, but it's got its uses, at least."

"Makes sense." Flash nodded. Making a mental note to ask Dusk to teach him that one at some point in the future when they weren't on a march up a mountain, Flash turned his attention back up the mountainside. He was tacking point now, with Dusk right behind him, and Ash bringing up the rear. He caught a glint of something up the way. "Guys, check it. About fifteen feet up the way. Anyone else think that doesn't look like a natural formation?"

They hurried towards it, though they slowed once they got within about five feet of it. Dusk frowned. "No signs of any kind of offensive enchantment." he said, making his way still closer to it. He frowned, and picked it up in his magical grip, holding it up for the others to see. It was a Sai, and one that was meticulously taken care of. It was also partially bloodied.

"Well, that proves our theory that someone had a fight recently. This's still fresh." Ash said, looking the weapon over, but not taking it from Dusk's magical grip. "Looks like the fight kept goin' too." he added, pointing at what appeared to be a fresher set of tracks. "Same tracks as before. But look here," he pointed out a new set. "These're new. Looks like he brought down another flyer or somethin', cause these ain't his."

The second set of tracks were humanoid, much like their theorized pegasus, which indicated that both were in anthro form.

"Look like anything you might have run into on past excursions, AJ?" Flash inquired. Ash shook his head.

"Uh-uh. These ain't anything Ah ever saw b'fore. Don't know if I ever even heard of anything with eight toes to a foot in mah lifetime, either." He said. They both turned to Dusk.

"Hey, don't look at me." Dusk said with a half-snort of laughter and shrugging. "I've never heard of anything like it either. Just cause I was the Shogun's ward it doesn't mean I knew everything about everything out there in the world. The only things I know that have eight toes are a couple breeds of Dragon, but none of them have humanoid feet in anthro form."

"The tracks work sideways along the mountain." Ash noted as he looked them over again. "Well, sideways and diagonal-like, at least." Indeed, the tracks seemed to be following a curving upward pattern from where they stood. Dusk pondered this, hand coming up to his chin in thought.

"This would have to have been a helluva fight. I say we go find out who won." the green unicorn said at length. "The ruins will still be there. Someone could be hurt or dying just up the trail, and I don't think I could live with myself if I left someone to die out there if we could help."

Agreed on their next course of action, the trio headed after the tracks, unsure of what new adventure awaited them.

The Shogun Six

by Warwolf

Rurouni- Part One- On the Mountain Trail