The Shogun Six

by Warwolf

Every Journey Begins With a Single Step

The Shogun Six

Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or any characters belonging to Hasbro or any other company mentioned 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.

Chapter Two:

Every Journey Begins With a Single Step

---

Dusk Shine hadn't set foot outside the Imperial Capital in his life, so far as he could remember. If he'd ever been outside the capital city, it would have been sometime before his parents disappeared while he was still a baby. It was an odd experience for him. The unicorn had some idea of city life of course. He'd been on the streets until he'd been sponsored for consideration at the School for Gifted Unicorns, where he'd then wound up all but officially adopted by the Shogun. He'd grown up on these streets, and despite living in the palace and training in arts both martial and scholarly, he hadn't neglected to follow up on the goings on in the imperial city. One never knew when one might find new historical texts or weapons masters in the square, library, or marketplace to learn from, after all.

Dusk was in his normal pony form, saddlebags across his back and Katana sheathed along one of the bags' underside. He could easily draw it telekinetically, or if pressed, shift to his anthro state and use the weapon by hand. He just hoped he wouldn't have to. For all his skill with the blade, and he was skilled, he was still just a colt, which meant that unless he was up against someone his own age and of a similar skill level, he would likely wind up dead if a truly skilled or simply greedy enough bandit really wanted to try to attack him. As such, he was more than a bit nervous at being out beyond the walls of the capital city.

He was on a paved road leading to the station where he could board a bullet train, and head out into the rest of Equestria proper. It was one of the few problems for those traveling to and from the capital. The place was insanely fortified, and the only way to travel between the city and Equestria proper was by bullet train. Though Dusk was well aware of some Samurai who traveled everywhere by foot the way the warriors of old did. But that was an extremely rare thing in the modern day.

He had to find the other Incarnates. Others like him who had the power to defeat whatever this coming evil was supposed to be. If the Shogun was telling the truth about why he'd been sent out of the palace— and Dusk truly hoped this was the case— then they would need to find something that Dusk had believed were just things he'd made up as bedtime story material: The Elements of Bushido.

He hadn't heard the story in a long while now, but he remember much of the basic details. The Elements, so far as he knew, were supposed to be a physical embodiment of the power that existed in Bushido, the Warrior's Code. But he didn't know what the actual Elements were. He had only begun learning the Way a year or so before he'd been tasked by the Shogun to leave the capital to find them just two days ago. There was a lot to learn about becoming a Warrior. But learning the Way was just as daunting a task as learning many of the skills he'd gained under the direct tutelage of the Shogun. He didn't fully understand the concepts they were trying to teach him at the school, which was part magic training center— everypony in Equestria could use magic to some extent. Unicorns were just filled up with a helluva lot more of the stuff— and part training dojo for the physical side of being a warrior. These parts of how to be a warrior were taught first since basic self defense as a general rule was taught to all ponies in case of attack. But the philosophical side of being a Warrior was taught last because by comparison, it was much harder to grasp.

As he checked his bags in storage above his seat, Dusk shifted into his morphic form, settling down with a book he'd taken from his bags. Because of an enchantment put on them by the Shogun, his bags could carry a great deal more than physical dimensions would indicate they should be capable of. It was a spell Dusk quickly resolved to learn so that he could use it himself in the future if he ever needed to. In point of fact, it was what he was looking for in the book he'd taken out to read. He was on a quest, but that didn't mean he should stop studying magic and the martial skills he'd worked so hard to develop. Indeed, he thought it would be a good idea to keep his studies up simply because of the dangers he was likely to face on this quest.

He studied the book of spells for the next two hours, emerging from the bullet train as it pulled into the station that let out into the outer lands of Equestria. He knew there was little chance he was going to just run into his fellow Incarnates just as he got off the train or anything, so he set off on hoof, determined to do his best to locate them. After about three hours of travel through the city that the train had let out at, he began to get hungry, so he headed to a small tavern. If the phrase 'hole in the wall' could be applied to anyplace in Equestria, this one certainly fit the description. It was lively but not overly so, and Dusk felt that at this point the phrase 'any port in a storm' was apt. The Shogun had outfitted him with a Bit card that would pull money direct from the royal coffers, but Dusk was loathe to use the Shogun's money unless he had to. He'd been given an account of his own as well so that he could avoid unnecessary curiosity if at all possible. It wasn't unheard of for the Shogun to allow certain individuals in his court access to the royal treasury. But a mere colt? That would raise more than a few eyebrows, something neither wanted to do if it could be avoided.

Dusk settled in at the bar and ordered a sandwich, while he looked about. This search could take years, or it could take the rest of his life, which would leave Equestria wide open for the evil he had been sent on this quest to defeat. He didn't know anything about how he was supposed to go about finding the other Incarnates. As he wasn't even sure which one he was, this would be just that much harder. Without some way to actually track down the others, all he could do was pray that his efforts would be enough.

While lost in his musings, he failed to notice that his presence had been noted by a pair of pegasi who had a fairly bad reputation in town. These two enjoyed roughing up new ponies had been in and out of jail a number of times for theft and assault amongst other things. Seeing the unicorn colt make his way into the tavern, they smirked at one another, figuring him to be an easy mark.

---

The pair bided their time, waiting for Dusk to finish his food and leave the Tavern. Once he did, they got up and followed him nonchalantly out the door. There was, after all, nothing suspicious about that. As such, nobody, including Dusk, gave it much thought that there were ponies coming and going from the tavern. It was about ten minutes later as Dusk was traveling down the street that he began to sense a hostile air about him and wondered if perhaps agents of the evil he'd been sent on his quest to stop hadn't been deployed to prevent him from making any headway. Then again, Dusk was nopony's fool. He'd lived on the streets for a time. These could have just been a couple of idiots looking for an easy hit. But he wasn't the helpless foal he'd been once upon a time before he'd smartened up and learned to fight. He ducked down an alleyway and hide behind an open door, waiting to see what happened. The pegasi followed, and looked about in confusion.

"Where'd he go?" One asked of his compatriot. "Did he teleport?"

"At that age? No way. I'd be surprised if he could do more than a few basic spells." The other replied. "He's got to be here somewhere still."

No truer words were spoken. Dusk emerged, shifting to morphic form, armed with a katana he'd been given by the Shogun before he'd left on his trip, striking swiftly and with purpose, slicing along the muscles of the two Pegasi's wings. Caught off-guard, the two winged ponies staggered away from t he now blood coated blade with shouts of pain. But Dusk wasn't finished, taking a second set of swings at his would-be attackers despite the fact that he wasn't full grown as they were. His targets this time were the tendons in the hind legs, intending to hobble them. He succeeded with one, but the other jumped away, shifting to morphic form as he did so, pulling out a gun, but Dusk was swift enough that he was able to slice the barrel clean off, rendering the weapon useless. The older pony charged him, but Dusk ducked down as he approached and then used his own physical strength and magically induced telekinesis to flip him over onto his back. This sent jolts of pain along the pegasi's already injured wing. Not wasting the opportunity, Dusk slashed at the leg of the morphic flier, before shaking the blood from his blade off with a diagonal swing, then pulling out a cloth and wiping the remaining blood off as he turned and headed back out the way he'd come as he stowed his weapon.

That was too close. Dusk mused to himself, as he lost himself amongst the crowds. They were probably commonplace bandits. They'll find help eventually. He hadn't tried to cripple them, after all. Just injure them. He wasn't going to kill them for no good reason when incapacitating them was so much easier. However this still lead to one major issue. Namely, the fact that ponies would take him for an easy hit due to his age and size. He was as skilled as any other Samurai his age, and in some cases a bit above the average skill level such as in terms of magical ability. But he was still young, not yet a stallion but obviously no simple foal. He would need to start making connections in this city and others, form a network of support when and where possible. He couldn't rely on his connections to the Shogun though. While he was known in the capital as the apprentice to Shogun Lunaris, it wasn't very likely that many ponies beyond the capital knew of him aside from, perhaps, people in the army, since he was registered as a Samurai officially due to this quest. However the army knew hundreds, if not thousands of Samurai, so one more would hardly make a difference. Though if he could form friendly ties with those parts of Equestria's defenses, it would be an immense help.

Spotting a forge, Dusk smiled, and headed towards it. He wanted to make sure his blade hadn't been damaged by cutting through that gun barrel. It wasn't likely, given the Shogun had been the one to give it to him, and he suspected it was either enchanted or made with Metagems, but it never hurt to be sure. He knocked at the door.

"Anypony home?" he called. There was some movement in the back and a door opened to the forge proper as a colt with a silver-white coat, a dark blue mane and tail and red eyes appeared. His flank bore three gems as a Warrior Mark. He looked surprised to see somepony his own age at the front door. But he trotted over and gave a professional smile.

"Good afternoon! Welcome to the forge. I'm Flash. What can I do for you, sir?" The colt said in an accent that, on Earth, would be considered British.

"My name's Dusk Shine. I'd like to have one of my weapons checked. I was just in a fight and I want to make sure I didn't damage it as a result of some of the actions I had to take." Dusk replied, pulling out the Katana and scabbard, handing them over to Flash. Taking the scabbard in hand, Flash pulled the blade free and his eyes went wide.

"By the Shogun's hooves! This is a masterwork if ever I laid eyes on one!" he exclaimed. "How did you ever get your hands on such a fine blade?"

Dusk blushed a bit. "Uhm.....believe it or not, I actually got it from the Shogun. I used to be his apprentice."

Flash eyed him with disbelief. He shook his head with a snort. "Right. Well, I can certainly have this looked at if you wish. But I warn you if there is any damage, repairing it won't come cheap. My father would probably have to be the one to work on this, as I wouldn't want to risk doing any further damage, if there is any, to such a work of art." he said. Then gestured Dusk to enter, which the indigo pony did and then followed Flash to the forge itself.

Dusk let out a low whistle. He'd been inside forges in the capital. But something about this place spoke of people who not only did artificing because they were good at it but also because they enjoyed it. He didn't see that often. Flash was obviously very skilled as an artificer himself, as he had a good idea of what to look for. He checked, double checked, and even triple checked his Katana for signs of damage. He finally gave a smile and sheathed the blade before he handed the weapon back.

"It's got a few nicks, but that's easily buffed if you want for a few bits. Other than that, it's in fine working order. Metagem-craft like I've never seen." Flash commented. Dusk considered that for a few moments, and then nodded.

"Sure, might as well have the blade in top condition. How much was it again?"

Flash smiled. "Only five bits." he said, and chuckled when Dusk gawked at him. "Don't look so surprised. I enjoy my work. And I would be remiss to charge more than that for the chance to work on a masterpiece such as this. Now let's get your blade back to top form, shall we?"

---

And so Rarity's counterpart appears! Unlike the first chapter, which was a snapshot of young Dusk's early life, though largely told from the viewpoint of Shogun Lunaris, this chapter brings the story to its true beginning, as Dusk will begin to encounter more ponies who will have a greater impact on his life than he yet knows. For those wondering what the term Metagem refers to? Read on, the answers lie in future chapters.

For those who may think Dusk got too easy a win in that fight, let me point out they are not nearly as well trained as he is and are, as he suspected, merely common thieves who thought he was an easy mark. While this Equestria skews different from canon, such as the martial culture and ultra-modern technology, not everypony is a master of combat. Dusk Shine was trained by the Shogun himself in a number of fields and like Twilight Sparkle, Dusk is a prodigy with magic. Add in the fact that ponies can take on an anthromorphic form in this Equestria, and he has all the tools he needs to defeat some simple bandits. It'll take him a bit longer before he'll be able to truly win any one on one fights with genuinely skilled opponents.

If you're wondering about the Elements of Bushido mentioned in the description here on the site, don't worry too much. The Elements will be explained and the ways we'll see them manifest will occur over the next several chapters. Their story will be told as we go along. There will be action, intrigue, some comedy, and everything in between- I hope- as we learn more about these ponies and the Elements of Bushido and how they'll play into this. The ancient evil these six must unite to defeat will begin to have a presence sooner than you think, but don't expect it to go the way it did with canon. Anarchy Helios is far more aggressive than Nightmare Moon was. Moon was largely soft-hearted as a villainess, since most of what she did had little real chance for actual harm, the manticore aside (and I stress most, she still nearly caused Twilight to fall off a cliff by the virtue of the girls having to undertake that entire quest to begin with.). Helios will not be anywhere near as kindhearted. This world also has far worse than a few manticores, hydras, and the like running around, and Helios will be more than willing to take advantage of that fact. And he's not the only threat that will confront the Six as the story goes along. This is your first warning. It won't be your last. This story will, I hope, avoid being 'grimdark' but it will probably get dark as we go along. Consider this your head's up on that. Expect a minor crossover at the end of this story, by the way. I won't tell you what the crossover is until the chapter it occurs in however.

Finally, yes, Dusk is only a colt here, as is Flash. I mentioned I would discuss this last chapter. This team of six begin their adventures at a much younger age than the canon six, and this is by design. These six will have to bond in a very different way and it won't be the almost immediate connection the canon Mane Six had. Hopefully, this will come about in a way that will satisfy everypony reading. And if not....well as Lincoln said, you can't please all the people all the time.

As ever, reviews are welcome, constructive criticism will be enjoyed, and flames will be used to broil Solaris within the heart of the sun.

Comments

[TheRealShadowFoot]

Still liking this. Especially when modern tech meets old school asskiicking skills and weapons.