The Impossible Is Possible
A loud series of knocks resounded through the halls of Twilight's castle, the firm thuds garnering the lavender princess' attention. She was still in bed, staring at the ceiling of her bedroom chamber, letting the crystalline mosaic above her bed come to life inside her imagination. She had woken up a few minutes ago to the sound of birds chirping outside on her balcony, the sunlight streaming through her crystalline windows and onto her face. She basked in the warm glow of the light for a moment longer, closing her eyes as she envisioned the mosaic above her coming to life in all its complexity, before throwing the silky covers off of herself, and rolling out of bed.
Her hooves clopped on the sparkling floor of her chambers, Spike's light snoring accompanying Twilight's footsteps as she trotted out the door of her chambers. She glanced at Spike before magically opening the door to her bedroom, the soft magenta aura around her horn illuminating the sparkling crystal walls of her chambers, the light dancing off of it beautifully. She smiled slightly, seeing Spike wrapped in his new, finely made blankets, as his body rose and fell within his small, yet masterfully crafted oval bed. It was much the same as the old one he used to have in Twilight's room in the Ponyville Library, but it was cushioned with far more extravagant pillows, and made of the same dazzling crystal as the rest of the castle.
Slipping outside of her bedroom, Twilight gingerly closed the door with her magic behind her, making sure to not disturb Spike. She listened for a moment, and when she could still hear his paced snoring, she sighed in relief, and trotted over to the spiral staircase across the small landing she stood upon. She stopped just as she reached the stairs, yawning heartily, and stretching out her wings for a moment. She still couldn't believe she was a princess, much less an alicorn.
While her induction into the ranks of the privileged few had occurred quite some time ago, the memories of wielding all of the alicorn magic in Equestria were still fresh in her mind. She nearly shuddered as she stretched her wings out, images of her duel with Tirek flashing through her mind. She shook her head slightly, dispelling the unwelcome memories, before furling her wings back into their normal position by her sides.
She proceeded down the spiral staircase, using her magic to form a comb out of arcane energy, the soft glow emitted from the construct reflecting off of the sparkling stairwell walls. Twilight ran the comb through her messy bedhead mane a few times, straightening it out , more or less, into her usual hairstyle. The comb dissipated into a wisp of magenta energy, before vanishing with entirely as Twilight reached the bottom of the staircase. She hastily stepped through a small doorway that led into the main hall of her castle, finding herself before the giant doors to the throne room of her castle.
She cantered down the long hall towards her front doors, the stain glass mirrors of the hall distorting the light that passed through them in a wonderfully beautiful way, the rays of sunlight streaking across the central red carpet in such a way as they almost looked like perfectly aligned stripes of lighter red. The crystalline pillars that were placed between every window caused light to bounce off of them in a dazzling manner, while the diamond shaped gemstones that hung from the ceiling glowed with a feint aura of magic.
As Twilight approached the door, another rapid flurry of knocks echoed through the great hall, bouncing around the high ceilings.
"I'm coming, I'm coming." , Twilight said drowsily, stifling a yawn. She finally reached the giant doors to her castle, the enormous golden slabs far too large to be hoisted open by a pony of her size. A lock of hair fell into her face on her right, as she began to grip the doors with her magic, a magenta glow appearing around the outside of the left door. She awkwardly blew the rebellious strand of her mane back into place as the door was heaved open, the hinges to the monstrously sized entrance creaking loudly. A moment later, the door was open just enough to allow a pony to slip through, and Twilight shifted her position to be able to see through the open space.
Her magical aura instantly died, her eyes going wide while her pupils shrunk slightly. Her mouth fell open, as she backpedaled, shaking her head slightly.
"Now Twilight, I-I know he looks kind've big and scary ..." Fluttershy said , lifting one of her hooves, and outstretching it towards Twilight comfortingly, even as the alicorn inched away from her. Fluttershy swiveled her head around to look up at Benkei, who was standing slightly behind her, towering over her, before returning her gaze to Twilight, an embarrassed expression on her face. " ... okay, well he is big. But he's not scary, I promise!" she quickly added in.
Benkei dared not move, remaining where he was, removing the white hood from his head, and trying to appear as gentle as he could. His facial expression instantly softened, as he tried to hide the scars of a life time of war behind a warm and inviting smile. Twilight wasn't having any of it, and she almost began to hyperventilate, before muttering to herself softly, but loud enough so that Fluttershy was able to hear.
"That's impossible ..." Twilight said under her breath, continuing to shake her head. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she bumped in the wall behind her, barely managing to contain a frightened shriek.
"T-Twilight, just calm down. I-I know this is strange, but I need your help. He needs yours help," Fluttershy stammered out, gesturing towards Benkei as she came right up to Twilight and put a hoof on her comfortingly. "Trust me," Fluttershy said reassuringly, wearing the same warm smile she had learned from Benkei.
Twilight managed to snap herself out of her dumbfounded state, sighing loudly, and pulling away from Fluttershy. Benkei politely bowed in the entrance, before raising a hand to speak. Fluttershy stopped him, knowing what he was about to say.
"Yes, Ben Khay, it's alright if you come in. If that's alright with you of course ..." Fluttershy said meekly, trailing off as she usually did. Twilight's eyes darted around frantically, before responding with a weak nod.
Fluttershy's face lit up with joy as she nodded to Benkei. He nodded back respectfully, before entering sideways, managing to squeeze himself through the relatively narrow opening. His naginata didn't quite fit through the opening, so he slipped it off of himself, and brought it in lengthwise, before securing the leather strap around his chest once more. He smiled gently at Twilight, nodding to her politely, before stepping towards the ajar door. Twilight was about to speak up, but she could only sputter and trip over her words as she witnessed what came next.
Benkei pushed the massive, solid gold door closed, with one hand, not even straining himself in the process. If anything, he had hardly nudged it, the huge door clicked back into place as it was shut. He turned back to face the two ponies, noticing the shocked expression on Twilight's face. Only Big Mac had been able to open that door on his own, and even then, he was visibly straining when he had done so. Benkei had almost swatted it back into place with a flick of his hand. Twilight was instantly uncomfortable being around the mountain of a man.
"Twilight?" Fluttershy asked, waving a hoof in front of her friend's glazed expression. Twilight shook her head vigorously for a moment, before replying.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine Fluttershy, I'm fine , " she managed to respond weakly, shifting herself back onto the red carpet in the center of the hall.
"I'm not quite sure what he is Twilight, I mean, I've read about a lot of strange critters, and this one isn't like anything I recognize," Fluttershy said, her voice a bit more confident now that Twilight was back to normal somewhat. The room remained silent for a few moments longer, the awkward silence only broken by Twilight's somber statement.
"I know what he is," Twilight said, a little color draining from her face. She had read about humans before, in ancient mythology texts stored deep in the Canterlot Archives. They were never her favorite thing to learn about as a filly, as they had always seemed rather plain in comparison to the other creatures of legend.
She had always liked dragons in particular, acknowledging and admiring the strength, intelligence, and wisdom of the Ancients of their kind. Yet, the human before her possessed strength far exceeding that of Ponyville's strongest stallion. Twilight imagined for a moment that he might even be as strong as an Ancient. She shuddered at the thought.
Coming back to her senses, Twilight realized that Flutterhsy's face had lit up into a vibrant grin, and her eyes were staring at her, prodding at her to lead the way. Twilight sighed exasperatedly, knowing she had no choice in the matter. She turned her back to Benkei, and began trotting slowly down the great hall, the sound of her hoofsteps muffled by the red carpet she was treading upon. She looked over her shoulder every few seconds uneasily, eyeing Benkei who followed behind Fluttershy patiently.
Despite his best attempts to soften his footsteps, Benkei's every step shook the ground ever so slightly. Twilight could just barely feel the vibrations pervading through the ground, the thump of Benkei's feet in her ears causing her heart to beat faster. She had seen a lot of crazy stuff, from sirens, to manticores, to inexplicably odd beings like Discord, to downright evil forces, such as Sombra and Tirek.
But there was something different about Benkei. All the other evils she had faced in her quest to protect Equestria had been purposely trying to scare her, to frighten and demoralize her. A few even tried to kill her. But Benkei, he seemed very passive, gentle and friendly, and that's what scared her the most. She was intimidated, and a bit frightened by him as he was. She couldn't even begin to imagine what he was like when he was angry.
She stopped in front of the third door on the left from the throne room entrance, exhaling audibly.
"Okay , okay okay okay ..." she repeated to herself in an exasperated tone, trying to gather her thoughts and mentally brace herself. Another lock of hair fell into her face as she looked at the ground. Needless to say, she was less than amused. Ignoring the annoying lock of her mane for the moment, she pushed open the door to her library, the crystal encrusted metal door inching open slowly as she stepped through the doorway.
Fluttershy followed suit, as Benkei ducked down low to be able to fit through the pony sized door, just barely able to fit facing forward. He fidgeted with his naginata on his back for a moment, the long weapon having gotten caught on the entrance. Again, he slipped it off himself, before bringing it through the doorway lengthwise. This time, however, he simply propped it up by the doorway, before shutting the door quietly behind himself with a gentle nudge. He sat down against the wall, cross legged, by his naginata, interlocking his hands with each other as he waited patiently.
Angel and Akeeta hopped off of Fluttershy's back, landing on all fours on opposite sides of the pegasus. Akeeta scampered over to Benkei, letting him give her an inviting smile before offering his palm for her to crawl into. The grey bunny obliged, hopping into the center of his hand as he scratched her behind her ears affectionately. The little bunny almost purred with delight at the soothing action. However, after Benkei retracted his hand, she pointed happily to his face, or rather, right beside it, to the spot right beside his cheek.
Benkei chuckled softly to himself, before nodding approvingly, bringing his hand up to his shoulder, and letting the bunny hop onto his shoulder. While Benkei interlocked his hands once more, Akeeta snuggled up close to Benkei's cheek, letting the warmth of his skin penetrate her fur. She rather liked this spot.
Meanwhile, Twilight was scouring through row after row of books straight from Celestia's personal library, and a few from the Canterlot Archives, pulling a few out a time from the endless crystalline shelves with her magic, skimming them briefly as they floated in the air, before placing them back in their proper place.
Benkei had been watching the whole thing intently, rather amused by the strange levitation and kinesis Twilight was performing with her magic, as if it was no big deal. He had given up being surprised at the oddities of this land, instead electing to simply enjoy whatever may come, rolling with the punches so to speak. It baffled him as to how she was doing it, but he at least understood that she was using the horn atop her head to channel some sort of energy to be able to levitate and float objects around. He figured this out by noticing the identical magenta aura that surrounded both her horn, and anything that was being levitated in the air.
He cracked a slight smile, idly entertaining the idea that he might have somehow gained access to magic. Then again, thinking back to the incident in the forest with the strange serpentine creature, he began to realize that it might not have been so far fetched. He looked at his hands for a moment, searching for the same kind of magical aura that Twilight had, but no avail. He chuckled to himself, dismissing the notion. Still, he enjoyed watching Twilight use her own magic that was ethereally enchanting in how strange it was to Benkei.
Twilight went through nearly two dozen books, before finally pulling out an old, dusty tome gilded in bronze, of all metals. The cover of the ancient book was simple, depicting a stylized male human's outline, with a few odd arcane symbols scattered around it. Twilight blew the dust off of the cover with one great gust, before carrying it over to one of the circular wooden tables scattered around the room.
She dropped the book on the table, her magical aura fading for a moment, before sparking back to life to turn the pages of the book. Fluttershy scooted up next to her, an expression of curiosity taking hold of her features.
As Twilight skimmed the book, Angel plopped himself down by a bookshelf close to Benkei, crossing his fuzzy little arms as he looked at Akeeta nuzzled up to Benkei. He tried to restrain his thoughts, but was unable to, giving into the images in his mind. His thoughts vividly depicted the two of them cuddled up next to one another, a thick blanket draped over himself and Akeeta, a crackling fireplace illuminating them in a dark room on a cold winter's day. He shuddered in excitement at the thought, as he felt himself getting goosebumps. He ripped his gaze away from her, almost wincing in pain and blushing slightly, turning to look at Twilight and Fluttershy.
"Alright Fluttershy, let's take this one step at a time," Twilight said, continuing to flip through the book, before stopping on a page containing a diagram of the human skeleton. Fluttershy's expression shifted to one of uneasiness upon seeing the rather disturbing image, but she continued to look on.
"I didn't quite catch his name Fluttershy," Twilight said, her eyes skimming the page, looking for useful information.
"Oh, goodness, that's right! I can't believe I forgot to properly introduce him. Twilight, this is Ben Khay," Fluttershy said, gesturing to him by the doorway. He gently nodded in response, his eyes soft and kind.
"Okay, Ben Khay is a human Fluttershy. In scientific terms, his kind is known as Homo sapiens sapiens. Equestrian mythology dating back to before even the three tribes tells of these humans. While ponies rely on magic to accomplish most things, humans were not so lucky, being poorly attuned to the magical fields of the universe. Instead, they had to rely solely on their intelligence. Their ingenuity is what really defined them, " Twilight said , paraphrasing what she was reading in the tome so that Fluttershy could better understand it.
Fluttershy had a look of awe and wonder in her eyes, her ears perked up intently, listening to and hanging on every word Twilight was saying. She looked over her shoulder at Benkei, giving him an approving smile, before Twilight continued.
"But see, Fluttershy, the main thing to note about humans, is that they never existed. At all. They have always just been ancient mythology, tall tales whispered among those who were lucky enough to even have known about them. So, him being here not only doesn't make any sense, it's downright impossible," Twilight finished , pointing at Benkei before turning the page with her magic.
"Do you know anything else about him? I've been wondering what he's been wearing. I-It looks like some kind of armor, but I've never seen anything like it before," Fluttershy asked, as she looked over her shoulder, looking at the complex black armor Benkei was wearing. Twilight glanced over at Benkei, and couldn't help but soften her expression upon seeing Akeeta snuggled up beside his cheek.
"I-I'm not sure what kind of armor that is Fluttershy. It's certainly nothing I've ever seen before. Even when I was living in Canterlot, the Royal Guard's never wore anything even remotely similar, which doesn't surprise me, seeing as he shouldn't even exist," Twilight said putting a bit too much emphasis on the last part of her sentence.
"Twilight, don't say that! Ben Khay is definitely different, but he's ... " Fluttershy stopped for a moment, stealing a glance at Benkei over her shoulder, before finishing her sentence with renewed confidence " ... he's my friend."
"No, no, I didn't mean it like that Fluttershy, I was just trying to say that humans are supposed to just be myths, legends," Twilight replied, trying to clear her statement up and salvage the conversation. She looked at Fluttershy pleadingly, forcing the pegasus to soften her expression.
"Anyways, it'd probably be best to let you know that Ben Khay is also carrying an arsenal of weapons on him. I can only assume the two scabbards on his side are housing swords, and that pole that keeps getting stuck in the doorway is probably a halberd of some sort, " Twilight said, pointing first to Benkei's swords, and then to his naginata. " You can imagine why I reacted like I did when you two arrived."
"Well, I had a similar suspicion honestly, and I was more than a little frightened too when I first met him, " Fluttershy said embarrassingly, blushing slightly as she recalled fainting upon first seeing him. "But after spending some time with Ben Khay, I can tell you he's just a big softie. He reminds me of my bears a little. He's certainly as big as one."
Twilight glanced over at Benkei, sizing him up again. He was built like an ox, and even sitting down, he was at eye level with Fluttershy. Even though Twilight had gained a few inches of height thanks to her new alicorn status, Benkei still dwarfed her in terms of sheer size. His broad chest was easily double that of any normal pony's, and his height when standing was in excess of even Celestia herself. He truly was a mountain of a man, and Fluttershy was not incorrect in comparing him to bear.
"I won't argue with you there Fluttershy," Twilight said in agreement, returning her attention to the tome, using her magic to skim a few pages ahead.
Angel had gotten up and moved to a bookshelf opposite where he was sitting, on Benkei's right side, where Akeeta was still nuzzled up to him. He looked at her for a few moments, hoping to garner her attention, but her sights were dead set on looking at Twilight and Fluttershy.
That's not to say she didn't notice him. Akeeta was well aware she was being stared at, and shifted uncomfortably in her spot. She could practically see him out of the corner of her eye, and the more she remained where she was, listening to Twilight ramble on, the more her thoughts drifted to to her little white admirer off to the side.
She blinked hard, before quickly glancing at Angel who was now looking at the ground in front of him, a tuft of his fur shrouding his eyes. She let her gaze remain locked on Angel, despite every fiber of her mind telling her to look away. She felt so wrong, and yet she couldn't stop herself. Angel suddenly shifted his position just enough so that he noticed Akeeta staring at him.
She quickly tore her vision away from him, trying not to blush and failing. She wriggled herself out of the nuzzle with her FuzzyFace, and quickly dropped over his shoulder, sliding down his large shoulder pad, and onto his forearm, before hopping onto his knee and then onto the ground. She executed the entire thing with one swift motion, as she hastily tried to relocate herself to a less obvious spot.
Angel had seen the whole thing and once again found himself staring at Akeeta. He had to shake his head a few times to free himself from her, struggling to return his view to Twilight and Fluttershy.
Twilight was about to speak, when a sudden thought smashed into her, distracting her from what she was originally going to say.
"Uhm, Fluttershy?" Twilight asked nervously, her head turning to meet the butterscotch pegasus's eyes.
"Yes Twilight?" she said politely, curious as to what she would ask.
"How ... " , Twilight began, glancing at Benkei, " ... how exactly did you manage to get him here in the first place? For that matter, where did you even find him? It's not every day that a legend comes to life," Twilight said, her senses beginning to return to her. She had been so startled by Benkei's sudden arrival that she had forgotten to ask the most basic of questions, overwhelmed by the heat of the moment.
"Well, actually, he found me. I was just waking up, getting ready to arrange a choir with the song birds, and then he came knocking on my door and," Fluttershy said, blushing slightly as she paused, before continuing, " I overreacted to say the least. I kind've fainted when I saw him, and when I woke up, he was offering me some hot tea. At first I was really frightened, and I think Ben Khay noticed, because he tried his very best to try and comfort me. "
"So you don't know anything about how he got here, or even where he came from?" Twilight asked continuing to skim the tome with her magic. Fluttershy shook her head in response as Twilight sighed.
"That's actually the reason I came to you Twilight. I was hoping you could tell me where he came from, and why he's here. Still, I'm glad I finally know what he is, " Fluttershy responded cheerfully, trying to comfort Twilight, who was visibly distraught at the absurdity of the situation. Twilight leaned forward on the table, holding her hooves over her head in stress, trying to decide what to do next.
"Also, uhm, it was early.", Fluttershy added meekly.
"What?" Twilight muttered from her position on the table, lifting her hooves off of her head so that she was able to clearly see Fluttershy, save for the lock of her blueish mane that refused to stay up.
"Y-You asked about how I got him here. I-It was really early, and there wasn't anyone around in town, at least no one outside. So me and Benkei just stuck to the side streets until we got here. I honestly didn't know where else to turn, " Fluttershy said , considering the possibility that someone might have been looking at them through a window on their stroll to Twilight's castle.
Twilight looked at Fluttershy for a moment, before returning her gaze to the tome, and speaking.
"Alright. Well seeing as your guess is as good as mine as to how he ended up here, I feel we should contact Princess Celestia as soon as possible. This text has a lot of information regarding humans, at least according to their legends. Since you seem very interested in your," Twilight paused, hesitating to say the word, but forcing herself to " friend, I feel you should have this book so you can learn a bit more about him. I've already read many similar tomes in my mythology studies, so it shouldn't be too much of a loss from the library. Plus, no one's ever come in, even back when I still lived above my old library , looking for books regarding humans. It was dusty for a reason, after all."
Twilight finished her sentence, quickly closing the book's cover, and sliding it across the table towards Fluttershy. Fluttershy looked at it for a moment, the cover entrancing her, the weathered bronze silhouette of a human shining dully in the sunlight that pervaded all throughout the crystalline library. Golden rays flooded in through high windows near the ceiling, perfectly illuminating the circular tables at all times of the day, save for the night, when magically imbued light crystals took over.
"Thank you Twilight, I really appreciate it. But, uhm I-I'd just like to ask if you know anything about the language Ben Khay's been speaking, or rather, human language in general," Fluttershy said gratefully, before inquiring shyly. Twilight's expression went blank for a moment as she scoured her own thoughts, trying to remember any mention of a human language.
"As far as I remember, humans never spoke one unified language like ponies do. It was a regional custom at best, with each group creating their own. No names are ever given for any of their ancient languages as far as I know, and I'm fairly sure they didn't speak Equestrian either, " Twilight said, combing her thoughts, trying to dig up facts and figures about humans.
She looked over at Benkei, still sitting and waiting in silence patiently, the little grey bunny trying to hide behind him. It was so strange seeing a human in the flesh, and even weirder that he was nothing like she had read about. Her mind stopped for a moment, recalling a startling fact about humans, one that defined them just as much as their ingenuity and intelligence. She shuddered, a bit of color draining from her face.
"F-Fluttershy, there's something you should know about humans though," Twilight said, her tone shifting to a much more grave one. Fluttershy nodded, urging her to continue. " In every text I've read about them, one thing keeps popping up. War," Twilight said, her final word hanging in the musty library air for a few moments, visibly disturbing Fluttershy as she shifted nervously. Twilight shook her head for a moment, putting the pieces of the puzzle together, looking at Benkei, eyeing his armor and his scabbards intently.
"I don't want to frighten you Fluttershy, but after thinking about it, I'm fairly sure Ben Khay is a human warrior. They're similar to the Royal Guard we have in Canterlot, but human warriors are different because ... " she nearly turned white as she looked at Benkei, swallowing hard before continuing " ... because they were trained to mercilessly kill others, " Twilight said, noticing tears starting to form in Fluttershy's eyes as she turned around to look at Benkei, slowly backing away from him.
"I-I'm not saying Ben Khay is like that Fluttershy, but humans , at least in the texts I've studied, had an incredible capacity for brutality. They loved fighting, killing each other over the most petty squabbles. I remember reading somewhere that 'War is humanity's favorite past time', " Twilight said , breathing heavily, and trying to get a grip on herself. She was suddenly several thousand times more terrified of being in a room with Benkei.
She wasn't scared of him in the sense that he was more powerful than her. She had studied about the fall of humanity several times before, remembering exactly why they fell. As more and more magically attuned creatures evolved and began to spread across Equestria, human technology simply couldn't keep pace with the rapidly advancing power of magic. Added to this, infighting among human tribes and cities only worsened their already dire situation. It was the final nail in the coffin for humans, as their civilization was overwhelmed over the next few centuries by creatures so vastly powerful, that human technology couldn't hope to stand against the tide of terrors surfacing left and right. They faded into legend, taking all traces of their society with them.
Yet, the more and more she thought about how much info there was regarding humans, she couldn't help but begin to question whether or not they were truly just legends. Benkei's presence aided her skepticism greatly.
Even so, just being around a human warrior was rather unsettling. She knew she could deal with him if need be, but what really scared her, was what he might force her to do. If there was one thing that human warriors and the Royal Guard had in common, it was that they were both willing to die for their cause. A shiver shot down her spine at the thought of having to end another being's life, goosebumps spreading across her body.
"D-Don't mind me Fluttershy, I was just being overly dramatic. I'm sure Ben Khay is just as you know him to be, " Twilight said, wrapping a hoof around the pegasus in attempt to ease her new found trepidation. After a few moments of silence, Fluttershy was beginning to return to normal.
Fluttershy slipped out of Twilight's arm, and began to slowly inch over to Benkei, who was still sitting patiently by the door, eyeing the gray bunny beside him walking slowly towards Angel. She appeared to be blushing. Hard.
Benkei chuckled lightly at the sight. He was never much for close relationships, aside from that of his late master, but he couldn't help but marvel at the ridiculousness of it all. He was beginning to get accustomed to the odd occurrences in this land. Still, he couldn't help but think to himself about how smart the bunnies must be to have such a human disposition towards each other, especially in such a romantic way.
Rabbit romance? I truly have seen it all ...
He stifled another chuckle. He hadn't been blind to the way Akeeta and Angel had been acting around each other. At first he wasn't sure if he was seeing things correctly, but after silently observing them stealing glances back and forth between each other the entire time, he was sure there was something special about the two. More importantly, they knew there was something special about each other.
Akeeta looked back at Benkei for a moment, her large eyes prying at him, as she wore her deep red blush visibly. Benkei nodded reassuringly, urging her to go for it. He would have found this sort of communication completely ridiculous a few days ago, but after spending a few hours in this land, he found it to be the least odd thing. Akeeta turned way from him and continued toward Angel hesitantly.
Fluttershy stopped right in front of Benkei, who shifted his gaze from Akeeta so that he was staring directly into Fluttershy's imploring eyes. He was face to face with her, and he wore the softest smile he could possibly muster.
"Y-Y-You would never hurt me Benkei, would you?" Fluttershy stammered out nervously, anxiously awaiting his response. Of all the things Fluttershy had said to him in his time here, he had never been so instantly sure of what was being said. He didn't quite understand how he had instantly recognized the words that she had said, but he was sure of what was being asked of him.
He smiled warmly, leaning in a bit closer to Fluttershy, a protective and endearing look in his eyes.
"Īe, kesshite," he said with determination, shaking his head slightly, his smile growing bigger as he said it. But something strange happened as the words echoed around in the large room. To Fluttershy, the words had sounded much different. To her, Benkei had said , 'No, never.'
Fluttershy was instantly overcome with a sense of ecstatic joy and relief, tears welling up in her eyes, as she threw herself at Benkei, hugging him as hard as she could. Benkei recoiled in shock for a moment, before returning the hug hesitantly at first, and then lovingly, wrapping his arms around Fluttershy and embracing her in the euphoric hug.
He closed his eyes, letting a tear slip down his cheek as he embraced her warmly. It had been so long since he had felt the touch of someone who wasn't trying to kill him. He had lost everything in Japan, in his past life, but as he sat there, the sunlight from the high windows of the library enveloping the two in a warm glow, he forgot about it all.
He forgot about the death, the killing, the tragedies and the atrocities he had lived through. He forgot about the day he stood defiantly on that fateful bridge. He forgot about the arrows' piercing his skin, about the agonizing pain wracking his destroyed body, and about his swift death.
In that moment, he could only feel the warmth of the sunlight on his skin, the incredibly soft fur of Fluttershy on his scarred visage, the wetness of her tears through his shawl, and the way her silky mane tickled his worn face. In that moment, the grizzled and hardened Benkei felt something he hadn't felt in a very long time. He felt loved. He felt needed.
In that moment the impossible, was possible.
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This chapter was very sweet.
Good Chapter.
5705672 Thanks! Anything in particular that caught your interest or made the chapter good?
Boom, pure connection.
5705677
The introduction to Twilight flowed very nicely. I liked that the most.
I always knew that Flutters liked big, strong whatevers... Oh, and Benkei can give both the Solar and Lunar Guard a run for their money.
Awwwwww! So sweet! Fluttershy has a new precious friend and there was even Bunny love!
man you have crafted a story that im checking back daily for new updates to
the characters are amazing and truely believeable
the way you portray them is fenominal in both its detail and its immersive capabilities
you want to know who they are and what they will do
the bunny love stuff i must admit is not my favorite and i could do without it but it does not break the story for me
but over all your writings are awesome and i cant wait for each new chapter
5710976 Thank you very much for your kind words.
I know the rabbit romance (tm) is a little odd, but it will be taking a backseat for a bit, soon enough. Im writing this story in the hopes of playing to my strengths (emotionally charged scenes with powerful words, and descriptive writing) while also challenging myself by exploring new areas I'm not the greatest at, like romance and dialogue.
Nonetheless, I'm glad you're along for the ride.
As per your request, here are my thoughts on this story.
To start, I will say immediately that I am not a fan of HiE stories. Most of them are cheaply-crafted self-insert fics that are poorly written, include situations that only look to project the author's overwhelming desire to have a relationship with a character from the show, yada yada etc etc. I generally avoid these stories and most any sort of story involving humans outside of the EqG universe.
Then we have crossovers. Two franchises or other sorts of subjects mashed into a story together for contrived reasons. We have the typical 'adjustment period' which is common to both crossover and HiE fics that is generally predictable and is only necessary to avoid even further contrivance in the plot. Another genre that has rare gems and mostly horrid sludge that would only work as a torture method to give Guantanamo Bay prison a run for its money. Perhaps I'm overly harsh on these two genres of fic, but I rarely, if ever, read them. In fact I would say that I actively avoid them.
Yet despite the fact that those two genres are so easy to turn into a putrid sludge not even worth looking at, this story seems to have beaten the odds and given a story that is worth giving a damn about.
Your writing style is, as far as I'm concerned, excellent. You tread the line of show/tell very carefully and the result is excellent, flowing description that never comes off as heavy-handed. I need to take some notes on your style, in fact.
The writing style is exquisite, and that makes this story very readable from the get-go, but the plot is once again relying on that cliche "supernatural forces conspire to send our hero to Equestria" kicker. It worked for the first year or two of fanfic in this fandom, but now that nearly everyone and their dog has attempted this plot thread, it counts against you. HiE stories, at this point in the fandom's progression, need something fresh to really hold attention and give a story that hasn't been told in some way or another 1000 times before it in the last three years.
Speaking of fresh, how about your choice of a crossover? This is one of the few stories that takes a historical figure and incorporates it into the land of Equestria that I've seen (excluding the obvious Hitler in Equestria comedies) I like Benkei's calm demeanor, plus how you have him speaking actual Japanese shows some real dedication to the crafting of the story. Props to you for that.
And now the subject I was waiting to tear into: The Rabbitmance! To tell you the truth, I think you could just send Benkei home and let the Emperor do what he wills to him, because you have pulled my attention to the absolute diabetic coma-inducing romance subplot. I found myself reading with my attention on those two and Benkei in the background, like how Derpy stole the spotlight from Applejack in The Last Roundup. Akeeta is best rabbit, both for her blushes and for her attitude. Plus telepathic rabbit communication? Kinda iffy of an idea, but you pulled it off well.
So now that you should rename this story to something along the lines of Of Rabbits and Romance, let me get to my verdict.
Plot: Has some cliche moments, but the story is fun and I genuinely enjoyed it. 15/20
Writing Style: Grammar is good and the style is wonderful. 19/20
Character Development: Akeeta. Need I say more? 18/20
Structure: Had a moment or two with point of view switching that tripped e up, but other wise good. Pacing is excellent. 17/20
Originality: It's an HiE and a Crossover, but it somehow manages to have some original things and not use the exact same story as countless others. 14/20
Overall Score: 83/100
You are doing well, as my completely contrived system of grading reiterates. I'm sure that I will be hanging around and seeing what you do with this story. Now for you to hold up your end of the bargain and review my story
! Hope this helped!