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Episode 6

With the Main 6 and Princess Kunou - Edo City

The carriage was alive with looks of amazement as the carriage rode through the cobbled streets of Edo City. They had never been to a place so exotic. Even places like Griffonstone and the Crystal Empire paled in comparison to the splendor of this metropolis. There were Kitsune and strange flying creatures in the air that they didn't recognize. Rainbow Dash was the first to notice them.

"What are those?" Rainbow asked Kunou.

"Those are Tengu. They help carry messages and make up a portion of our empire's military," Princess Kunou replied.

The others were gawking out of the window at the winged Tengu. The Tengu were large humanoid creatures that had bright red skin and long noses and pointed ears. The large feathered wings on their backs carried them aloft in the air with remarkable speed and agility.

"I'd love to race some of these Tengu some time," Rainbow said.

"If you do, make sure you're respectful. The Tengu can get pretty grumpy," Kunou said.

"I'll keep that in mind," Rainbow said.

As they continued looking out the window, Rarity tried to suck in as much as she could about the different clothes the citizens were wearing. When she got to their footwear, she turned to Princess Kunou.

"What shoes are they wearing?" she asked, pointing to some of the passersby.

"Those are geta shoes. They're a pretty common type of footwear around here," Kunou replied. "They're supposed to keep the feet free of dirt and snow."

"That sounds like an interesting idea. I may incorporate that into my next line of Eastern-style clothes!" Rarity said. "I'm just brimming with ideas."

As the carriage rode down the street, the people stopped what they were doing to bow at the Imperial carriage before they got a good look at who was inside it with their beloved princess. When they did, the carriage was being closely followed by a few of the Kitsune until a sizeable crowd had formed to follow them. Their Samurai escorts were doing everything they could to keep the crowd from getting too close to the carriage. One of the Samurai leaned down to one of the windows to talk to the Princess.

"Your Highness, may I suggest that we go down a different street?" he asked. "These are becoming too hard to negotiate!"

"That sounds like a good idea!" she said before walking over to the front of the carriage. "Driver, could you take us to the western part of town?"

"The western part of town?" the driver asked in response. "Your Highness, are you sure that's a safe idea?"

"Just do it! We can lose the crowd there!" she replied.

The driver did as he was told and had the horses go down one of the streets heading to the western half of the city. Kunou was laughing about the crowd that formed.

"Looks like the people aren't used to seeing foreigners, yet," Kunou said.

"Will we be getting looks like that everywhere we go?" Fluttershy asked.

"Probably. Our empire has been closed off from the outside world for so long that those from other countries are all but alien to us," Kunou said.

"I've been meaning to ask, but why was Kihon closed off from the outside world to begin with?" Rarity asked.

The Princess took a bit to respond. It looked as if she was trying to remember something.

"My teachers told me something about why our nation was closed off. They told it was because of a horrendous conqueror by the name of 'Sombra'," Kunou replied.

The ponies in the cart all turned and looked to the young princess with wide eyes. Kunou didn't expect to see such a reaction from them.

"I take it that you know of this conqueror?" Kunou asked.

"Know of him?! We've fought him!" Rainbow exclaimed. "We freed the Crystal Empire from that guy!"

"Well, Spike was the main one to help," Fluttershy said.

Kunou turned to Spike. "That must have been quite a terrifying ordeal for you."

"I wasn't scared, at all. Though it was tough to save the Crystal Empire with his magic making things difficult," Spike replied.

"The Crystal Demon has quite powerful dark magic at his disposal, so I'm interested to hear your tale of your battle," Kunou said, placing a paw on Spike's arm. The dragon blushed at the touch.

"Uhh, sure. I'd like to," Spike said.

The mares in the carriage giggled at the sight. They looked out the windows again to see where they were. They found themselves in a part of town that looked pretty beaten up and worn down. Each of the buildings looked poorly maintained and the roads were lined with garbage. The inhabitants they saw walking down the streets all stopped to glare at the carriage with angry looks on their faces.

The folks they saw were all Wolves, too. These Wolves all looked ragged with torn clothes and dirty fur. Some of them were holding weapons and looked at the carriage threateningly. It all unnerved the ponies in the carriage.

"What is this place?" Applejack asked. "Looks like a pretty rough neighborhood."

"We're in the western part of the city, where the Wolves are stationed to live," the driver replied.

"The Wolves? You mean the Okami Clan?" Rarity asked.

"Yeah, our old enemies are now part of the empire in brotherhood," the driver said.

"If that's true, then why do you have the Wolves living in a separate part of the city?" Pinkie asked. "They don't look too happy to be here."

"It was part of the peace treaty they signed. Personally, I think we should keep them from living in the city altogether," the driver replied.

Princess Kunou looked out the window to see the sorry state of the Wolves. She looked at one of the houses lining the street and saw a she-Wolf nursing a young pup. The she-Wolf herself looked weak and tired and like she hadn't eaten in a long time. The she-Wolf met the Princesses gaze with pained eyes. Kunou herself felt awful at seeing the sight.

"I... I didn't know the Wolves were living like this," Kunou said.

"You didn't know?" Rainbow asked.

"I don't leave the palace that much, and when I do, I never come here," Kunou said. "I don't think even Sato knows about this. Now that I do, I'm going to talk to my brother about this."

Suddenly, there was a small whooshing sound, a grunt, and the carriage stopped. Everyone was confused, but the Samurai were pulling out their weapons. One of the older Samurai held up a paw to Princess Kunou.

"Your Highness, stay in the carriage!" the Samurai shouted.

"What's going on?" Kunou asked her Samurai bodyguards.

The only reply she got was the sounds of the Samurai grunting and armor hitting the ground. Around them, there were shadows zooming by the carriage so fast, they appeared as blurs. Eventually, the group inside the carriage was met with silence. After what seemed like an eternity, a knock came to the door of the carriage.

"You may as well come out, Your Highness!" a deep voice called. "We know you're in there! Your guards are dead, so you may as well comply!"

"Who are they? Bandits?" Applejack asked in a whispered voice.

"I don't know, but we may as well listen to them," Kunou said. Before she could open the door, Spike grabbed her wrist.

"We can't do that! We don't know what they want or what they're gonna do!" Spike said.

"It'll be worse for us of we sit in here and don't listen to them," Kunou said calmly.

"Okay, but we'll jump in and fight if we need to," Rainbow said.

Princess Kunou slowly opened the door of the carriage and was met by a large Wolf dressed in all-black clothes and wore a wide-brimmed straw hat shielding his face. The Wolf reached into his pocket and pulled out a small white orb from a hidden pocket. The Wolf's appearance sent a shiver down Kunou's spine, but she maintained her composure.

"Can I... help you, sir?" she asked with a wavering tone.

The straw-hatted Wolf didn't respond with words. He threw the white orb against the ground and a green powder exploded from within it. Kunou, Spike, and the ponies all started coughing at the smell of the powder. The more of it they breathed in, the more and more lightheaded they all felt until they each lied on the floor of the carriage unconscious.

The deed done, the straw-hatted Wolf was joined by two subordinates. Without turning to face them, he pointed to Kunou and the others.

"Take them back to the Den," he ordered. "The plan can finally proceed."

"Yes sir!" they said before collecting Kunou and the others.

The black-clad Wolves all made sure to disappear and leave no trace behind. All that was left was the carriage and the dead bodies of the Samurai and the driver. The horses were left to wander the city with no one to direct them.

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