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C0mpassi0n

Zero experienced one of the deepest sleeps he's ever had, which would have been refreshing if it weren't for the possibility of him not waking up at all. Fortunately, he began to stir, slowly opening his eyes to reveal an unfamiliar and dark room, for the sun had yet to risen. As his eyes adjusted to the dark,He attempted to turn his head in order to get a look of his surroundings, but was stopped when a spike of pain shot through his neck. He was aching and sore all over, no doubt thanks to his collision with that tree in the forest. He then felt a weight shift on his body lightly. He managed to raise his head enough see what the disturbance was. There, half seated on a chair at his bedside and the rest buried into his left side, was Fluttershy. Zero assumed she had kept vigil throughout the night before her urge to sleep finally overcame her. He couldn't help but smile at how adorable she was, not mention the thoughtfulness behind her actions. His smile soon faded as guilt fell over him. He felt horrible for making her witness the brutality of his duel with the manticore. He could only hope it would have no long term psychological effects on the poor mare. Zero sighed deeply, accepting the fact that he was going to be stuck here for quite awhile. He began to recount the events of yesterday, specifically his fight.

"Unacceptable", he mumbled to himself.

The fight should have ended much earlier and in more favorable terms for him. In reality, the feat he accomplished was unheard of. Nopony would ever dare stand before a manticore, let alone almost slay it. However, to Zero, his performance was pathetic. His skills had dulled during his time in Equestria and so his first order of business after he recovered was to resume his daily training regime. He would not let himself be caught in another near death situation again. With a goal now in mind, he had to kill the indefinite amount of hours he would be incapacitated. He began his massacre of time with his signature haikus.

"My skills are now weak/ This is unacceptable/ I will correct this.", he began. He kept this going for quite awhile, long enough for the sun to begin its rise. He narrowed his gaze on the mare resting on him, delivering his final, most heartfelt haiku yet.

"I live due to you/ Your acts have spared me from death/ I owe you my life.", he concluded. He would find a way to return the favor, though it seemed impossible. How could he repay someone for saving his life? Before he could ponder upon the question, the meek voice he was all too familiar with now spoke up.

"Twilight was right, your poetry is beautiful", said the mare with a hint of amazement. She must have been up for a good portion of Zero's haiku marathon, for she did not have the appearance of one who had recently awoken, her eyes alive and alert.

As she raised herself from his body, Zero caught sight of the bandaging that encircled his body. He was unsure of how the mare was able to do this, for he was much bigger and heavier than she. Fluttershy noticed his look of confusion, and as if she had read his mind, began to speak up.

"My animal friends helped me.", she explained, "They were especially eager to help after I told them what you did for me, especially Angel.", she pointed a hoof at her prized bunny. As Zero shot the bunny a look, he could have sworn the critter had given him a military salute. He assumed his eyes were playing tricks on him, returning his focus to Fluttershy.

"I only sought to protect you like I promised I would. I'm sure anyone else would have done the same", he stated, downplaying his feats.

"But nopony would have gone into the forest with me in the first place", she quickly said. Before Zero could react, she gave him a very warm embrace. "That was the kindest thing anypony's ever done for me.", she finished. Zero could only sit there, unable to resist the mare's hug due to his weakened state. However, upon further thought, he probably wouldn't have pushed her away if he could. He knew she needed this hug much more that he did. Then his mind settled on her words, specifically "kindest". Could this possibly mean he now had an understanding on the subject? He decided to risk a question.

"It's safe to assume/ I know enough of kindness/ to please the princess?"

The pegasus held her iron grip on the stallion, "I think it's safe to assume you knew kindness way before you even met me. You're one of the nicest ponies I've ever met", she stated with a squeeze.

Zero was taken aback by her compliment. Was it true? Was kindness that easy for him to grasp? Being an assassin did not leave much room for kindess to grow. However, it was possible that he did not completely discard it either. Rather, he could have just hid it deep in the recesses of his mind, waiting for the day in which he would be able to release it and allow it to bloom, so to speak. This brought a strange sense of comfort to him, and before he knew it, he was returning the mare's hug, despite the pain he was causing himself. He had never held someone before without the intention of killing them. It was a nice change of pace.

Their embrace lasted a good couple of minutes before Fluttershy finally broke away, a blush evident as she realized she may have overdone it just a bit. Zero took this time to ask a question that had been bothering him since awaking.

"How long do you think I should rest?", he inquired.

"Oh I don't know, atleast a week, though you might be able to walk again within three or four days considering how strong you are.", she responded with a slight blush.

"I see. I should be fine for tommorow then.", was all he said.

"What? No, that's too soon! You're just going to hurt yourself again!", stammered the mare with concern.

"No need to worry/ I know my body's limits/ I will be just fine.", he spoke assuringly. His haikus seemed very capable of ending arguements, for this caused the mare to back down.

"O-okay, if you insist.", she said, defeated.

The remainder of the day was uneventful. The only strange thing Zero had noticed was that the bunny, Angel, he had saved yesterday was not following his caretaker around. He instead opted to stay by Zero's side, monitoring the door as if he were some kind of guard dog. Zero found it admirable that the bunny wished to repay the one who had saved him from the manticore. As day turned to night and into day again, Zero was able to pull himself out of bed. He knew he should get atleast another day's rest, but he did not want to waste any more time than he had to. He wished to begin his training immediately. After another slighty drawn out hug and salute from Angel, Zero left Fluttershy's caring hooves. He made his way home as his body rebelled in pain, though it was not nearly as bad as he had believe it would be. Upon arriving at his destination, he did not enter his home. Instead he trotted towards a field that was within viewing distance. The field was completely empty, providing a perfect place to begin his training. He did not want to alarm anyone who may catch sight of him, for carrying weapons in this small town seemed to be unorthodox. He removed his pack, only his blade hilt in hand. He watched as his blade digistructed before him, a sight that never grew old to him. He ran his hoof along the edge of the blade before looking ahead towards the emptiness in front of him.

He rose on his hindhooves and assumed a combat stance. And then he began.

To an onlooker, it was as if he were dueling an imaginary swordsman. He cut away at the air in front of him, occasionally assuming a defensive position and unleashing a pretend riposte. His movements were elegant, as if this were simply a dance and his blade was his partner. He continued this for about five minutes before digging his sword into the ground and assuming a hoof-to-hoof combat stance. He unleashed a variety of punches and kicks, though technically everything was a "kick" with hooves. As he went about his training routine, he was unaware of the fact that someone was watching him. It wasn't until the onlooker spoke that he was alarmed to the presence. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a cloud descend with a pony atop it.

"Whoah! Those are some swe-.", Rainbow Dash was cut off as Zero had resumed hold of his blade, now pointing it towards her. Upon realizing who it was however, he dropped his alarmed status, redigging the blade into the ground, leaning against it as he gave the cyan mare a questioning look.

"Is there something you need?", he asked.

It took some time for the pegasus to recover, as Zero had startled her with his reaction. "Uh..no, not really. I was just watching you from up there," she pointed a hoof towards the sky, "and noticed your moves are almost as awesome as mine!", she gave a smug grin.

Zero raised an eyebrow, "Almost?", he asked coldly.

Dash stumbled over her next words,"Well maybe we're uh..on equal levels of awesome...or something." She couldn't tell why but the stallion before her instilled her with fear.

" I see.", Zero stated, "But there has to be some reason you are here. What do you want?", he asked again.

"Well you see", Rainbow Dash began, deciding to tell the truth, "I was wondering, since you have to do that test thingy for the princess, if you could spend the next day with me? I really want you to teach me some of those awesome martial arts skills you have!", she then put on a display of some sterotypical karate moves.

Zero gave the request some thought. Not only would he be able to begin learning of another Element of Harmony, but he would also be able to continue his training, considering the mare wished to be taught to moves he was just demonstrating. He nodded.

"I accept."

"Sweet!", exclaimed the pegasus, "I'll see you tomorow, Z!", and with that she was gone.

Zero sat himself next to his blade, which was still deep within the ground. He watched as the sun began to set, providing quite the sight. Satisfied that he had a task set for the next day or two, he allowed himself to rest while admiring the beauty of nature before him.

"Though the sun is set/ My journey has just begun/ This should be quite fun", he finished with a smirk.

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