> A Swordsman's Path to Redemption > by axel106106 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue - Second Chances and Setting Things Right > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Swordsman's Path to Redemption Prologue - Second Chances and Setting Things Right *Japan* It had been a while since Kenshin had been in Japan. Kenshin had been traveling for five years now helping and rescuing anyone in need as a result of him deciding to resume his role as a wanderer once again. His life was perfect back at the dojo, he had a loving wife Kamiya Kaoru and his son Kenji Himura, but that was the problem, his life was perfect, he believed that he did not deserve such happiness due to the many lives he has taken as the Hitokiri Battōsai. Sure he wasn’t Battōsai the Manslayer anymore but, still he had to live with the guilt of all the lives he took during the revolution. But at the moment that didn’t matter, the only thing that mattered was getting back to the dojo so he could her one last time. At this very moment most of Kenshin’s body was covered in open sores and the skin on his arms and legs started to become discolored to the disease that was currently afflicting him, he had an idea how he contracted it. During his travels through China a fire broke out in a small village that he was traveling through while most managed to make it to safety there was still a young child that was trapped in one of the burning buildings, without thinking kenshin immediately kicked in the door and found the child in the very first room he walked into. He rescued the child without a problem and brought the child to a local doctor, he found it strange that no one bothered to help the child, especially when the child’s house was not even on fire. He later found that the child was afflicted with a rare form of the plaque which would spread throughout the body at an extremely slow rate but at the same time was 99% lethal and extremely excruciating. Unfortunately he contracted the disease a few weeks later. At first it started out as nothing more than a mere cough and slight fatigue….at first. As the weeks passed Kenshin’s body was wracked with the most excruciating pain he had ever experienced in his entire life, eventually it got so bad that he would often pass out from the pain while he was screaming in agony at night. The fact that he even made it back to Japan was a miracle in itself; he would never have made it if it were not for Sanosuke’s help by getting him to Shanghai and getting him passage on a cargo ship. Kenshin knew long ago that he was dying and that there was nothing he could do to stop it, no cure, no medicine, all he could do was make the time he had left count. As he got off the boat he knew he only had mere minutes if not seconds to live, he was going use the very last moments of his life by being with the woman he loved the most, Kamiya Kaoru. As he made his way back to the dojo he had to use whatever he could to support himself as he could barely walk let alone move. As the disease progressed he could barely tell what was going on around him, the disease would eventually take away one’s sight, hearing, and eventually their mind. As came upon the dojo struggling with every step, he saw her….. He saw Kaoru off in the distance in no better shape than he was. As he struggled with the last few bits of strength and life he had in him, he walked up to his wife and collapsed into her arms. “I told you…*huff*…I would…*huff*…Come back.” Was all he could say before slipped into unconsciousness. As his wife stroked his crimson red hair she noticed something. Kenshin’s scar was gone. It was then that she realized. Kenshin was dead. ______________________________________________________________________________ *Equestria – near the Everfree forest* It was midday and three little fillies were at their usual antics of trying to get their cutie marks in anything they could think of. “Ahm not so sure we should be venturin in the Everfree forest.” Said the young filly with a heavy southern accent and cherry red mane with a pink bow in her hair as she walked with her hands in the pockets of her jeans. “Ah come on, nothing’s going to happen Applebloom, besides what’s the worst that could happen anyway? We’re not going to go into too deep, just a little ways is all.” Said the orange filly with the purple mane dressed in a black track suit while riding her scooter. “Besides, we’re already gonna be in a lot of trouble when the girls find out that we the played hooky from school today so we could go crusading.” She added. “Scootaloo’s got a point.” Said the snow white filly with the light purple mane dressed in light blue dress with white frills on it. “Rarity’s going to be upset, and overreact as usual when she finds out I cut school today, she’ll probably say “My sisters cutting class, she’s turning into a delinquent!” you know, the usual drama queen act.” “That ain’t no act Sweetiebell, she is a drama queen.” Applebloom stated They all laughed at the idea of Rarity’s reaction to them skipping school. They continued to walk for ten minutes in silence before Applebloom decided to brake the silence. “So wat are we goin ta find our cutie marks in today girls?” “How about we try finding our cutie marks in treasure hunting?” Scootaloo asked “Nah, we did that last week. How bout findin it in exploring the Everfree forest?” Applebloom answered. “That’s impossible, there’s no way to explore the entire everfree forest it’s to darn big, it would be easier to try and tame a manticore!” the white filly replied. At that exact moment the three young fillies all came to the same idea after hearing the white filly’s reply and screamed. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS MANTICORE TAMERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Then they all took off into the forest. ______________________________________________________________________________ *The Void* All Kenshin could see was darkness. Complete and total darkness was all that surrounded Kenshin. “Is this the afterlife? Or am I in hell?” Kenshin thought as he floated in this darkness. “Neither my red headed, facially scarred, trouble making friend.” said a mysterious voice which caused Kenshin to panic at the surprise. “Who are you, where am I, am I dead, and I am not a trouble maker!” Kenshin yelled in a panick at his current situation. “In order, I am Discord Master of Chaos, somewhere between dimensions, sort of, and yes you are.” Said the strange voice as he revealed himself to Kenshin. Kenshin was silent for a moment as he gazed at what appeared to be a man with a face which reminded him of a horse mixed with a dragon with mismatching horns, crazy white hair, and limbs which looked like they were from different animals, all while wearing a weird looking suit that had many mismatching patches of cloth and colors sewn together into a tacky suit. As Kenshin stared at the strange man in front of him he replied. “I do not purposely start trouble, that I do not!” “Maybe not, but you do have a bad habit of it following you around.” Discord replied. “Even so, that does not make me a trouble maker, that it does not!” “Even though you say that, I find it hard to believe. You are a trouble maker.” “No I’m not.” Kenshin replied more confused than irritated as to why he would be called a trouble maker. “Yes you are.” “No I’m not.” “Yes you are.” “No I’m not.” “What about when you were the Hitokiri Battōsai?” Discord asked. “….” “My point exactly.” “WAIT! How do you know about?” Kenshin Asked with wide eyes “I am the embodiment of chaos. Why wouldn’t I know about you?” Discord said with a deadpan look screamed “seriously”. “Even Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie know of your legend from reading books from Fluttershy’s neighga collection!” said Discord as he snapped his fingers and mad a glass of chocolate appear out of now took a sip from the glass. “…..Who?” asked the swordsman with a confused look. “You’ll know soon enough.” He said as he tossed the glass behind him said which caused it to burst into an explosion. This caused Kenshin to have a dumbstruck look. “What do you want with me Discord-san?” asked Kenshin after regaining his composure, growing suspicious of why the spirit of chaos would want anything to do with him but still maintaining his polite, yet goofy disposition he was so well known for in life. “I really must be dead if I am speaking with a spirit.” Kenshin thought. “Don’t worry, you won’t be for long and don’t be so formal Kenny.” The Draconequus says as he snaps his fingers and a flash of light appears. As the bright light fades, Kenshin finds two things different, he is now wearing his old light red kimino with white pants and he is now once again carrying his trade mark reverse blade sword. “sakabatō, but I gave this to Yahiko years ago!” Kenshin examined the sword with amazement. “It’s an exact copy of the one you wielded in life in every way.” Discord chuckled at Kenshin’s amazement. “Why are you doing this for me, and why would I need these if I’m dead?” the former manslayer asked with his expressions showing great concern. “Well, you see I too have done some things in my past that not many people look to highly upon, I personally think they were just a bunch of crybabies. But that’s beside the point, I’ve been reformed now, that’s why I’m going to give you a chance at a new life Kenny, and for where I’m sending you, trust me when I say you’re going to need them.” Discord said while floating in the air on his back with his hands behind his head and a smile on his face. “Oh and consider this a gift” Discord snapped his fingers and at that moment Kenshin felt a strange sensation of tingling and burning all over his body which caused him to double over in pain, grunting and coughing. As he slowly stood up as he began to recover. “What *huff* did you *huff* do to me?” he asked with labored breath. “See for yourself.” The crazy looking man/creature said as he snapped his fingers and a mirror appeared in front of Kenshin, which made the swordsman’s eyes go wide with what he saw. “I made your body revert back to the age of 21 years old” Discord added. “How did y_” Kenshin tried to ask but was cut off. “Well, have fun and make sure to play nice with everypony.” Discord said with mischievous laughter. “…….every…pony?” “Also if you value your life find a safe place to hide during heat season.” “What’s heat season?” The naive samurai asked with great confusion but received no answer as the spirit of chaos snapped his fingers and Kenshin disappeared in a flash of blinding light. “This is going to be interesting!” Discord said with smile that could rival Pinkie’s. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Fluttershy’s Cottage – Edge of the Everfree Forest* Fluttershy always enjoyed this time of the day that she had to relax after she was finished with her daily chores of feeding and taking care of the animals she held so dear. She would use this time to read while curled with her animal friends, it was her favorite way to relax. Her favorite book series was The Red Swordsman from her neighga collection which was about a red headed swordsman with a crossed shape scar on his left cheek, she loved the series because instead of resorting to violence, the swordsman would do everything he could to avoid confrontation, but at the same time he was not afraid to defend his friends and the innocent and those who could not defend themselves, and when he did he would make sure to never kill his enemies no matter what. What made her find the story even more interesting was the fact that swordsman belonged to a mythical race of creatures that had the strangest names in her opinion, “humans” they were called. She knew that these creatures were just stories and that they did not existed in any way at all, but she still dreamed of what it would be like to meet the legendary swordsman that was so strong that he would defeat his enemies by just drawing his sword alone. She especially enjoyed the days that Pinkie would come over and read with her. Pinkie Pie always loved the action sequences of the story, Fluttershy on the other hand loved how he just wanted to live a life of peace with those he loved. Despite the fact that he was just a fictional character, they both seemed to have a crush on him. Today Fluttershy was just reading the newest volume of the series while sitting next to her wind and running her fingers through her favorite rabbit’s fur. “You love mama rubbing your fur don’t you Angel Bunny?” she said with a warm and gentle smile, the white bunny just smiled and nodded its head. Her peaceful afternoon was interrupted when she saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders from her window, dart past her home at full speed screaming “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS MANTICORE TAMERS!!!” while running into the forest. “What are those silly fillies up to?” she muttered to herself. Then the cream colored mare’s face went as pale as a sheet when she finally understood what they were planning to do. “They wouldn’t!” She gasped. She ran to the edge of the woods and stopped at the entrance to the Everfree forest. “C-c-c-come on Fluttershy y-you can do this, t-t-those little fillies need you to r-rescue them before they get hurt, now’s not the time to get c-c-cold feet.” She said in a volume that was audible only to her. At that moment there something Fluttershy saw something that appeared to be a shooting star that was heading straight for the Everfree forest. The second it landed there was a loud explosion that shook not just all of Ponyville, but all of Canterlot too at the same time. The cream colored mare was shaking uncontrollably at the events that she just witnessed. She knew what she had to do. “I-I-I- c-can do this” She said to herself shakily and repeatedly as she ran into the woods. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Everfree Forest* Lying in a giant smoldering crater there was a red-headed swordsman with a cross shaped scar on his left cheek that was knocked senseless by the impact of his fall. In his current state, he could think of only one thing to say. “Orororororororo.” > Chapter 1 - Save the children, the Power of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū is Revealed > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1 - Save the children, the Power of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū is Revealed! *Everfree Forest – Present Time* “Orororororororo.” Was all Kenshin could say as he lay in the crater. After a few hours of trying to wait for the pain to subside, Kenshin slowly got up and dusted himself off, as he checked himself for any injuries, he seemed to be completely fine other than some soreness. Kenshin looked around and saw sakabatō lying on the ground to his left. He walked over picked it up and slid it into his obi. Kenshin was quite amazed at the fact that he was even able to move after the way he hit the ground, but remembered all the times that he survived worse injuries, such as the times he accidentally walked in on kaoru while she was bathing. As Kenshin was looking around trying to figure out where he was, he heard what sounded like the loudest roar he had ever heard followed by the sounds of a woman and children screaming. “SOMEPONY, HELP US PLEASE!!!!!” Someone screamed. Kenshin’s suspicions were confirmed, someone needed his help and they needed it NOW! Kenshin broke out into a full sprint in the direction of the screams. “Hold on, help is on the way, that it is!” Kenshin said to himself while preparing himself to do what he does best. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Everfree Forest- 1 hour earlier* Fluttershy had been searching the forest 2 hours now. With each passing second causing her worry and anxiety to sky rocket. She tried to stay calm but it was no use no matter how hard she tried, she could not get her nerves or fears under control. She tried to call out for the three young fillies, but with her timid nature her voice would only come out as a whisper. As she continued making her way through the forest she began to let her fears get the better of her as her mind began to play the worst possible outcomes of what could happen to the three young fillies that everypony cared so much for. She couldn’t shake the images of the girls being hopelessly lost or being attacked by some viscous predators out in the cold dark woods. After another thirty minutes of walking she managed to come upon a clearing in the dense forest. She immediately broke out into a run when she saw the Applebloom, Sweetiebelle, and Scootaloo. She began callout to the three young fillies as she ran towards them relieved that they were alright, but her relief was short lived when she saw what they doing which caused her to immediately come to an abrupt stop as she looked in fear. All three Cutie Mark Crusaders were standing around a sleeping and fully grown adult manticore, when all of a sudden the three little fillies pulled out a blow horn, put it to the beasts ear, and blared the horn as loud as possible. “NOOOO! STOP!” Fluttershy screamed for the first time in her life, not a whisper or normal volume yell, but a loud as hell scream. But it was already too late. The manticore’s eyes shot open and it roared in a fit of rage at be awoken from its slumber, causing the CMC to run to Fluttershy in fear and terror and hug her in fear. Fluttershy and the others only knew of one logical thing to do in this particular moment…was scream. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Ponyville Library - 3 hours earlier* A young lavender colored unicorn with a dark purple mane and a pink streak running through it, she was wearing a light purple suit like vest over a white dress shirt with a dark blue mini skirt, her whole outfit resembled a school uniform. The young mare was busy trying to arrange all of the books in the library that she called home with the help of her young assistant. “How much longer is this going to take, Twilight?” the young baby dragon asked impatiently. “Oh come on Spike, isn’t this fun, what can be more fun the rearranging the library on a Saturday?” Twilight said with excitement. “It’s Tuesday today, we’ve been at this for 4 days straight.” Spike said with a deadpan look on his face. “Wow, time sure does fly when you’re having fun, huh Spike, but I have to agree, it was kind of tiring. At least we’re done and we don’t have to do it again for a while.” She said as she slid the last book on the shelf, thus completing the grueling task. BOOM!!! As the large explosion shakes the entire library, it causes all of the books in the library to go flying off the shelves and on to the ground in a huge heap. “AWW, COME ON!” Twilight screamed. “What was that?” the baby dragon asked in alarm. “I don’t know, but whatever it was it must have been huge.” The lavender mare said “Well whatever it was-*BURB*” Spike was cut off as he let out a belch of green flames which produced a scroll out of the green flames. “It’s a letter from the princess!” the lavender unicorn said excitingly. Dear Twilight Sparkle, As I am sure you already know by now due to the explosion, something strange has happened in the Everfree forest. While I do not know what could have caused the explosion, I do know that it was caused by something very powerful. I have sensed its coming for the past few days now, at first I thought it was nothing but now I see that I was wrong, this presence is far more powerful than anything I have ever felt before. I need you and the other elements of harmony to find out what this powerful presence is. Also, I sense Fluttershy’s presence in the Everfree forest. Please make sure that she is alright. Sincerely, Princess Celestia P.S. please be careful my faithful student. The lavender mare looked at the letter in astonishment and worry. She had so many questions that needed answers, but the question that was eating away at her was “WHAT IS FLUTTERSHY EVEN DOING IN THE EVERFREE FOREST BY HERSELF!” Twilight bellowed. “Spike get the others quickly, Fluttershy might be in trouble!” she said after regaining some of her composure. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Everfree Forest – Present Time* *POV – Fluttershy* The cream colored Pegasus managed to grab all three fillies and made a break for it, but unfortunately no matter how hard or fast she ran, she could not seem to get away from the enraged manticore. To make matters worse she could not fly herself and the frightened fillies out of the forest and to safety due to the fact that her wings were literally scared stiff. No matter how hard she tried to get away she the hungry manticore was always right behind her. She eventually found herself cornered while still holding the three frightened little fillies in her arms. Fluttershy was at her limit both physically and mentally; she was exhausted and had no idea what to do. “F-F-Fluttershy I-I’m scared.” Said Scootaloo while shivering out of fear. In that moment the manticore began to slowly creep forward, baring its fangs. “I-I-It’ll be okay.” Said the cream colored mare to the frightened fillies in her arms as she was tearing up upon realizing that it was going to take some kind of miracle for them to make it out of this alive. At that moment the manticore raised its giant scorpion like tail in preparation to kill it’s cornered prey. Upon seeing this Fluttershy’s eyes shrank to the size of pins upon seeing that this was it, she was going to die. She held the three little fillies tighter and did the only thing she could think of. “SOMEPONY, HELP US PLEASE!!!!!” she screamed at the top of her lungs in pure desperation, casting aside all shyness. She clenched her eyes shut as she saw the manticore bring it’s stinger down. *CRASH* Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes only to find herself and the three CMC in the arms of a strange looking creature with a long red mane and a cross shape scar on his left cheek, that appeared to be male. Her eyes went to the size of dinner plates when she saw him. “You are all safe now, that you are.” He said with a warm and gentle smile on his face. Fluttershy cheeks turned a light shade of pink as she looked at her rescuer; she couldn’t help but feel like that she somehow knew him in some way. *ROAR* Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard the manticore let out a rage filled roar as it pulled its tail out of the spot where they were just standing a few seconds ago and turned its attention back to them. “Please find somewhere safe for you and the children to hide ma’am.” The mysterious red mane creature said politely as he turned around to face the roaring predator. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Everfree Forest – Present Time* *POV - Kenshin* Kenshin stood before the enraged manticore which he gave a death glare that caused the predator to take a few steps back in caution. “I don’t know what you are nor do I care, but I suggest you just turn around and leave this woman and her children alone.” Kenshin said with while still maintaining his death glare on the creature. The manticore regained its nerve and roared at the red headed warrior in anger to which he did not even flinch or blink. (Start Badass fight music) “I see that there is no other way than, how unfortunate.” He said, as the angry predator raised its tail and began to through a flurry of strikes at him at lightning speeds that made its tail appear as a blur as it attacked. All of which Kenshin dodged with relative ease. The beast thought that its attacks were fast enough to catch Kenshin, but to Kenshin the manticore appeared to be moving in slow motion. Kenshin ducked under a claw swipe and drew his while smashing the blade into its lion face, thus breaking its nose, causing it to roar in pain and rage. “I will give you one last chance to leave this place peacefu-“ Kenshin was cutoff as the angry beast caught kenshin off guard as the creature lunged at him with a new burst of speed that almost rivaled kenshin’s, allowing it to slash him across the chest with its claws. “AGHH!” The red headed samurai screamed in pain. Causing the mare and fillies he was protecting to panic as they saw the blood running down his chest, causing Kenshin to become just that much more determined to defend them. He launched himself at the manticore with such amazing speed that it caused him to disappear before everyone’s very eyes. Causing the enraged beast to look around in confusion for its opponent until its attention was drawn to a voice directly above it screams. “HITEN MITSURUGI-RYŪ: RYŪTSUISEN!!!!!!!” Kenshin brought his sword directly down onto the dumfounded predators face from a 100 foot drop which gave him enough force to knock out the manitcore the second the blade made contact its face. The second the manticore hit the ground 9 more came out of the forest and into the clearing and began charging at Kenshin at full speed, Kenshin managed to dodge all the swipes and slashes from their tales and claws in the beginning, but the sheer increase of their numbers proved to be a problem for Kenshin. Kenshin would duck and leap out of the way of one strike just to be hit by another. “I have fought countless enemies and opponents in the past but nothing like this.” He thought himself. Despite his injures Kenshin managed to catch on to the group of manticores attack pattern very quickly. He saw that one would attack him in the front while 2 other manticores would go for his left and right sides at the same time while swipe at his back with its claws or tales, Kenshin learned very quickly to stay clear of the manticores tales as he saw a purple liquid drip from their scorpion like stingers to which he could only guess was poison. When the maniticores tried this strategy again kenshin managed to dodge the first attack that was directed towards his front by lunging at the manticore to his left to which he gave 2 rapid strikes to its jaw and face, knocking it out. He turned around to see the three manticores charging at him at full speed with the other five not far behind, he sheathed his sword and charged at the oncoming onslaught. As kenshin approached the first manticore he drew his sword at such a high rate of speed that the charging manticore never even saw Kenshin’s attack. “HITEN MITSURUGI-RYŪ: RYŪSHŌSEN!!!!!” He screamed as he delivered an upward slash to the first manticore’s jaw knocking it out from the sheer amount of pain of the strike. As the creature collapsed Kenshin locked his sights onto the next attacker that was intent on ripping him to shreds. As the beast came within just a few feet of him, Kenshin sidestepped the attack. “HITEN MITSURUGI-RYŪ: RYŪKANSEN!!!!!!” Kenshin shouted as he pivoted on his right foot, allowing him to spin in a full circle and slamming his sakabatō into the back of the creatures head sending it flying into a tree due to the momentum from its charge and the strike combined. *CRASH* was the only sound the sound the creature made as its head slammed into the tree rendering it unconscious. “Four down, six to go.” Kenshin thought to himself. Kenshin began to feel the effects of the battle taking its toll on him as he felt himself slowing. “I will not give up!” He said to himself as he continued his charge. Kenshin leaped high into the air as another charging manticore to a swipe at him, managing to slash his left leg with its razor sharp claws, causing Kenshin to scream in pain. “HITEN MITSURUGI-RYŪ: RYŪTSUISEN!!!!!!!” He screamed as dropped from the sky and slammed his sword down on the top of the manticore’s skull causing it’s head to slam down into the ground face first knocking it knocking it out cold and smashing its face in a bloody mess. As Kenshin landed he was struck by a manticores tail with enough force to send him fly back into a tree. As his back slammed into the tree kenshin felt the air go out of him from the impact alone. Only one thing was going through his head at the moment. “This can’t possibly get any worse.” He thought while trying to get up. The manticore drew its tail back and sent it forward aiming for his chest with all its strength, only for Kenshin to try and roll out of the way. While Kenshin did manage to dodge the worst of the attack, he felt the manicore’s stinger slash his arm as he rolled of out of the way of the attack. “AGH!!!!” Kenshin screamed. “Apparently, it can.” He thought to himself as he felt the poison flowing through his veins, feeling like liquid fire under his skin as causing his breathing to become labored as he tried to stand, only fall to his hands and knees as the five remaining manticores surrounded him. (End Song) . Kenshin vision was starting to get blurry from the poison and blood loss caused by the wounds that were all over his body. To make matters worse, Kenshin also felt like he was about to pass out from exhaustion. He had to end this fight soon or else everyone one was about to be these things next meal. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬*POV – Fluttershy* As Fluttershy watched in amazement she couldn’t even process what was happening in front of her eyes. She couldn’t believe it. She saw the manitcores all charging at him at full speed. She stood in awe as she saw him charge at them at such a high rate of speed that there was a loud whistling sound being emitted from the speed he was traveling at which also made him appear as nothing more than a blur. She was amazed at how he brought down the mantores with his sword. “FLUTTERSHY!!!!!” Fluttershy turned to see the rest of the elements of harmony running up to her and the three fillies that were with her with shocked expressions. “WHAT HAPPENED AND WHAT IS THAT THING!!!!!?” Twilight yelled over the sounds of the battle as she pointed at what looked like a red mane creature that was fighting a bunch of manticores all at once with nothing but a sword, who was winning no less. “I don’t know, but whatever he is he saved all of us, please help him! I don’t know how much longer he’s going to last!” Fluttershy said pleadingly. “Wow, he’s really kicking flank out there.” Rainbow Dash said in awe. “AGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!” They heard the mysterious creature scream as he was cut by the angry manticore’s tail. They stared in horror as they saw him scream in pain from the poison. “COME ON WE GOTTA HELP HIM!!!” The orange mare wearing the Stetson yelled. “I'M ON IT!” Twilight yelled as she teleported herself and her friends in front of the strange creature and created a shield with her magic around all of them as the red maned warrior passed out on the ground. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ *POV – Kenshin* He couldn’t believe what he just saw, Kenshin just witnessed the young girls along with the woman that he saved from these strange beasts along with 5 other women appear in front of him in a flash of light with some sort of weird purple bubble surrounding them, but that was the most he saw as he slowly slipped in to darkness as he passed out. Kenshin found himself surrounded by darkness and silence. That is until he heard a voice. "Its been a while, hasn't it?" The mysterious yet very familiar voice said to him. “Who are you?” Kenshin asked cautiously. “You seriously don’t remember me? That hurts me deeply; we used to have so much fun together during the Meiji Restoration.” Said the voice growing closer, putting Kenshin on edge and sending a chill down his spine. “What are you talking about and who are you?” Kenshin replied. “Why don’t I show you.” The voice said as it stepped out of the darkness. Making Kenshin go wide eyed at what he saw in front of him. Standing directly in front of Kenshin was himself. It was like he was looking into a mirror. The only differences were the fact that it had pale yellow eyes that glowed and a demented grin plastered across its face. “What are you?” Kenshin said taking a step back. “I’m you, the side of you that is Hitokiri Battōsai.” “What!? That is impossible!” Kenshin said with his eyes the size of dinner plates. “Calm down, I’m actually here to help believe it or not.” Said Kenshins dark side with an emotionless expression. “How is this even possible?” Kenshin asked “No time to explain, you need my power if you’re going to win this fight and survive.” “I’ll never go back to killing and why should I trust you?” Kenshin said with an edge to his voice. “I never said you said you had to go back to killing…… yet. And you really have no choice if you want to live.” He said as Kenshin glared at him. “Besides, how are you going to save those women and children without me, don’t worry you’ll be in control….For now... So what do you say?” He asked Kenshin with an empty expression as Kenshin looked like he was unsure of what to do. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Everfree Forest – POV – Kenshin – Present time* Kenshin’s eyes shot open as he tried to get up only to be stopped what he thought was a woman with orange fur that covered her whole body, wearing a western style hat and clothing with an accent he had never heard before and a woman with cream colored fur with pink hair who had wings. What got his attention the most was the fact that their faces didn't look human, they had muzzles like a horse along with the fact that they had tales, fur, and ears on the top of their heads instead of at the sides. He was even more amazed by the fact that some of them had wings while others had horns. “Hold on their sugarcube, ya need to take it easy. Ya just gonna make the poison spread more if you keep moving.” The woman wearing the Stetson said. Kenshin could see the five remaining manticores slashing at the lavender bubble that was surrounding everyone. He could see cracks starting to appear on it from the constant barrage of attacks. He saw what appeared to be a young woman with lavender fur with a horn on her head that was glowing and she appeared to be very exhausted. “It’s not gonna hold much longer.” She said through labored breath. Kenshin didn’t say a word or even look at the six woman and three children as got up and grabbed sakabatō and walked towards the shield made of magic as if he were in some kind of trance. Before anyone could stop him, he walked through the shield and absorbed it into his body causing everyone to stare at him in shock as his body began to glow and become surrounded by a dark blue aura that surrounded him like flames. (Start badass music 2) As the first manticore charged at kenshin he drew his sword and struck the angry beast in the side so hard that the strike sent it flying and crashing through a bunch of trees knocking it out as it crashed to the ground. As the four remaining manticores looked at the blood covered Kenshin they began to back away in fear as they looked into Kenshin’s eyes which glowed an eerie yellow. Shaking off their fears the four manitcores all charged at Kenshin at full speed, all of them slashing and stabbing at him with their claws and tails. The red haired swordsman dodged all of the attacks as if they were nothing as he moved at such a rate of speed that it appeared as if was disappearing and reappearing everywhere as he dodged. As Kenshin ducked under a claw swipe from one of the manticores, he delivered an upper cut with his blade directly to predator’s chin causing it to land on its, scoring another KO for Kenshin. As Kenshin disappeared again he reappeared behind another manticore, causing it to turn around in which Kenshin took the opportunity to slam his sword into the angry manticore’s face sending it flying 20 feet through the air before crashing to the ground in an unconscious heap. As Kenshin turned towards the two remaining and now frightened manticores. Kenshin disappeared and reappeared in front the mane six and the cutie mark crusaders and simply said in a very calm voice as he sheathed his sword. “HITEN MITSURUGI-RYŪ: RYŪSŌSEN” Both manticores roared in pain as they were both engulfed in flurry of slashes that seem to come out of nowhere, causing them to pass out and collapse on the ground from the pain and intensity of the strikes. (End song) _________________________________________________________________________________________________ *POV – Mane 6* All six mares stood in awe struck silence as they looked at the strange creature that stood in front of them. *POMF* “So awesome.” Was all that Rainbow dash could say as her wings jumped to attention, both now fully extended. “Really Rainbow, really?” Applejack said as she stared at her friend disapprovingly. “How did you… What are you?” Twilight asked in shock and amazement. Only to see the blue aura around the red mane creature disappeared completely as he passed out on the ground, covered in his own blood. Causing all six mares to run to up to him, trying to help him. “Twilight we need to get him to a hospital!” Applejack said with worry as her and Pinkie Pie both worked together to try and carry Kenshin with his arms slung over both their shoulders. “I’m already on it!” She said as her horn began to glow as they were all engulfed in a bright light as she teleported everyone to Ponyville Hospital. They all reappeared in a bright flash in the Ponyville ER. “THIS PONY NEEDS HELP!” Twilight screamed as all the doctors and nurses ran to them when they saw the bloodied swordsman. Putting him on gurney, they wheeled Kenshin off to surgery and began hooking IVs into him. “Will he be alright?” Fluttershy asked meekly, with pure worry and fear in her voice. “I don’t know Fluttershy, I really don’t know.” Twilight said with fear in her voice. Author's Note: Here is how the mane six will look in anthro form for the story. I will go more into how they look in the next chapter. > Chapter 2 - A Weird Wake Up Call > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2- A Weird Wake Up Call *Kyoto - Meiji Restoration* (Start Song : Bad Company by Five finger death punch) Kenshin was running with his sword drawn and at the ready in the dead of night. As he ran down the streets of Kyoto which were bathed in red with blood, over half of the city was engulfed in flames which lit up the entire night sky with an orange and red hue. Kenshin could hear the screams and battle cries of all of the warriors in the city along with the ringing of swords and occasional gunshot off in the distance. The red headed swordsman was tense and on edged from the battle that was raging on, his sword dripping blood from his previous encounters with the enemy a few minutes before. As Kenshin ran down an alley way, he saw a squad of ten shinsengumi soldiers. Eight of them enlisted and two of them clearly officers, Lieutenants by the looks of it. He dashed towards them without stopping or pausing for an instant without giving his presence away. By the time they realized they weren’t alone, Kenshin already launched himself at the two lieutenants and slashed straight through both of their throats sending a mist of crimson red blood spraying through the air causing the other shinsengumi to panic at the sight of both of their leaders deaths. Kenshin did not hesitate for a second as he moved on to his next opponent. He carved through the next enemy’s stomach before he could even react. “STOP, IN THE NAME OF THE SHINSENGUMI!” screamed one of the soldiers as he charged Kenshin at full speed, taking a swing at Kenshin’s neck, trying to take his head off only to be blocked by Kenshin’s sword. As Kenshin blocked the attack he slammed his elbow into his attacker’s face then stabbed the stabbed him center of mass and twisting the blade of his katana, severing his opponents spine which caused a sickening crack to be heard. As he slid the blade of his katana out of the now dead soldier, he saw the remaining six all charge at him while screaming battle cries. Kenshin leaped over all six of them, as he landed behind them in a crouching position he launched himself at the shinsengumi who was now standing in front of him, stabbing him in the back and ending his life. As the other shinsengumi turned around, Kenshin slashed his next opponent straight down the middle from his head down to his stomach. The other swordsman looked to the assassin that was now drenched in his victims blood. Two of the four remaining swordsman lunged at Kenshin as he was sheathing his sword. One attacked high while the other attacked low, Kenshin jumped between both sword strikes and rolled into one-knee kneeling position behind them as he drew his sword at lightning and slashing them both deeply across their backs, slicing their lungs open. As they both collapse in bloody heaps on the ground Kenshin turns around and slowly walks toward the last two shinsengumi who were quivering in fear to the point that they were barely able to hold onto their swords. “P-p-please s-spare us. W-we surrender!” said one of the trembling warriors with tears in his eyes. While Kenshin continued slowly walking towards the two remaining shinsengumi silently. “I CAN’T DIE HERE!!! AHHH!!!” Screamed the other soldier as he charged Kenshin in panic and desperation. Kenshin simply ducked under his slash and stabbed his katana straight through the shinsengumi’s skull, the blade entering from under the chin and exiting through the top of the skull. As Kenshin removed the blade from the soldier now turned corpse. He turned to the last shinsengumi who fell backwards in shock from the ruthless massacre that he just witnessed at the hands of the red headed assassin that stood infront of him, staring at him with cold and empty eyes. “WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!!!, I SAID WE GIVE U-GAHH!!!” screamed the last soldier in panic and desperation as his sentence was cut short along with his life by Kenshin’s blade as he slashed him across the chest so deep that it slashed his aorta in two, causing a fountain of blood to spurt out of the dying shinsengumi’s chest. Kenshin just looked at the dying man as he was gripping at the dirt from both the pain and the convulsions that were being caused from both the strike and the blood loss. Kenshin knew that there was no way that this man was going to survive, so he decided that it would be more merciful to end his suffering. Kenshin walked up to the dying man and raised his blade his blade ready to end the man’s suffering until he saw the dying man’s eyes which were pleading with Kenshin to not kill him, causing him to pause….for a second. *SHINK* That was the only sound that was heard as Kenshin slid the blade between the man’s eyes and piercing his brain thus ending his suffering along with his life. Kenshin slid the blade out of the man’s skull and slung the blood off of his katana right before he sheathed his sword. (End Song) As Kenshin was about to take off to find more enemies in the city he noticed that everything was dead quiet. No screams, no battle cries, no sounds of swords clashing. Just…. Nothing. “Maybe the battle is over… But no, that can’t be right; I would have heard cheering of victory or something… Something’s not right.” Kenshin thought to himself as he began to walk. Only to notice that his footsteps did not make a sound, normally this wouldn't mean a thing to Kenshin, he was an assassin after all which required him to be quiet and stealthy most of the time. But what caused him to find this disturbing is that when he took a step his foot landed on an old piece of wood on the ground which caused it to snap in half. But yet it made no sound at all. Kenshin began to wonder what was going on until he heard something behind him. As he turned around quickly he saw the corpse of the man that he just killed start to stand up. “Murderer.” It said in a low raspy voice as it was now standing up and slowly walking towards Kenshin. Kenshin slashed the walking corpse with his drawing strike only to see it did nothing. As he went wide eyed at what he was witnessing, he was snapped out of his state of shock by the sound of movement. As he turned around to see what was behind him, his blood ran cold to see the corpses of the nine other shinsengumi begin to shuffle towards him. As Kenshin tried to fight off the oncoming corpses he came to another horrifying realization, he couldn’t move a single muscle no matter how hard he tried, he was completely defenseless. “Murderer…..Murderer…..Murderer.” Was all the corpses said as they continued to shuffle towards Kenshin. As they encircled him, the corpse of the shinsengumi that begged for his life limped up to Kenshin with his in one hand. “You can’t escape what you are Battōsai.” It said as it raised its sword above its head ready to end the red head’s life. “You are nothing….but…..a….MURDERER!” The corpse bellowed as it brought its sword down on the now defenseless and immobile Kenshin. As Kenshin saw the blade come down on him everything went black. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Ponyville Hospital – Present Time* Kenshin’s eyes shot open as he woke up in a cold sweat. ”*HUFF*…*HUFF*…..*HUFF*…Just…a nightmare.” Kenshin said as he shot up in his bed, immediately regretting it. Kenshin felt a huge surge of pain course through his body as he tried to sit up in bed. “I feel like I just went ten rounds with Saito.” Kenshin grunted in pain. As Kenshin managed to sit up, he realized that he wasn’t in the forest anymore. Kenshin turned his gaze to see a strange machine that kept making a beeping sound that had long thick cords that were stuck to his chest and weird little thing that was gently clamping on to his index finger and was connected to said machine. “What is this? Better yet, where am I?” Kenshin said as he looked around the white room that was filled with weird devices that he has never seen in his life. Kenshin looked at his body to see that his clothes were gone and all he was covered in were bandages. “I can barely move, I have no I idea where I’m even at, and I don’t even have my sword. This cannot get any worse.” The bedridden swordsman thought to himself as he closed his eyes to rest them for a few seconds. As Kenshin opened his eyes, he could feel only one thing and one thing only at what he saw. Terror, nothing but pure terror, far worse than what he could ever fathom, far worse than what he experienced during his days as an assassin. Lying on his chest was what appeared to be a strange looking pink woman with beautiful light blue eyes with wild and pink poofy hair that looked like it has never seen a comb in her entire life. What caught him off guard the most was the girls feature, her ears were pointy and on the top of her head and they would flick every now and then. Her pink skin turned out to be a pink coat of fur that covered her entire body, and her face appeared to resemble that of a horse’s muzzle, along with that, instead of feet she had hoofs. Overall she resembled some type of horse like woman. She was nose to nose, or in this case muzzle to nose with Kenshin, and she had a grin that went from ear to ear. “Hi I’m Pinkie Pie, what’s your name, do you wanna be friends, what’s your favorite type of cupcake, ooh do you like cupcakes, how did you take on all those manticores you were like nobody messes with my friends and they were like roar I’m gonna eat you and then you were like pow pow slash and snickety slice and then you had the blue glowy thingy and beat them all Mr. Red Swordsman!” “Apparently it can.” Kenshin thought to himself. To Kenshin’s horror and amazement she said all of this in one single breath without pause or stopping for air, and she said it so fast that he could not understand half of what she even said. As Kenshin was awe struck at what he just witnessed, the pink mare asked one last question that sent him over the edge. “Oh oh oh do you like parties!?” she said as she pressed her face closer to his pinning him against the backrest of the bed. ”AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” _________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Ponyville Hospital, Outside Kenshin’s Room – Present Time* “I have never seen anything like it, this is an entire new species just waiting to be documented and studied! Just think, we will be the first to make contact with this new intelligent species that has just appeared in Equestria for the first time in Equestrian his. Just think of what he could teach us.” Twilight squeeled. “What makes you think he’s intelligent, Twi?” Rainbow laughed “From the little that he spoke I could tell that he is able to speak and form full sentences.” Twilight said as she shot a glare towards Rainbow. “He’s mighty strong and fast for someone so scrawny, if ya ask me.” Applejack stated while adjusting the hat on her head. “Pff, not as fast as me, I’m not impressed.” Rainbow Dash scoffed “Say’s the mare that got a wing boner jus’ from watchin him fight.” Applejack said with a sarcastic smile. “….” “That’s what I thought.” Applejack said with a triumphant smile. “He’s very kind and sweet and he did save us.” Fluttershy said in soft tone while her face grew a slight shade of red. “The power it has is amazing; it looked like he’s well trained in the use of swords, definitely not any style that the royal guard uses, that’s for sure.” Twilight said with her hand on her chin while lost in thought. “He certainly is dashing, but his fashion sense is simply HORRID! Did you see the rags he was wearing!?” Rarity cried with her hand on her forehead for dramatic effect. “I’ve seen that style of clothing before in a history book before. I think it’s called a kimono, an eastern style of clothing from Neighpon, and his sword looked like that of a katana.” Twilight stated in a matter of fact tone. “I think he might be a samurai, they haven’t been seen for thousands of years! A new species and an ancient warrior race all in one day! Oh I can’t wait to find out what he knows!” Twilight squealed while jumping up and down in place while clapping her hands. “Darling you should take it easy on the poor stallion, he hasn’t even woken up yet and the doctors said that he was lucky to be alive. Also, what in Equestria is a samurai?” The white fashionista asked the lavender mare with curiosity. “Samurai are an ancient type of warrior from neighpon, very similar to the knight. Their sword skills are said to be so legendary that a single samurai could take on whole entire battalion of the most elite royal guards. They followed a code of honor known as Bushido.” “What’s that?” Rainbow Dash interrupted the lavender mare. “It means Way of the Warrior which basically conducted everything from how they fought on the battle field to how they lived their everyday lives even to how they died. It’s sort of like how a knight follows a code of chivalry.” Twilight stated which caused Rarity’s eyes to light up with wonder and delight at hearing this. “Are you saying that he’s some manner of knight and is possibly of nobility?” Rarity squealed. “Yes actually, most samurai were of nobility.” Twilight answered. “Oh finally, my knight in shining armor has arrived!” The white mare said with joy. “Oh great, another Blue Blood.” Rainbow Dash scoffed. “Actually Dash your wrong, most samurai had no problem with getting down and dirty when the situation called for it. When they weren’t fighting they spent their free time honing their skills with intense physical training and martial arts, but at the same time they made sure to stay well educated. They skills were in such high demand that they were often used as elite bodyguards for royalty and Elite infantry for militaries. A good example is his sword, while the royal guards swords are made mainly for intimidation and show, his is made for constant use and durability and its design allows him to have a much wider and almost infinite variety of techniques at his disposal.” Twilight informed. “What happened to them?” Fluttershy asked in soft tone that was barely audible. “Nobody really knows, they just up and vanished. From the look of him, I think he’s a Ronin.” Twilight replied. “What’s that?” The cream colored mare asked. “A Ronin is a master less samurai who has no one to serve; he’s basically a wandering swordsman-for-hire.” “So he’s a bum.” The cyan Pegasus stated with a deadpan look. “Rainbow! You shouldn’t say things like that!” Fluttershy said softly while hiding her behind her pink mane while nervously moving in her seat. “Hey it’s been awefully quiet, has anyone seen Pinkie Pie?” Applejack asked with concern in her voice. But before anyone could respond to her question, it was answered with an ear shattering scream. ”AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” > Chapter 3 - Introductions and Deranged Women > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 3- Introductions and Deranged Women *Ponyville Library* “I heard Twilight mumbling something ta herself about somethin’ called a Samurai when she was talking about that stallion that saved us.” Applebloom stated while waiting for Spike. “Whats that?” Scootaloo asked with curiosity. “Ah think it’s what that strange thing that saved us is.” Replied the yellow filly as Spike came out from the back of the library with a book. “Here you go, what do you need this for anyway?” The young baby dragon asked as he handed Applebloom the book. “Huh, oh we jus’ wanna find somethin’ out real quick.” The southern filly said with a smile. “Ok, well I’m gonna go back to my nap, seeya.” Spike said with a yawn while heading upstairs to sleep. The three young fillies then made their way to a corner in the back of the library where they would not be disturbed. As they sat down cross legged on the ground around the book titled “The Samurai: Neighpon’s Ancient Warriors”. As they opened the book they looked on in amazement as they read the information. “It says here that a Samurai would begin their Samurai training as soon as they were born!” Sweetie Belle said, amazed by the info. “Shoot, that’s younger than us!” The southern filly with the red bow said with surprise. “Why are we reading this anyway instead of trying to find our cutie marks.” Scootaloo asked in an annoyed tone. “We are, were tryin’ to fiquire out what it is! We could get our cutie marks as creature identifiers!” Applebloom retorted while pouting. “Hey look, there’s a picture of one it’s dressed the same way as the creature!” Sweetie Belle said. “We did it! Did we get our cutie marks!?” Scootaloo said with excitement as she and the other crusaders checked the shoulders and hips for their cutie marks only to be disappointed by the lack of them. “Nope, no cutie marks. Well that was a waste of time.” Complained the orange Pegasus. “Wait a sec’, I just got an idea on how to get our cutie marks.” The southern earth pony said with a sly grin. “You do!” The other two crusaders said in unison. “Yeah, but first we gotta catch us a samurai, come on girls!” Applebloom said as she and the other crusaders ran out of the library screaming “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS SAMURAI CATCHERS!!!” ________________________________________________________________________ *Hospital* ”AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Kenshin had been screaming for a total of ten seconds until he stopped for air. All of a sudden the door to the room burst open as more of the strange horse girls he saw from the forest came running into the room at full speed. ”WHAT IN THE NAME OF CELESTIA IS GOING ON!?” Screamed the purple horse girl that Kenshin saw in the forest causing him to go silent when he saw her along with her friends enter the room. At this point everyone was now staring in awkward silence at Kenshin with Pinkie on top of him, nose to muzzle. Kenshin realized the awkward situation he was in and did the only thing that seemed logical to him. “IT’S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE I SWEAR!” Kenshin yelled causing Rainbow Dash to fall to the floor in a fit of laughter and everyone else to giggle. “Pinkie get off him, you done scared him half to death!” Applejack said while pulling Pinkie off of the injured samurai. “Don’t worry sugar cube she does this all the time to everyone.” She said tryng to calming Kenshin down. “I can’t believe this is the pony that took down those manticores! He can handle monsters, but he can’t handle talking to a mare!” Rainbow Dash said while trying to stifle her laughter. “Rainbow Dash, show some respect for the poor stallion, he did save our lives after all!” Twilight said while shooting a glare at the cyan Pegasus, causing her to quickly cease her laughter. “I’m so sorry for Pinkie and Dash’s behavior.” Twilight said with worry. Kenshin was speechless at what he was seeing in front of him. What he saw in front of him both shocked and amazed him, these girls had coats of fur covering their bodies with bright colors that no normal horse that he has ever seen have before. Along with that he noticed that they all had muzzles and tails that would swish around every now and then and instead of feet they had what could only be described as hoofs and they were all wearing western style clothing. What caught his attention the most was the fact that some of them had wings while some of the others had horns sticking out of their heads while some of them had neither one. He rubbed his eyes to make sure that they weren’t playing tricks on him but sure enough they were real. Kenshin snapped out of his state of shock, and realized that everypony was now staring at him with worried looks. “Oh, It’s quite alright, it wasn’t her fault, if anyone is to blame it is me, that it is. I shouldn’t have screamed.” Kenshin said with a warm smile on his face causing everypony in the room to sigh in relief. “Thank you for being so understanding, anyway I was wondering if I could ask you some questions!” Twilight said with huge grin on her face barely able to contain her excitement. Kenshin thought for a moment while looking at the girls for a moment. “I would be happy to, that I would. But this one would like to ask some questions as well, if that is alright.” Kenshin said to a now squealing Twilight. “Yes, of course! Do you wanna go first!?” Twilight said with a high pitched squeal while clapping her hands together in excitement causing Kenshin’s smile to grow wider at her childlike innocence. “Ladies first.” Kenshin said politely. “Such a gentlecolt! He truly is my knight in shining armor!” Rarity said with excitement, causing everypony in the room to roll their eyes at her dramatics, while causing Kenshin to give a confused look along with his signature ‘oro’. “First question, what is your name?” said Twilight with a quill and parchment in hand ready to record his answers. “This one is named Kenshin Himura, but you can all call me Kenshin if you want. May this one ask who he has the honor and pleasure of meeting?” He says gesturing towards eveypony in the room. “Oh! I’m sorry,” Twilight said with a slight blush, causing her to cease her writing. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, personal student to Princess Celestia and these are my friends here” The lavender unicorn said with pride as she turned and gestured for her friends to introduce themselves. “The name’s Rainbow Dash, the fastest flyer in all of Equestria! So don’t think you can beat me with those fancy moves of yours!” the cyan Pegasus with the tiny black shorts and blue tank top said while flying up to his face with a little edge to her voice, causing Kenshin’s face to turn a light shade of red at seeing how close her face was to his along with how she was dressed. “I would not dream of such a thing, that I wouldn’t. With wings such as yours, I would not be surprised if you were the fastest flyer in the world.” The red head said to the rainbow mane Pegasus causing her to flash a cocky grin. “You know what, you’re ok, but that still doesn’t mean I trust you.” She said still maintaining her cocky grin right before going back to her friends. Kenshin mentally laughed at how much she reminded him of Sanosuke, causing him to remember how much trouble they use to get into all those years ago back at the dojo. Also of how good of a friend he was, a good example of this was when he managed to save Kenshin from Kaoru when he accidentally forgot their anniversary that one time. Kenshin was lucky that Sanosuke just so happened to be passing by at the time and managed to sneak him of out of the dojo. In her fit of rage Kaoru apparently had heightened senses and managed to hear them while they were sneaking out of the dojo. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Flash Back - Start* Kenshin was never a man to panic in a life or death situation were his life was on the line. He had fought psychotic serial killers, Shishio when he was hell bent on taking over Japan, fought and survived during the Meiji Restoration, and he even managed to survive fighting Saito. But this time was different, all of his past experiences could never prepare for what he was facing now. Kenshin felt as if he had just unleashed the apocalypse itself and opened the gates of hell all at the same time. “Ooooooh Kenshin, where are you?” Kenshin heard Kaoru call in a sing song voice that sounded both psychotic and demented. “How could I forget our anniversary of all things…… I am so screwed.” He thought to himself. Kenshin had been hiding inside one of the giant flower pots that were given to him as a wedding present by his old sensei for five hours. Kenshin was not particularly fond of them in the beginning but now he was extremely thankful that his sensei went through the trouble of making. Kenshin made a mental note to go and pay him a visit so that he could thank him. “Ooooh Kenshin, you know it’s only matter of time before I find you! Come on Kenshin, I just want to show you how much my knife throwing has improved since that whole circus incident!” Kaoru said as she was searching the dojo with a dozen kitchen knives in each hand. If he ever makes it out of this that is. “Pssst, pssst, Kenshin… over here.” Kenshin heard some say in a very hushed tone that was barely audible causing Kenshin to lift the lid and peek out of the pot he was hiding in to see Sanosuke crouched just outside the dojo’s main entrance trying to conceal himself, motioning for Kenshin. Apparently Sanosuke found out about the whole incident from Yahiko who just happened to be passing by at the time Kaoru lost it and decided to tell Sanosuke who thought it best to get Kenshin out of there before Kaoru turned him from a man to a woman. “Come with me if you want to live.” Sanosuke whispered. Kenshin nodded and slowly made his out of the pot quietly, carefully tiptoeing across the dojo floor trying to make his to Sanosuke. As Kenshin was almost home free when Kaoru walked into the room with a look of pure rage on her face and a murderous glare in her eyes with knives in hand. “THERE YOU ARE YOU BASTARD!!!” She screamed. “RUN STUPID, RUN!!!!!” Sanosuke shouted at the top of his lungs. Causing both men to break out into a full speed run out of the Kamiya dojo, with both men running for their lives. (Start chase music) “What did you do to get her so pissed!?” Sanosuke said as him and Kenshin were running down the streets of the city like mad men with Kaoru hot on their heels hurling knives at them like a lunatic. “I kind of.. maybe.. forgot our anniversary.” Kenshin said with a sheepish smile, causing Sanosuke to eyes to go wide in shock and terror. “YOU WHAT, YOU’VE KILLED US ALL!!!” Sanosuke said with horror as they both turned down an alley way. “It was an accident that it was!” Kenshin said in a worried tone. “Ok, first things first we gotta lose this crazy bitch!” Sanosuke said as he dodged a knife that past him, just flew inches from his head. “Sano! That is my wife you’re talking about!” Kenshin said with an exasperated tone. “So you’re saying that she is completely of sound mind?” Sanosuke asked with a sly grin now slowly spreading across his face. “...” “Well?” Sanosuke pressed as they both turned down another alleyway, trying to lose the deranged woman that was hot on their heels. “…..Just keeping running rooster head.” Kenshin said with an annoyed tone. “You got it chicken legs!” Sanosuke said with a smug grin. Both men proceeded to run weaving in between people, running through crowds, ducking and turning down alleyways. After an hour and a half of doing this, the samurai and the street fighter managed to lose the deranged woman after they took to the rooftops. (Stop Music) “I think…*huff*… we… *huff*… lost her.” Sanosuke said to Kenshin as they both dropped down onto the street below. Out of breath, Kenshin could only reply with a nod. “Lost who?” Someone said in an emotionless voice behind the two exhausted warriors, causing both of them to jump in fright. As both men turned around, they were met with the gaze of a man with amber colored eyes wearing a navy blue uniform with his dark brown hair slicked back with a few strands of hair hanging down in his face. He wore a stern and emotionless look on his face that could strike fear into any man’s heart. “Saito! What are you doing here!?” Both men said in unison with surprise in their voices. “I received reports that there was a deranged knife wielding woman chasing two men that were screaming like little girls. I should have known that it was you two. You both pissed off Kaoru again didn’t you.” Saito said in a monotone voice while taking a puff on his cigarette. “We were not screaming like little girls!” Sanosuke said with an annoyed tone. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Saito said without any hint of emotion in his voice. Before Sanosuke could utter a retort, Saito turned his attention to Kenshin. “Himura, why is your wife trying to kill you anyway?” Saito asked while taking another drag on his cigarette. “Well…I kind of…forgot our anniversary.” Kenshin said trying to sound as innocent as possible. “…” Saito just remained silent while exhaling the smoke. “Saito?” “You’re fucked.” Saito said still keeping his signature emotionless gaze. “We kinda of figured that out Saito.” Sanosuke said with annoyance in his voice. “We managed to lose her, so all we need to do is wait until she’s calmed down.” Sanosuke continued. Saito looked at them for a moment and dropped his cigarette on the ground and stepped on it, snuffing it out before a smirk slowly made its way across the former Shinsengumi Captain’s face. “I don’t think that’s going to work.” Saito said. “Why not?” Kenshin asked with a perplexed look. “Well, let me put it this way. I have good news and bad news.” Saito said still maintaining the smirk. “What do you mean?” Kenshin and Sanosuke asked in unison, with a twinge of fear starting to make its way into both of the men’s hearts as if they were being watched by some unknown predator was stalking them. “The good news is that your wife is out of knives.” Saito said ignoring the men’s question. “What’s the bad news? Wait how do you know that anyway?” Kenshin said as his fears were growing for some unknown reason, it now felt as if a dark presence was standing right on top of them. “The bad news-” Saito began as he lit up another cigarette while still maintaining his smirk. “Is that she is standing behind the both of you and she…is…pissed.” Saito said while flashing one last sadistic grin before turning around walking off saying “I told you were fucked” as he went on his way, leaving the men alone with their now imminent doom. They both turned around only to be met by Kaoru who now was now seething with rage causing both men, filling them with terror. “Kenshin, it’s been an honor my friend.” Sanosuke said to Kenshin, realizing that there was no escape. “It’s been an honor as well my friend.” Kenshin replied right before Kaoru charged at both of them causing both men to hug each other in fear and scream at the top of their lungs as they were mauled by the angry woman. Neither Kenshin nor Sanosuke could remember much of what happened after that except that it was painful, but they did learn a very valuable lesson that day. Never forget your wife’s anniversary. *End of Flashback* ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Kenshin was brought out of his nostalgia when he saw the orange mare with the cowboy hat, flannel shirt, and jeans approach him slowly with her hat in her hands and head hanging low. “An’ I’m A-Applejack….” The farmer said with now a shaky voice and her eyes brimming with tears. “Ah jus’ w-w-wanted t-ta’ say….” The farm mare trailed of for a few several seconds causing Kenshin to worry. As Kenshin was about to ask if she was okay the farm mare immediately lunged at Kenshin, catching him off guard as she pulled him into a bone crushing hug and broke down into tears. “Thank ya, Thank ya so much for savin’ ma’ little sister. Ah don’t know what I would of done if anythin’ happened ta’ her! If theres anything ya need jus’ let me know!” Applejack said in between sobs as she held Kenshin in a vice like hug, cutting off Kenshin’s air supply. “Air…..need…..air….” Kenshin gasped while his face was starting to turn blue due to the lack of oxygen, causing the farm mare to immediately let go of the wounded samurai causing him to plop down in the hospital bed. “hehe….sorry.” Applejack said with a blush rapidly spreading across her face in embarrassment. “It’s ok, there is nothing wrong with worrying about a loved one.” Kenshin said, giving her a gentle smile to show that he was not upset in anyway. But Kenshin’s smile quickly turned to an expression of worry as remembered the children, causing him to bolt upright in bed which sent a surge of pain through his body making him grunt in pain. This caused all the mares in the room to immediately rush to him in worry, trying to check on him and make him lye back down. “Are the children alright!? Did they make it out!?” Kenshin said through the pain in a worried tone. “Don’t worry darling their alright.” Rarity said as she too began to tear up as she looked at the wounded samurai and remembered how he almost died in order to save her baby sister and her friends despite being a total stranger. Despite the fact that it landed him in a hospital bed he was still worried about them. “My name is Rarity, I wanted to say thank you for saving my little sister as well darling. I don’t know what I would have done if anything happen to my little Sweetie Belle.” She said as she wiped away a tear from her eye. “If you need anything just let me know darling.” Rarity said as she walked back to her friends when Pinkie Pie began to bounce around the room and said “Come on everypony cheer up, enough with all the tears and mopey faces. We still haven’t finished introducing ourselves.” The pink mare with the bright pink t-shirt and blue jeans said as she bounced up to Kenshin. “Hi I’m Pinkie Pie, sorry for scaring you earlier.” She said as her mane deflated at the thought of making somepony feel bad. “It’s alright Miss Pinkie Pie, you just surprised me is all and to answer your earlier question, yes I would very much enjoy being your friend that I would.” Kenshin said with a smile which caused the pink mare’s mane to inflate immediately to his surprise. “You would, wowie zowie this is super duperific! Do you like parties!?” She said with a huge grin that spread across her entire face and excitement in her voice as she started to shake in anticipation of his answer. “Well this one has never been to an actual party so-” Kenshin was cut off as the pink mare gasped and instantly pulled him into bone crushing hug that made Applejack’s bear hug look like nothing due to the fact that he could hear his own bones starting to crack. “KENNY’S NEVER BEEN TO A PARTY, THAT’S TERRIBLE! HE NEEDS A PARTY STAT! I’LL THROW YOU THE BEST ‘WELCOME TO PONYVILLE AND THANK YOU FOR SAVING US’ PARTY EVER!” Pinkie said with a shout. At this point Kenshin’s face was turning purple due to the lack of oxygen and along with the fact that his vision was starting to fade. “Pinkie he can’t breathe.” Fluttershy said in a voice that was barely a whisper. “Hehe…sorry.” Pinkie said with a sheepish grin after she dropped Kenshin into a sitting position on the edge of the hospital bed. “It’s..*huff*…Ok.” Kenshin said while trying to catch his breath. After catching his breath for a few minutes he turned to Pinkie and said politely. “Miss Pie, I am greatly honored that you would show such kindness to this one that I am, but you needn’t trouble yourself with-” Kenshin was cutoff. “She’s already gone sugarcube.” Applejack said to Kenshin causing him to look around the room in shock at the fact that she vanished in thin air and right in front of his eyes no less. “She’s like a ninja.” Kenshin muttered to himself slightly disturbed how she could just appear out of nowhere and disappear as if she was never there to begin with. “Don’t worry, Pinkie just loves throwing parties for everypony that she meets. Don’t worry, I’ll tell her to hold off on the party until you’re in better health.” Twilight said with a small laugh. The room grew silent as everypony in the room turned to look at Fluttershy who was trying to stay out of sight by hiding behind Applejack. “And what might your name be?” Kenshin asked the cream colored mare. “Fluttershy” “I’m sorry but this one could not here you.” Kenshin said politely “Fluttershy” The shy Pegasus said in such a low tone that no one could hear her. “It is still hard to hear you, don’t worry I won’t hurt you. Just take a deep breath, count to three, then let it out, I promise you that you will feel much better.” Kenshin said with a kind and gentle smile. Fluttershy was still very nervous but she did as Kenshin suggested. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, counted to three mentally, and then she slowly let the air out as she opened her eyes, feeling slightly better. She slowly opened her mouth and said. “My name is Fluttershy.” The shy mare said in a barely audible whisper that Kenshin just barely managed to hear. “Well Ms. Fluttershy you have a very lovely name, and it is a pleasure to meet you.” Kenshin said with a warm smile causing the shy mare to blush. The room was silent once again for a few minutes before the silence was broken this time by Fluttershy. “T-t-thank you f-for s-saving m-me and the g-girls.” Fluttershy said while tears were starting to well up in her eyes. “You’re most welcome Miss Fluttershy, that you are. I am just glad that you and your friends are okay.” Kenshin said with his signature goofy smile which caused her tears to now overflow as she looked at the injured samurai. Kenshin noticed her distress and began to worry. “Miss Fluttershy what is the matter, did I do something wrong?” Kenshin asked. “N-no, I’m just sad that you got hurt because of me, it’s my fault.” Fluttershy said in a whispered tone which turned to sobs. “If I wasn’t a coward, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.” Fluttershy said in a hushed tone while her sobs grew causing her friends to grow worried and gather around her. But to everyone’s surprise, Kenshin managed to wrap Fluttershy into hug from his sitting position on the bed, while still managing to keep the blanket wrapped around his body. This caused Fluttershy emit a cute ‘eep’ and her face to turn red at Kenshin’s actions. “Miss Fluttershy, you are not a coward, quite the opposite. You are very brave, that you are, what happened was not your fault but mine and mine alone, I chose to take on those creatures I should have taken the fight more seriously.” Kenshin said while trying to calm her down, his statement baffled everypony in the room. “W-what d-do you m-mean?” She said in between sobs with confusion. “A warrior is brave not because they have no fear, but because they are willing to face those fears in order to do what is right. You shielded those children with your own body despite the risks and the dangers of what was happening, you are not a coward, quite the opposite, you are very brave. Miss Fluttershy you have the heart of a warrior.” Kenshin said trying to comfort the distressed Pegasus, Leaving her speechless, no one had ever said anything like that to her she was silent for a few ten seconds until she started to cry into the samurai’s shoulder. Kenshin just held her letting vent her emotions; it was ten minutes until her crying stopped. “T-thank you Red Swordsman, I’m s-sorry for h-how I behaved, I’ve n-never acted like that before” she said in hushed tone with her face blazing red from embarrassment as she got up and started to walk back to her friends shyly when twilight spoke up before Kenshin could ask what she meant by Red Swordsman. “Well now that we have introductions out of the way I’d like us to get back to the questions if you don’t mind.” Twilight said impatiently. “Of course Miss Twilight.” The red head said. “Ok then, oh and just Twilight is fine.” She said as Kenshin nodded. “What are exactly?” Twilight asked. “What do you mean?” “C’mon Twilight, can’t you see that he’s a human!” Pinkie said as she popped out of nowhere surprising Kenshin and the others with her comment. “Pinkie don’t be ridicules, humans are just a myth.” Twilight said with an annoyed tone. “Actually, your friend is right. I am a human.” Kenshin said to the lavender unicorn causing her eyes to go wide and her mouth to drop and her left eye to twitch. “Y-y-you’re a h-human?” Twilight asked in surprise, realizing that Kenshin matched all of the descriptions of humans from her books on mythical creatures in her library. She just stared at Kenshin for what felt like hours in awe but was just ten seconds. “Yes I am a human, that I am, why do you ask?” Kenshin asked with a confused look on his face. His answer caused Twilight to snap out of her trance. “Oh my Celestia! This is a HUGE turning point in the history of Equestria! We have just made contact with a creature that has been thought to be only a myth, I have to record this!” Twilight said as she quickly scribbled down everything that was happening with her quill. “From how you handled yourself out in the Everfree Forest, I believe it is safe to say that you’re a warrior of some sort. Judging by your sword I’d say that you’re a samurai, am I correct?” “Yes, you are correct.” Kenshin said with an innocent look on his face. Hearing this caused Twilights eyes to go even wider with excitement as she continued to record everything that was being said. “Oh yes yes yes, I was right! I can’t wait to study you!” Twilight said while clapping her hands together in excitement causing Kenshin to feel a small sense of fear, but he just shrugged it off thinking that he was worrying for nothing. “Who is your daimyo?” “I have none.” “Oh so you’re a ronin then, interesting.” Twilight said with her curiosity growing more and more by the second, but before Twilight could ask another question she was interrupted by Rainbow Dash. “How were you able to do those things you did during the fight?” Rainbow Dash asked “What do you mean?” Kenshin asked still confused with the whole situation, causing Rainbow Dash to pull out her cell phone to show him his fight with the manticores that she recorded. As the video of the fight played out on the hand held device Kenshin could not help but marvel at the advanced technology that was in front of him. As the video ended Rainbow Dash put the phone back into her pocket. “That was amazing that it was! How were you able to get the pictures to move like that!?” Kenshin asked with childlike amazement at the hand held device. “It’s just a cell phone; don’t they have those where you’re from?” Rainbow asked. “No, I have never seen anything like that before?” Kenshin replied. “We can talk about that later Kenshin, I also would like to know how you were able to move so fast and take on those manticores with nothing but a sword.” Twilight said with a hint of annoyance. “What is a manticore?” “You don’t know what a manticore is and yet you took down ten of them.” Twilight replied with surprised look. “Is that what those strange creatures in the forest are called?” Kenshin said while putting a hand to his chin in thought. “Yes Kenshin they’re called manticores, but you still haven’t answered me on how you managed to defeat ten manticores without killing them and with nothing but a sword!” Twilight said with her impatiens clearly showing now. “Oh that, this one simply used Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū to win the fight.” Kenshin said as if it were nothing. But Kenshin’s answer left all in the room confused. “Oh what’s that is it something sweet that you can eat?” Pinkie butted in. “No Miss Pinkie Pie it is the name of the sword fighting style I use, it allows me to move at high rates of speed using a technique called Shinsoku and utilize my agility in order to take on many opponents all at once single handedly.” Kenshin replied smiling at Pinkie who for some reason was slightly blushing which was hard to tell with her pink coat, Kenshin decided to ignore this because it was probably nothing. “You mean to tell me that there are fighting styles like that! This could revolutionize Equestria! Think of all the possibilities with such knowledge and training, if the guards had that type of training then we wouldn’t need to worry about the changelings invading ever again!” Twilight said as she started to rant. “Um, this one must ask, what are you exactly? You appear to be some type of horse people.” Kenshin asked with curiosity bringing Twilight out of her rant. “Actually we prefer to be called ponies.” Twilight said “Oh my apologies, this one has never met a talking pony before, I meant no disrespect.” Kenshin said while nervously scratching the back of his head. “Oh it’s quite alright darling, you didn’t know.” Rarity said with a reassuring smile. “Um, not to be a bother but does anyone know where my sword is?” Kenshin asked. “Oh oh, here it is!” Pinkie said as she pulled Kenshin’s reverse blade sword out of nowhere. As she moves towards Kenshin to give him his sword she trips sending the sword to go soaring through the air, causing the blade to come out of the saya and stab right the bed right between Kenshin’s legs, just inches away from his manhood. This caused everpony in the room to gasp and gather around Kenshin with worry. “OH MY CELESTIA, KENNY I’M SO SORRY ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?” Pinkie asked with worry. Kenshin was pale as ghost as he looked at were the sword landed, minutes passed before Kenshin said anything while in his state of shock. “L-little Kenshin… you s-still there…SPEAK TO ME!” Kenshin said to his manhood with a shaky voice as he was looking under the covers and between his legs to make sure that he was still a man. After Kenshin made sure that he was still a man and convinced Pinkie that he was not upset at all, everyone managed to calm down and resume their questions. “So Kenshin, what do humans eat for a regular diet.” Twilight asked trying to break the silence. “Oh, humans are omnivores.” Kenshin said causing all of the ponies in the in the room to grow pale and silent. “Y-you m-mean that you don’t just eat plants b-but m-m-meat as w-well?” Twilight asked fear in her voice. ‘Yes Miss Twilight, why do you ask?” Kenshin asked with slight concern in his voice. “D-do you eat p-ponies?” Twilight asked her fear and worry now clearly showing. “No, I would never eat a pony that I wouldn’t. This one has never heard of anyone ever eating a pony before. Why do you ask Miss Twilight?” The red head replied while in his head he was wondering why they would ask such a question, but considering that they were talking ponies that probably only ate vegetation, he could see why they would ask such a question. His answer causing all the ponies in the room to let out sighs of relief. “Well you see as ponies we don’t eat meat, we’re herbivores and we were just a little worried is all. Don’t get us wrong, we ponies know and interact peacefully with a few species that eat meat. It’s just that…instincts you know heh heh.” Twilight said with a nervous laugh. “That’s alright Miss Twilight this one understands, there is nothing wrong with being cautious.” Kenshin replied. “Quite honestly this one hardly ever eats meat, this one’s diet is mainly rice and vegetables, and sometimes fish. I don’t think I could ever harm an animal unless it was in self-defense and even then I would feel bad.” Kenshin added, which caused Fluttershy to form a smile on her face which was hidden behind her pink mane. This caused the mane six to smile at his answer which showed his kind and gentle nature. “He really is the Red Swordsman.” both Fluttershy and Pinkie said to themselves too low for anyone to hear. “What are those things on your hooves?” Twilight asked “Hooves? Oh you mean this one’s feet! Those little things you see on my feet are my toes.” Kenshin said as he wiggled said toes. Causing Twilight to gasp and scribble more note down. “Um Kenshin, not to sound rude but why do you talk so...” Twilight started but was cut off by Pinkie. “Funny! Why do you talk so funny?” Pinkie said in her usual happy go lucky tone. “Pinkie!” All the mares except Rainbow Dash shouted. “Pinkie’s right, he sort of sounds like Princess Luna.” Rainbow Dash replied with a small chuckle. “It’s alright, I understand that the way I speak is a little… weird, that it is. But this one was always taught by his sensei to be humble and polite.” Kenshin said. “Oh, your sensei! Can you tell me about him!?” Twilight said as she had her quill at the ready again. “Well he found me when I was very young and saved my life. He then took this one on as his personal student and basically raised me and taught me the way of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū for many years. His name is Hiko Seijūrō and he is built like a mountain and he taught me everything I know, and that’s… pretty much it.” Kenshin said remembering how his sensei was the closest thing he had to a father. “Wait…that’s it, there’s nothing else that you can tell me about him, the warrior that raised you and trained you for years and that’s all you know?” Twilight asked surprised. “Pretty much. By the way where are we anyway?” Kenshin answered trying to change the subject, due to the fact that Twilight’s eye was starting to twitch which scared him; Kenshin guessed that it was because of the lack of information on his master. Kenshin seemed to guess that she was the very studios type that loved to learn for the sake of learning. But the main reason that he changed the subject was that Kenshin was happy to do anything to get a break from the questions. “You’re in the hospital silly, you’ve been here a little over a week so they could fix your boo boos.” Pinkie said. “I noticed that the blade on your sword is on the wrong side. Is there any particular reason for that?” Twilight interrupted. “And here come more questions, great.” Kenshin thought to himself. Kenshin held up his sword that was still in its saya with his left hand and said. “This is Sakabatō, the reverse blade sword. It was purposely forged this way so that the blade could never kill anyone and so that I could use it to help defend the weak and innocent and all those that need help.” Kenshin said as he set the sword down next to him on the bed. “So Kenshin how did you end up in the Everfree forest to begin with?” Twilight asked with growing curiosity. “Yes darling, I too am wondering how you ended up in such a dread full place.” Rarity added. “Oh that well it’s quite simple actually, you see back in my world I died and ended up in some black void where a weird creature named Discord claim to be the embodiment of chaos brought me back to life and sent me to this world where I landed in a giant crater.” Kenshin said with an innocent smile while the whole room grew silent for an entire minute until the silence was finally broken. “DIED!” The girls screamed in perfect unison. “Yes.” Kenshin said now confused. “DISCORD!” They screamed again in perfect unison. “Y-yes.” Kenshin said getting a little nervous at the girls reaction. “Kenshin you need to tell me everything that happened! It’s very important!” Twilight said as she quickly closed the distance between herself and Kenshin and was now nose to muzzle with Kenshin. “O-ok.” Kenshin said as he told the young mares about how he was sick and dying as was his wife and how his only wish was to see his wife one last time before he died which he managed to do so with Sanosuke’s help and how died in his wife’s arms. He then told them about his meeting with Discord and how he was given his second chance at life and how he ended up in the forest in a crater and how he was the loud explosion right before he met Fluttershy. Kenshin made sure to not mention anything about his days as Battōsai. When Kenshin was done there was not a dry eye in the room. The only noise that could be heard was the sound of light sobbing. “Y-you just w-wanted to see your w-wife one last time b-back in your w-world?” A flat-mane Pinkie said in between sobs. “Yes, that I did.” Kenshin said with a sad look on his face as he turned his face to the ground only to find himself in a group hug with all the girls. “I’m so sorry Kenshin.” Twilight said as she hugged Kenshin. They all stayed like that until the doctor walked into the room. “Am I interrupting something ladies?” The doctor asked while raising an eyebrow, this caught everyone in the room off guard as they quickly broke the hug and turned to face the doctor. “Oh! Not at all Doctor, we were just getting to know Kenshin better.” Twilight said nervously with her face red from embarrassment. “I see.” The doctor said as she walked up to Kenshin. The doctor was young and appeared to be in her late twenties with a red mane and a brown coat of fur. She wore a long white doctor’s coat with a black miniskirt and white shirt while her shoulder had a symbol of a heart and syringe. “Hi I’m Dr. Heart Throb; I’m the one who performed the surgery on you Mr…” “Kenshin, Kenshin Himura.” Kenshin said as he shook her hand. “Well Mr. Himura your very lucky, if it weren’t for these mares you’d be dead right now.” She said as she began to exam Kenshin which took a total of fifteen minutes. As she fininshed her examination. “Well Mr. Himura from the looks of things your be able to check out today, I just need to get the paper work handled and your free to go.” She said with a smile on her face. “Oh, here are the cloths that you had when you were brought in.” The doctor said as she handed Kenshin his torn Kimono, as the girls stepped out of the room so Kenshin could get changed. After ten minutes the girls walked back in to see a fully clothed Kenshin. “Thank you girls for saving my life, but I must be going.” Kenshin said as he slid his sword back into his sash and began to walk off and tied his hair back into its usual style. “What are you talking about, you’re a being from another world, and we can’t just let you roam around all by yourself. You don’t even have a place to stay, what kind of pony would I be if I didn’t offer the human who save my friends a place to stay. Besides since you’re from another world, you’re basically like an ambassador for your people, we can’t let anything happen to you. Besides I still have many, many, many more questions for you about your world this is the biggest discovery ever! But most of all Princess Celestia will want to meet you… Also Ponyville is the only town around for miles. You’ll stay at the library with me and I won’t take no for an answer, and we really need to find out what Discord is up to!” She said as she grabbed Kenshin with her magic surrounding him in a lavender aura bringing him back in front of her causing Kenshin’s eyes to go wide at what just happened. “Besides darling, it would be a crime against fashion if I just let go without some proper attire while you roam around in those rags, I will make you an outfit fit for a warrior of your caliber.” Rarity said. “Miss Twilight… What was that purple glowing thing you just did?” Kenshin asked while still in shock at what he just saw. “Huh oh, you mean my magic.” Twilight said in a casual tone as if it were nothing at all. “M-m-magic?” Kenshin said with his left eye twitching. “Yes, how do you think you healed so fast, as unicorn’s Rarity and I are able to perform magic at will by using our horns, while Pinkie and Applejack are earth ponies they have increased strength and stamina, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are both Pegasus which means they both have wings and are capable of flight. Why do you ask anyway, doesn’t your world have magic?” Twilight explained. “N-no, magic is just a myth in my world that it is.” Kenshin said trying to get over his shock. “What! Really I couldn’t imagine a world without magic, we use it for everything, how does your world even function!?” Twilight said with surprise. “Oh I almost forgot, I still haven’t sent a letter to the Princess about this!” Twilight said as she quickly wrote up a letter and made it disappeared with her magic. Making Kenshin only that much more confused. “Hey Twi I thought ya needed Spike to send those letters for ya whenever ya wanted to talk to the Princess.” Applejack said. “Well usually yes, but I just created a spell few weeks ago that would allow me to send the Princess a letter in case of emergencies. The only problem is that it takes up a lot of energy.” Twilight explained. “Who is Spike?” Kenshin asked as he finally overcame his shock at the existence of magic. “He’s my number one assistant at the library and he’s basically like a little brother to me.” Twilight said with a smile. “I’m sure you two will get along just fine.” She said as Kenshin and her friends all made their way out of the hospital. Kenshin didn’t know what the future would hold for him or his new friends, but he knew that whatever it may be he had to face, it’s what Kaoru would want. Kenshin walked out of the hospital alongside the six mares with a gentle smile on his face as they made their way to the library. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *The Void* “There you go, you are now nineteen years old again and I’ve healed all your previous injuries!” Discord said to the cloaked figure standing in front of him grunting from the pain of the spell. “That fucking hurt.” The figure said. “Oh come now, this pain is nothing compared to the pain you’ve suffered before. You need to be in the best possible fighting shape for what lies ahead in this new world. Besides, don’t you wanna see your friend with the red hair and scar on his face again?” Discord said to the mysterious figure. “You better not be lying to me.” The figure said in a low and deadly tone causing Discord to gulp. “Where do I find him?” “You’ll find in him in a small town called Ponyville.” Discord said. “Why are you doing this anyway, what’s in it for you?” The cloaked figure asked with suspicion. “Oh why ever would you think that I wanted something from you?” Discord said as he disappeared and reappeared right behind the figure with a mischievous grin on his face. The cloaked figure simply turned around and said. “Like I’d believe some miss-matched freak.” This caused Discord to glare at the cloaked figure for a few seconds until his expression changed to a mischievous grin. “Well there is one thing that I do require from you if you want to find your friend.” Discord said while his grin grew wider, causing the cloaked figure to let out a sigh out of annoyance. “What is it?” He said causing Discord to smile. “When I send you to Equestria you’re going to be sent flying past Canterlot Castle, right in front of Princess Celestia’s bedroom window. When you fly past her window I want you to scream just one simple thing.” Discord said, his grin growing so wide that it could rival Pinkie’s. “What is it?” The human asked. Discord whispered into his ear what it was that he wanted the human to say. “Alright, I’ll do it.” He said “Oh before you go, here are some bits for your journey. They’re the local currency, there should be more than enough to last you for a few months.” Discord said as he tossed the cloaked human the bag of money who caught with one hand and hid it into his cloak. “You better be ready Kenshin because I’m coming for you.” The human said with a smirk that was hidden by his hood right before he disappeared in a flash of light. “Looks like red heads going to get a little blast from the past.” Discord said right before he disappeared in a giant confetti covered explosion. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Canterlot Castle – Princess Celestia’s bedroom - Time of day: Night* Princess Celestia was performing her nightly ritual of getting ready for bed. She was sitting in front of her mirror combing her constantly flowing mane until a letter appeared in front of her. “A letter from Twilight Sparkle.” Celestia said as she opened the letter and read its contents as she read the letter’s contents her eyes grew wide at what the letter said as she finished the letter a smile appeared on her face. “It appears that I need to thank this ‘Kenshin Himura’ for saving my little ponies. Also, I would like to know more about this samurai, he could be of great help to Equestria. And I’ll have to have a word with Discord as well.” Celestia said to herself as she stood in front of her bedroom window as she let out a yawn. “Well, I’ll worry about it tomorrow, right now I need a good night’s sle-” Her sentence was cut short as she heard a faint boom sound off in the distance, after a few seconds a cloaked figure with its face hidden by a hood coming from the source of the boom came flying past her window at such a blinding speed that it was nothing more than a blur. As the cloaked figure flew past Celestia’s bedroom window it said something that she will never forget right before it flew past and went in the direction of Manehatten. “I’M WINNIE THE POOH BITCHES!!!!!!!!!!!!” > Q/A #1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q/A #1 Black text: Author Blue Text: Kenshin Red Text: Battōsai We see three men sitting in leather chairs next to each other as the stage lights focus on them. "Hey folks, how's it going I'm Axel106106 but everyone can call me Axel. We're here at the very first Q/A of the very first Rurouni Kenshin/MLP:FiM Crossover." *The crowd applauds* "Well we promised a Q/A special for all of you so here it is, but before we start answering your questions let me introduce everyone here for those of you who are just joining us." *Gestures towards Kenshin* "This here is the world renowned Kenshin Himura, the most famous swordsman to have ever lived...and died...and came back again. "Hello everyone this one is honored to be here." "And here is Battōsai, Kenshin's dark side, well known for his killing prowess." *Gestures to Battōsai* "S'up." "Lets give them a round of applause." *The crowd applauds* "Ok now on to the questions people and ponies. Ok time for the first question. Question 1:"Kenshin, how does it feel to be young again? And do you have any concerns abut being in a new land?" "Well to answer honestly, It feels great to be young again that it does. As for being in new land, yes this one is slightly concerned about being in a new land with new creatures. Due to the fact that I died back on earth I can't go back, so this new world is this one's new home now. I really like the locals of this land, they have all been nice to me." "Don't worry Kenshin, I'm sure that you'll do fine besides you've faced worse in the past." "You make a valid point my friend, but don't get this one wrong this new world is amazing it looks so peaceful and happy. "For the moment anyway." *Smirks* "What does he mean?" "Heh heh...Nothing, nothing at all Kenshin...Uh...NEXT QUESTION!" Question 2: "Author, why did you chose to make a Rurouni Kenshin/MLP:FiM Crossover?" "Well quite honestly I got my inspiration from the fact that I grew up watching the show when I was a little kid and I always loved everything from the story lines to the characters. Also, I searched for a Rurouni Kenshin/MLP:FiM fic crossover but I didn't find a single one so I thought what hell I might as well do it and be the first one to right a Rurouni Kenshin crossover. Besides Kenshin is one of my favorite childhood heroes, whenever I watch the show it brings back good memories. Also the two other main inspirations that caused me to do this are thanks to these 2 amazing stories Home in Banishment which is written by Shadow Lord Malice and Some Where I Belong which is written by Silentpegasus (please check them out, they are worth the read)." "Wow Mr. Axel... That was very kind of you to say... I don't know what to say." "Don't mention it my friend and please, just call me Axel." "Sure thing my friend, but this one must ask, who were your other childhood heroes?" "Lets see...You, Goku, Fang and Max from the Maximum Ride series, Alucard, ,Sephiroth, The Joker, and last but not least Deathstroke." "Um...this one noticed that you named a few villians and psychopaths." "If you think that's bad, you would hate to know who I am a fan of right now, I'd be naming Creepypasta's left and right. *Flashes a demented smile towards Kenshin*" Heh heh...*Gulps*... Uh... NEXT QUESTION! "I've got this. Question 3: Battōsai how would you describe yourself? Simple, I like to think that I'm very calm and collected and deadly." "Calm and collective my ass! What about last week when you got so drunk that you acted like a cross between Jeff the Killer and Bender from Futurama at the Christmas Party!" "That was a one time deal and we all agreed to never speak that ever again! "That was pretty funny when you got up on the table and-" "NEVER AGAIN!" "All right, all right! I'm sorry! Anyway on to the next question." Question 4: Kenshin, What's your opinion of Equestrian fashion? Specifically, about how much more skin/fur it's considered acceptable to expose as compared to where/when you came from? Well Equestrain fashion is very interesting in my opinion. As for how much skin/fur exposed thing. I have to say that some of the clothing of Equestria is very more...uh...'revealing' compared to how things were back on earth. *Scratches back of head nervously* Question 5: Kenshin, Why did you freak out when you met Pinkie Pie? also, how does having your sword again feel? "Miss Pinkie Pie is one of the nicest people- *Pinkie pops her head out of a flower pot.* "Ponies!" *Disappears back into the flower pot* "...Uh...Ponies... that this one has ever met but she just scared me when she popped up out of nowhere and she caught me of guard with how fast she was talking. No offence Miss Pinkie Pie." "None taken!" *Says again from the flower pot and disappears.* "As for having my sword back it feels good to know that I can defend and help people once again that it does." "What the fuck just happened and who the hell was that!?" *Checks flower pot.* "That my friend was Pinkie Pie. My favorite pony and in my personal opinion the best pony." *Pinkie pops up behind Axel's chair, hugging him." "Awe. That's so sweet! Thank you Axel." "HOW THE FUCK IS SHE DOING THAT!" "Your welcome Pinkie. As much as I love to watch Battōsai freak out, we kinda need to move along with the questions." "Okie Dokie Lokie!" *Darts off leaving outline of herself.* "She creeps me right the fuck out.". "Anyway, onto the next question." Question 6: Kenshin, what exactly did Kaoru do to you and Sanosuke when you forgot her anniversary? "There is really only one way that I can describe it." "And that pretty much sums up Kaoru's anger." Question 7: Kenshin, Have you ever shown mercy to your enemies at least once before dying on Earth? "When I was Battōsai, I unfortunately hardly ever showed mercy to my victims. I always made sure to get my targets, I did let the occasional witness go but I can count on one hand the times that I did that. I would rather not delve any deeper, too many horrible memories and regrets." Question 8: Kenshin, What is your opinion on the use of Heavy Platemail, A shield and a one handed sword as a method of combat? "If you use a one handed sword while using a shield you gain more defense due to the shield, but at the same time you sacrifice the amount of techniques you have at your disposal due to only being able to hold the sword in a one handed grip. As for the Heavy Platemail you should have your body very well trained, try doing some weight training so that you can move better under the weight of the armor. Try wearing the armor moving with all the weapons and gear so that way you can get a feel for it. Don't get this one wrong, this style is very effective but you should be well trained in this style first before you try to use it. As for this one, I think that I will just stick to using Sakabatō and Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū. But this one wishes you the best of luck in mastering this style and am happy in helping in anyway that I can." Question 9: Author, what does Kenshin's dark side look like aside from looking like Kenshin? "Well he's always stuck in Battōsai mode so his eyes are always a glowing yellow color and his teeth are all razor sharp like a sharks. Another defining trait is that he looks like a fourteen year old version of Kenshin. Hears a picture of what he sort of looks like. Question 10: Have you read the manga series? Will you incorporate both the anime and the manga because both would be awesome! "I have only ever seen the anime but I do have one volume of the manga series. However, I do plan on using both the manga and the anime in this story. Question 11: Author, how long will this fic be? "Let me put it this way, this fic will be very, and I mean very long. Also, even if this fic were to ever end, I would automatically make a sequel." Question 12: Kenshin will you live in peace or will you follow the path of the sword? "As long as there are those in need, I will always follow the path of the sword." Question 13: Kenshin what was the weirdest thing that you have ever seen? "Well there was this one time a few years back that I was on my way to visit Axel that I saw something quite interesting. This one was on his way to visit the author when I decided to take a shortcut through the woods, it was very late at night. As I made my way through the woods I saw two people fighting off in the distance. One appeared to be wearing a black business suit, he was very tall and had no face what so ever and he had black tentacles coming out of his back. While the other appeared to be a young man that was wearing what I think you would call a 'hoodie'. The hoodie was white but it appeared to have what looked like blood staines all over it and he was wearing black pants. His face looked burnt and it was a pale white, he had this very wide grin that seemed unnatural. His eyes had these black rings around them and had an insane look to them. He was armed with nothing except what appeared to be two kitchen knives and he seemed to be very skilled at using them, while the tall faceless man appeared to be using his tentacles and some strange powers that made it so that he could appear anywhere. I watched the two fight for awhile until this one had to leave due to a fire breaking out in the forest. I don't know who they were, but I sensed great evil coming from the both of them. All this one knows is that it would be very unwise to go anywhere near that forest or those two." "Well that looks all the time we have so-" *Boom* "Hello everypony your favorite master of chaos is here!" "SHIT NOT ANOTHER ONE!" "Hey Discord, good to see you. Sorry to tell you this but we just finished the Q/A." "Seriously! But I was going to give this little get together my own special brand of chaos! Oh well, I was really only here to tell you something important." "Tell me what?" *Discord whispers into Axel's ear.* "YOU DID WHAT! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT HE'S CAPLE OF!" "Well duh, why do you think I brought him to Equestria." "I'm very sorry guys but due to recent events we have to end this Q/A now!" "Well that's all folks! *Snaps his fingers* There was a huge explosion of confetti and smoke and marsh mellows. As the smoke cleared, it revealed the now empty stage as the stage lights turned off and the curtains closed. > Chapter 3.5 Save the School Teacher and DJ (Side Chapter) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 3.5 Save the School Teacher and DJ (Side Chapter) *Manehatten* The cloaked figure had just flown past Princess Celestia’s Bedroom window and did as Discord had requested. He didn’t want to admit it but he found it pretty funny despite the fact that it made no sense to him what so ever. But he quickly realized that he had a bigger problem. As he was flying through the air he realized that he was starting to fall at an angle. The cloaked human started to panic as he was now falling even faster as he saw the ground coming even closer. As he was now falling in a straight drop he managed to spy a dumpster from afar filled with garbage bags. He realized that he had only one shot at this if he wanted to live. Just a second before he could hit the ground he managed to steer himself into the dumpster. There was only one thing that came to the cloaked figure’s mind. “SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!” He said right before he landed in the dumpster. As he landed there was a loud ‘clang’ sound that echoed from his impact with the metal dumpster. The only thing that could be heard was a muffled and drawn out “Owwwww.” As he laid in the dumpster for a few minutes trying to get his bearings he managed to pull himself out of the dumpster and dust himself off. “Damn freaky ass bastard. When I get my hands on him, I’m going to kill him.” The cloaked figure said to himself as he began to look around trying to get a feel for where he was until his gaze landed on a bar called ‘The Fighting Stallion’. “Heh, I could use a stiff drink right about now.” He said as he made his way towards the tavern with his cloak flapping in the wind. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Manehatten – Inside the ‘Fighting Stallion’* “Come on Cheerilee so it didn’t work out between you two, that doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world, besides he was a total prick.” Vinyl said to the young school teacher. “Yeah… Your right Vinyl. But it still feels horrible. Iron Anvil came to the school house a few days ago, just a little after I let the children out for summer vacation…” Cheerilee paused for a moment with her eyes red and puffy from crying and drinking. “Yeah, then what happened… He didn’t get rough with you did he?” Vinyl asked. “No, but he sure wasn’t polite either…” She paused for a moment taking another drink from her mug of beer. “When I saw him at the school, he told me that it wasn’t going to work out and that he found some other mare that was much prettier than me and that I was nothing but a little slut.” She said. “That fucking bastard! What the hell is his problem, you’ve been with him for three years and you never cheated on him once and you’ve always been there for him! But yet he cheats on you and not once has he ever been there for you! And now he just dumps you like yesterday’s trash!” Vinyl spat. “It’s not all that bad.” Cheerilee said. “What do you mean? I brought you to Manehatten for some R&R so you could forget about him. But instead I find you hear getting drunk. How can it not be all that bad?” Vinyl asked. “When he called me a slut and I… kinda kicked the crap out of him… and literally threw him out of the school and told him to never come near me again. I just can’t stand being called a slut. I’ve always lived a respectable life and that’s one thing that no pony can say otherwise about!” The school teacher said with pride. “Damn! Now that’s what I’m talking about! You know you should go for somepony like Big Macintosh he’s always kind and gentle.” Vinyl said with a friendly grin spreading across her face. “He’s a nice a stallion but he’s always too busy with the work at Sweet Apple Acres that he doesn’t even have for dating.” Cheerilee said with a sigh as she finished her fifth mug of beer causing her to start feeling little tipsy. As she did, something caught her eye. In the corner of the bar hidden away was a cloaked figure sitting at one of the tables by alone drinking a mug of beer and appeared to be eating a plate of what appeared to be vegetables and fish. Now it wasn’t uncommon to see carnivores like griffons here in Manehatten and almost every bar and restaurant in Manehatten served meat due to the local griffon population. But for somepony to be able to eat both meat and vegetation was something she never heard of. She didn’t know why but for some reason she just couldn’t help but stare at the hooded figure. Something just felt…off about the cloaked figure. “Cheerilee!” Vinyl said causing Cheerilee to snap out of her deep thought. “I’m sorry what were you saying Vinyl?” Cheerilee asked as her attention was now focused on her best friend. “I said that we came to Manehatten for two weeks of a little R&R, and that you should just forget about him, it’s his loss anyway. Besides you always have me.” Vinyl said with a gentle smile as she hugged her foalhood friend. “Thank you Vinyl.” The teacher said as she hugged her friend back. As they both broke the embrace they were both approached by a light grey unicorn stallion with a black mane wearing blue jeans and black t-shirt. He was accompanied by a huge and very muscular Minotaur that’s head almost touched the ceiling who was also dressed in a similar manner. “Hey there ladies, why don’t you let us buy you some drinks.” The stallion said with a grin that held dark intentions behind it. “No thanks.” Vinyl said coldly. “Just one drink won’t hurt, what do you say?” “Look we just want to be left alone, but thank you for the offer.” Cheerilee said. “Ah what’s wrong we just want to show you girls good time, ain’t that right Steel Grip.” The stallion said to the Minotaur who laughed darkly, but what the two didn’t see was the cloaked figure that began to make its way towards them from the other end of the tavern. “The only thing that you’re looking for is a quick fuck, so just leave us the fuck alone.” Vinyl said in a low and deadly tone. “Ah come on sugar tits, we’d be doing you and your little slut friend there a favor.” He said while laughing to himself, causing Vinyl to lose her temper and as she was about to punch him. But before she could even try Cheerilee quickly turned around and punched him in the face, breaking his nose causing him to fall on his flank much to Vinyl’s surprise. “YOU BITCH!!!!!” He shouted as he got up off the ground, grapping his bloody muzzle while the Minotaur grabbed both of the mares in a grip that was like a vice, preventing them from escape. “Oh we’re gonna have some fun with you bitches tonight, but first I’m gonna take my time with you.” The stallion with the bloody snout said as he drew his fist back to punch the school teacher. As the stallion threw the punch at the mare’s face, Cheerilee clenched her eyes shut in anticipation, but instead of pain she felt nothing. As she opened her eyes she saw that the cloaked figure from earlier had caught the stallion’s punch with his hand and was now slowly squeezing said fist causing it to emit a ‘cracking’ sound. “Two things needle dick bug fucker. 1.) No means no and 2.) You don’t. Ever. Hit. A. Lady.” The cloaked figure said with venom in his voice as he continued to squeeze the stallion’s fist causing him to fall to his knees and grunt in pain. “Who the fuck do you think you are, do you know who I am? I’m Blue Blaze, leader of the Blaze gang!” The stallion said in pain as more of his friends started gathering around the man and the mares ready to fight the cloaked figure. This caused the cloaked man to look at the stallions group of ‘friends’, he noticed that they were comprised of a mixture of Minotaur’s and ponies, all together there seemed to be about twenty-five. “I really don’t give a fuck who you are to be honest. But from what I can see you’re just some wanna be gang leader who can’t fight his own battles on his own so you hire chumps like these guys to fight your battles for you. From the looks of things you had your guys in hiding waiting for you to get these girls alone so you could all jump them. You’re just some coward who likes to prey on women because you’re so much of a little bitch that no woman will give you the time of day. Well that and probably the fact that your dick is so small that it couldn’t even tickle an ant if you fucked it. Did I hit the nail on the head there?” The cloaked figure said right before he picked up the stallion and threw him into his friends. As he did Steel Grip let go of the mares and charge the hooded man from behind. Vinyl and Cheerilee tried to yell out a warning to the stranger but before they could he simply side stepped it and trip the Minotaur as if he were nothing, causing him to go crashing into his buddies who managed to catch him in time. The cloaked man simply looked over his shoulder and asked “You ladies okay?” To which the two mares nodded. “Yeah, thanks.” They both said. “HEY, DON’T FUCKING IGNORE ME YOU PIECE OF SHIT!!!” The injured stallion screamed with rage as he got back up. “DON’T JUST STAND THERE!!! KILL HIM!!!” The stallion with the bloody muzzle screamed. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a good fight. This should be fun.” The man said as he pulled off his cloak and tossed it on the ground. Everyone in the bar gasped at this and backed away when they saw the human. Both Cheerilee and Vinyl just stood there wide eyed with their mouths hanging open. Cheerilee just couldn’t believe what she was seeing in front of her. Everything Lyra told her about humans existing was right! She remembered seeing a picture of a human in one of the mythology books that Lyra would always read and he matched the picture perfectly. The human that was standing in front of her had a large and spikey brown mane on top of his head and was wearing what appeared to be appeared to be a white martial outfit. He wore a read headband and red wrist wrap on his left wrist, while his right hand and stomach were completely wrapped in bandages and he appeared to be chewing on a fish skeleton that was sticking out of his mouth. And instead of hooves he had these weird appendages that Lyra called ‘feet'. But what caught Cheerilee’s attention the most was the symbol on the back of his jacket. Fortunately, Cheerliee remembered some of the Neighponies classes that she took in college; even though she was a little rusty she managed to just make out what the symbol said. The Kanji translated into a single word…BAD. (Start Song, keep the song playing until the entire fights over.) “I’m Sanosuke Saagara, and I’m the guy that’s gonna kicks your asses.” Sanosuke said as he walked up to the Minotaur that he tripped earlier and before he could react, Sanosuke flicked him on the forehead with his finger and sent him flying across the bar and into the wall. Jaws hit the floor and eyes went wide at the display of the street fighter’s strength. Everypony in the room would flinch whenever Sanosuke would bite down on the fish bones, making a popping crunching sound until the fish bones were gone. “This is gonna be fun.” Sanosuke said which snapped the gang of stallion’s and Minotaur’s out of their shock. Five ponies charged Sanosuke to which he charged at them head on in response. As Sanosuke approached his first opponent noticed that the stallion had a pair of wings on his back and to his surprise he realized that it was flying at him. But Sanosuke pushed this to back of his head as he ducked under the flying pony. As the pony flew over him Sanosuke drove his fist upward into the stallion’s stomach sending him upward into ceiling, slamming his head into it and knocking him out. The winged stallion fell to the floor unconscious. As the next two stallions came at the brawler, Sanosuke noticed that they had no wings or horns like the leader. As the first one threw a kick at him, Sanosuke grabbed the kick by wrapping his left arm around the stallion’s leg and grabbed the collar of his shirt with his right hand. At this point Sanosuke threw the stallion into another stallion which sent them both flying across the room. The two stallions landed on top of a table which broke the second they landed on it, they crashed to the floor knocked out. The next two stallions tried to attack the brawler, this time it was a winged pony alongside a ‘normal’ pony from what the brawler could see. Sanosuke threw a right hook to the winged stallion’s jaw before he could even get off the ground, and a left hook to the other stallion’s jaw, knocking them both out before they could even attack. “I thought this was supposed to be a fight but instead you send the runts of the litter at me, I’m disappointed. Why don’t you send those big guys at me?” Sanosuke said sarcastically as he walked towards them slowly with his hands in his pocket. At this point Steel Grip lunged at Sanosuke from behind when he wasn’t looking and this time Steel Grip was successful as he tackled the brawler down to the ground and began wail on him until he was too tired to continue as the Minotaur’s buddies began to laugh. Sanosuke laid there on his back, motionless. The mares could only look on in horror at the bloodied fighter. The Minotaur held a malicious grin on his face as he looked at the dead fighter, but that expression immediately changed to one of pure terror as Sanouke’s eyes shot opened right before his fist shot up and connected with the Minotaur’s jaw. The punch shattered Steel Grip’s jaw as if it were made of glass along with sending the Minotaur’s head crashing through the ceiling resulting in him getting stuck in the ceiling. The Minotaur hanged there from the ceiling, unconscious. As Sanosuke got up from the ground and stood back up while dusting himself off he spat some blood off to the side. Everypony looked at him in pure awe and amazement. “Is that the best you got? Damn, you’re in trouble.” Sanosuke said as he was walking towards his enemies again while popping his neck which caused a series of audible cracks to echo throughout the bar. The two mares’ jaws dropped at what they saw. “He’s like a brick wall!” Cheerilee said in amazement. “He is a brick wall!” Vinyl said in awe. Just as Sanosuke was making his way towards his enemies Blue Blaze decided to use his magic to hurtle a chair at the brawler. Sanosuke was stunned as he saw the chair become surrounded by a blue aura and floating in midair but he was quickly snapped out of it when he saw the chair flying towards him. Sanosuke managed to duck in time only to hear one of the mares behind him to scream in pain. Sanosuke turned around to see that the chair that Blue Blaze threw at him hit the marooned colored mare in the leg causing her to collapse in pain with tears welling up in her eyes. Sanosuke quickly ran to the school teacher. As Sanosuke looked at her leg he saw that it wasn’t broken but it was still pretty banged up to the point that she wouldn’t be walking on it for a couple of weeks. “Shit… It’s not too serious but it’s still pretty bad. Do you think you can get her outside?” Sanosuke asked the DJ. “Yeah, I think so.” Vinyl replied. “Good, help her outside. When I’m done with these bastards here I’ll help you get her to doctor.” Sanosuke said causing Vinyl to nod in reply. But as Vinyl was helping Cheerilee up she saw a two Minotaur’s come charging at the human while his back was turned. Before she could warn him, Sanosuke turned around and struck both Minotaur’s with his Futae no Kiwami sending both of them flying through the bars front windows. As Sanosuke turned around to face his opponents, Sanosuke was now seething with rage at this point. “Hey bar keep! Help the ladies out to get outside, I’ll handle these guys.” Sanosuke said to the elderly bartender who nodded as he went to help Vinyl with Cheerilee. As Sanosuke saw that the girls were now out of the bar and out of harm’s way a smirk made its way across his face. “Good, now I can cut lose.” Sanosuke said as he was about to unleash all of his rage on them. *Outside the bar* Cheerilee, Vinyl, and the white haired bartender could only look on in amazement as the ‘stallion’ that called himself Sanosuke was fighting like a one stallion army. “What the hell is he!?” Vinyl said as she watched Sanosuke being grabbed by a Minotaur into a bone crushing bear hug from behind. As a second Minotaur try to take advantage of the brawler’s predicament, he ran up to him drawing his fist back ready to strike. But before he could Sanosuke kicked him in the stomach with both feet sending the Minotaur stumbling backwards and causing the other one to lose his grip on the brawler. “I…I think he’s a human.” Cheerilee said as she watched the fight in awe. “Are you freaking serious!? Damn, looks like I owe Lyra ten bits.” Vinyl said in disbelieve right before seven ponies and Minotaur’s went crashing through the windows and landed on the outside pavement. “Wow…He’s like Buck Norris.” Cheerilee said in amazement. *Inside the bar* Sanosuke was having the time of his life. He had just grabbed two of the big cow men by the horns and was now spinning with them. They were screaming for him to let them go. He decided that he should wrap things up fast before the police arrived, so he let them go sending them flying into the walls knocking them both unconscious. As he turned around to face his remaining opponents he noticed that there were only five of the freakish cow men remaining along with three ponies that had horns. “Seventeen down, eight to go.” Sanosuke said as he wiped the blood from his mouth with his sleeve. Even though he was winning the fight the ‘cow men’ as Sanosuke called them, managed to get a few good hits in here and there. But he shrugged it off. The last five Minotaur’s all charged him at once. “BANZAI!!!” Sanosuke screamed as he charged at them. Sanosuke jumped through the air and delivered a flying kick to the first Minotaur’s head sending him into dream land. As Sanosuke landed he turned to the next Minotaur and delivered five rabid kicks to its stomach, winding the Minotaur so much that he passed out from lack of oxygen. As the next one came at the brawler, Sanosuke threw a quick kick to its chin sending another Minotaur into the ceiling causing him to get stuck in the ceiling. As the fourth Minatour and fifth Minotaur came at the brawler, Sanosuke decide to get a little fancy by using a trick that he learned from watch Kenshin fight for years. He disappeared and reappeared behind both of the Minotaur’s, before they could even realize what was going on, bruises started to appear all over their bodies. They both passed out on the ground in blood and bruises while Sanosuke made his way towards the last three ponies. “Well looks it’s just the three of us.” Sanosuke said with a smirk. “You piece of shit, you think you stand a chance against our magic!” Blue Blaze said with anger. “Are you talking about that glowing thing you did with the chair earlier? Alright let’s see what you guys got.” Sanosuke said with amusement as he made a dash towards the three horned stallions only to be stopped when a dark blue aura wrapped around his body and lifted him off the ground. The three stallions were smiling maliciously… that is until the aura around Sanosuke disappeared almost as if he absorbed it. Sanosuke landed standing and noticed that a lot of his bruises and cuts were gone, he didn’t know what that glowing aura did to him but he sure felt a hell of a lot better. “What the fuck! Our magic’s not working on him!” one of the stallions said in a panic as some of the unconscious enemies from early started to wake up and help drag their buddies out of the bar so that they could get away from the brawler. Sanosuke couldn’t help but laugh as one of the Minotaur’s screamed “HE’S FUCKING INSANE!!!” as he ran out of the bar. Now it was just Sanosuke and the three unicorn stallions. The three unicorns now decided to combine their magic when they tried to grab Sanosuke with their telekinesis, only for it to have the same results. As Sanosuke kept walking towards the stallions he held a smirk on his face. But his expression changed the minute he saw Blue Blaze’s horn charging up. After a few seconds Blue blaze shot a blue fire ball that managed to hit him in the shoulder causing Sanosuke to scream in pain. As Sanosuke managed to swat out the fire on the shoulder of his jacket the three unicorns flashed evil grins. “Aw shit.” Sanosuke said as the three stallions began to shoot fire balls that were the size of grape fruit at him. Sanosuke quickly dove behind the bartender’s bar, taking cover behind the bar. As the glass bottles shattered and exploded around him, Sanosuke saw an undamaged bottle of hard cider labeled Applejack Daniels. Sanosuke grabbed the bottle and took a huge swig of the cider. “Eh, not bad, a little weak, but not bad.” Sanosuke said right before he grabbed a second bottle, jumped up and threw both bottles of cider at the faces of the two stallions standing on either side of Blue Blaze. The bottle’s smashed over the two stallions now bloodied faces causing them to scream in pain. “Fuck this! We’re outta here!” One of the two stallions said right before they both ran out of the bar that was now on fire, luckily the fire sprinklers turned on and extinguished it before it got out of hand. “GET BACK HERE YOU COWARDS!” Blue Blaze screamed. Sanosuke saw that the stallion was distracted and now was the perfect time to strike. Saonsuke ran at the stallion at full speed, by the time Blue Blaze turned around it was too late for him to react. Sanosuke jumped into the air and dropped kicked Blue Blaze in the groin, emitting a loud ‘crunching’ sound. Blue Blaze screamed in pain as he collapsed to the ground as he grabbed his now shattered ‘family jewels’ with both of his hands. Sanosuke got up, dusted himself off, and casually walked towards Blue Blaze and picked him up by the collar. “So you like to hit women do you?” Sanosuke said right before he began to bitch slap the unicorn stallion. “DON’T!!!*SLAP* EVER!!!*SLAP* HIT!!!*SLAP* HER!!! *SLAP* AGAIN!!! *SLAP* YOU HEAR ME!!! *SLAP* YOU HEAR ME!!! *SLAP*. Sanosuke then dropped the stallion onto the floor, but not before taking his big bag of bits. (Start video at 0:35) As the now soaked Sanosuke walked out of the bar, Blue Blaze in a last ditch effort to get back at Sanosuke and kill him aimed one last fire ball at Sanosuke’s back. Unfortunately for him it veered off and hit the propane tank for the bars grill, his eyes went wide right before it hit. As Sanosuke was walking away from the tavern, the entire bar exploded into a giant fireball. The explosion itself was of epic proportions. Sanosuke didn’t even bother looking back at the explosion; he just kept walking towards the mares and the elderly bartender. Sanosuke hadn’t been in a good fight for a while, at least not since the last time he saw Kenshin when he was dying. But right now Sanosuke felt great for the first time in a long time, there was only one thing that Sanosuke could think of to say as he walked away from the explosion that was lighting up the night sky when a giant smirk appeared on his face. “I’m back bitches.” (End Song) Sanosuke approached the three ponies. All three ponies just stared at the human wide-eyed while their jaws were practically hitting the ground “Everyone okay? Sanosuke asked. “The young mare that got hit in the leg by that chair looks like her leg is dislocated, but everypony else is fine.” The old unicorn stallion said as Sanosuke made his way to the injured mare that was sitting propped up against the dumpster that he landed in earlier with her blue haired friend standing next to her comforting her. “How you feeling Miss?” Sanosuke said as he crouched down inspecting her injured leg. “I-I’m in a lot of p-pain right now.” Cheerilee said as she looked at the young human in front of her. “I think I can pop your leg back in place, but it’s gonna hurt.” Sanosuke said gently to the injured mare. “D-do you know h-how?” She asked the young brawler with a trace of fear in her voice. “Yeah, I’ve done it plenty of times before.” Sanosuke reassured her. “O-okay” The school teacher said. “Anything I can do to help, I used to be a medic in the royal guard.” The elderly bartender asked. “Actually yeah, do you think do something to ease her pain?” Sanosuke asked as he pulled off his jacket and draped it over the injured school teacher in order to keep her warm, revealing his skinny yet well tone body which caused the mares to blush. “Of course!” He said as his horn started to glow. “There, I casted a pain relieve spell that should take the edge off the pain.” The old timer said while taking pride in his work. “Good job older timer.” Sanosuke said with a smirk as he turned his attention to the mare with the electric blue mane and sunglasses. “I’ll need you to hold her in place.” He said to Vinyl who nodded in response as she stood behind her friend and held her shoulders as to keep her in place. “You ready?” Sanosuke asked as he placed one hand under her hoof and another on the side of her leg which caused Cheerilee to blush as she nodded. “1…2…3!” *POP* Cheerilee gasped in pain as the human pushed her leg back into the socket. But as the pain eased down she noticed that she could now move her leg albeit, painfully. “How do you feel now?” Sanosuke asked the teacher. “Better, but it still hurts pretty bad…What’s your name?” Cheerilee said with a strained smile. “Sanosuke…Sanosuke Sagara. What are all of your names?” Sanosuke said with a grin. “My name is Cheerilee, thanks for stopping those stallions. That was amazing how you handled yourself in there; I’ve never seen anything like it!” The school teacher said as she continued to stare at the young brawler. As she looked at his body she couldn’t help but feel her face heat up as she looked at it, but when she looked at him she realized just how young he was and couldn’t help but stare into his eyes. As she did she saw that he had the eyes of someone that had seen a lot and had lived a very hard life of pain and loss. “He should be in high school, he’s just a kid!” Cheerilee thought to herself. “My name’s Vinyl Scratch, thanks for helping us out back there you were amazing.” The mare with the white coat of fur and electric blue mane and sun glasses said as she had the same reaction to him that Cheerilee did. “Nice to meet you Vinyl and Cheerilee, and don’t mention it, I can’t stand seeing others being pushed around.” Sanosuke said as he shook both of the mares’ hands. “What about you old timer, what’s your name?” Sanosuke asked, turning to the elderly unicorn stallion with the grey mane and brown coat of fur. “I’m Shot Glass the owner of the bar; I gotta say that was amazing how you handled Blaze’s gang. Blaze and his gang have been causing me trouble for weeks; nopony has ever had the guts to stand up to him, let alone defeat him, thank you for teaching him a lesson.” Shot Glass said with a smile as he and Sanosuke shook hands. “No problem it was my pleasure, sorry about the bar though.” Sanosuke said with a shrug. “That’s ok sonny I had the whole thing insured and I have plenty of money saved up, I’ll be fine. I’ll have the place rebuilt in no time; by the way I think this belongs to you. And don’t worry, I won’t tell the royal guards about you. I’ll tell them that it was all Blue Blaze’s fault, it wouldn’t be a lie.” Shot Glass said as he handed Sanosuke his cloak. “Thanks old timer, I really appreciate it.” Sanosuke said with a smile. “You bastard!” Blue Blaze screamed as he staggered towards Sanosuke. His whole cloths were chard, his mane and fur were singed, and his eyebrows were completely burnt off. Overall he seemed fine. Sanosuke couldn’t help but laugh at how ridicules the stallion looked. “Excuse me for second.” Sanosuke said right before he turned around and delivered a hard right hook to Blaze’s jaw, knocking him out. Sanosuke then returned his attention to Shot Glass and the mares. “I’ve never seen anything like you before.” Shot Glass said in amazement. “I’m one of a kind.” Sanosuke said jokingly. “You’re a human aren’t you?” Cheerilee asked. “Yeah, I am. Why do you ask?” Sanosuke asked the teacher. But before she could answer him, they all heard the sounds of the royal guards off in the distance. “The guards are coming, you guys gotta get outta and fast!” Shot Glass said as Sanosuke quickly put his cloak back on and picked Cheerilee up and held her in his arms. “Follow me Sanosuke! You can stay with us until this whole thing blows over!” Vinyl said to Sanosuke who nodded in response. Vinyl ran down the street leading the way while Sanosuke followed her while carrying Cheerilee in his arms as they ran off into the night. True to his word, Shot Glass told the royal guard that it was Blue Blaze and his gang that caused the explosion. He never once mentioned anything about Sanosuke, Cheerilee, or Vinyl. The royal guards took the unconscious Blue Blaze into custody but said that Shot Glass would have to come with them so they could fill out the report. But as they left they didn’t see the lone figure that was watching them from the rooftops. “Great now that idiot is here as well. The boss isn’t going to like this, oh well after I kill Battōsai I’ll just kill that damn street fighter as well.” The figure said as he began to laugh insanely as the moonlight washed over him. > Chapter 4 - Settling In (Part 1) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4 – Settling In (Part 1) It has been almost a week since Kenshin had gotten out of the hospital; Kenshin was walking through Ponyville exploring the quaint little town. This was actually the first time Kenshin was able to get out of the library, along with the fact that it was his first time alone. The only other time that Kenshin did get out of the library was when Twilight took him to Rarity’s for some clothing. Kenshin could not thank Rarity enough and told her that he would repay her but she kept telling him that there was no need to and that she was simply helping out a friend in need. Kenshin insisted that he would find some way to show his appreciation despite Rarity’s protests. Kenshin said the least he could do was tell her about Japanese fashion. Since she was a cloths designer that always loved to find new styles and ideas for her fashion designs. This got Rarity’s attention in a heartbeat to which she agreed to full heartedly. Kenshin could not help but marvel at how his new kimono looked as he looked at it. It was a solid jet black kimono jacket with silver for the edges of the sleeves and the lining along with jet black hakama pants. Across the back and the front of the kimonos jacket was a beautiful and intrigue design that looked like they were silver rose vines with thorns wrapping around his sleeves and torso. But what really made it stand out was that it had the girl’s cutie marks forming a circle on the right side of his chest and on his back. Kenshin was amazed at how she was able to take his measurements and make the outfit so fast and perfect. She was nice enough to make six more pairs for him so he had seven total, one for each day of the week. One thing did confuse Kenshin though. Was it really necessary for her to feel his muscles and body. Kenshin had no problem at all with spending time with the girls, but what was bothering him was the fact that they wouldn’t let him do anything until he was fully recovered from his injuries. Kenshin kept insisting that he was fine and that he could help out around the library. Kenshin kept telling Twilight that he was more than happy to help out around the library to show his appreciation for her letting him stay with her and that he didn’t want to be a burden. Twilight kept telling him that he needed to rest and get better and that he was not a burden in anyway. Kenshin could not convince her in any way at all to let him help out with the cleaning. She kept telling him that he was not to do anything strenuous due to his injuries under doctor’s orders and she even got the rest of her friends to back her up on it. Quite frankly they were all surprised that he was even able to walk around without screaming in pain. Kenshin saw that they only meant well and told them that he would take it easy. But one thing did confuse him though; on his first night out of the hospital as he was falling asleep he could have sworn he saw a cloaked figure flying through the sky screaming something about being ‘Winnie the Pooh’. Kenshin had no idea what that even meant, but for some strange reason he couldn’t shake the feeling that the cloaked individual sounded awfully familiar. Kenshin didn’t have much to do during his first week at the library other than answer Twilight’s questions about human anatomy. Thankfully due to Kenshin’s extensive martial arts training he was able to answer most of them without too much trouble except for the really scientific in-depth ones. Kenshin was questioned for hours and the part that disturbed him the most was the fact that when he thought she was done, she said that she was only taking a break on asking questions on that particular subject. She said that she was going to ask him questions about many other subjects, one of them being his martial arts training. Kenshin felt great fear and terror at the thought of this, but he did admire her enthusiasm to learn and knew that she only meant well and she quickly became a very good friend to Kenshin. Kenshin learned from Twilight that he was in the land of Equestria and that it was ruled by two Princesses which he found quite interesting. Kenshin was amazed at the fact that the land had so little crime. He was a little nervous by the fact that Twilight was the personal student of one of the Princesses, but he quickly shook the worry off believing that the chances of him ever meeting the Princesses were nonexistent. It wasn’t completely boring though, the girls would visit him often, especially Pinkie Pie. She would always appear out of nowhere asking Kenshin what he was up to and would try to brighten his day. He couldn’t help but smile at her crazy antics. Kenshin couldn’t help but notice though that she would try to get close to him and that she would often be blushing whenever he was around. Kenshin also noticed Fluttershy acting in a similar matter. “Miss Pinkie Pie’s and Miss Fluttershy’s faces seem to turn red a lot; I hope they are not sick.” Kenshin said to himself as he continued to walk through the streets of Ponyville admiring the town’s peacefulness and beauty. Kenshin also spent a lot of time with Spike; He was pretty surprised when he found out that dragons existed in this world. After an awkward and funny first meeting they became fast and close friends, Kenshin always had fun spending time with Spike. Kenshin couldn’t help but be reminded of Yahiko when he saw how the young dragon would try to act tough and brave. Kenshin couldn’t help but laugh when he thought about how funny things were when he first met Spike earlier in the week. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Flashback Begin* (Golden Oaks Library – Five Days ago) It was late in the evening and dark out and Kenshin and the girls had finally made it to the library to which they were relieved at after their long first day. They wanted to make sure that Kenshin didn’t overexert himself so they decide to follow him and Twilight to the library, but at the same time they wanted to know more about the mysterious swordsman. But as they arrived they realized just how late it was and said their goodbye’s right before they left the unicorn and samurai alone. Twilight then proceeded to open the door and invite Kenshin in. As Kenshin walked in and gently pulled his sword out of his sash with his left hand and set it inside the doorway which caused twilight to wonder what he was doing. “Hey Kenshin, what are you doing with your sword?” Twilight asked with a curious look. “It is considered bad manners where I am from to enter someone’s home while brandishing a weapon unless you are on official business which requires it, or if it is a time of war, or if the owner of the home gives permission.” Kenshin said with a smile. “Oh, that’s amazing! Your species has a set system of manners and customs?” Twilight asked with excitement in her voice. “Yes we do, but the customs and manners differ from region to region and country to country. But this in particular is just basic samurai etiquette.” Kenshin answered politely with a smile. “That’s amazing, what does it mean when you leave your sword at the doorway!?” Twilight asked eagerly while writing down the new information. “It means that I come in peace and that I trust the residents of the home that they will not harm me in any way, that it does.” Kenshin answered with a smile. “What does it mean when a samurai walks into somepony’s home while still wearing their sword without permission or reason?” Twilight asked. “It could mean that they do not trust the residents of the home or it could mean that they come with bad intentions and wish to do harm to the residents.” Kenshin replied. Twilight thought for a few moments at what she had just heard before she began to speak again. “Well Kenshin, I give you my full permission to carry your sword around my house, besides it’s also a library which makes it a public establishment at the same time.” Twilight said with a smile. “Are you sure Miss Sparkle? This one does not want to make you feel uncomfortable in anyway. We have just met, I would understand it completely if you did not want this one to carry a sword around your home, that I would.” Kenshin said politely while scratching the back of his head nervously. “Kenshin, you rescued me and my friends and have shown that you have no bad intentions towards us, so it’s the least I could do. Besides, Spike would love to see an actual Samurai carrying an actual katana with him.” Twilight said with a genuine smile on her face. “Thank you Miss Sparkle, this one will be sure to not betray your trust.” Kenshin said as he bowed in appreciation. “Didn’t I tell you to call me Twilight?” Twilight said with a raised eyebrow. “My apologies Miss-” “Agh!” Twilight interrupted him with a smirk on her face. “Sorry… Twilight.” Kenshin said with a small grin on his face. “Much better.” Twilight said as Kenshin picked up his sword and slid it back into his sash. “Hey Kenshin, I want to introduce you to my number one assistant Spike, he’s like a little brother to me, a little brother that’s a baby dragon.” Twilight said with a grin. Kenshin paused for a moment in confusion. “I’m sorry; did you just say that he was a dragon?” Kenshin asked with a forced smile. “Yes I did.” Twilight said as she and Kenshin made their way up the stairs. Kenshin was as pale as a ghost at this point. “I-i-is he d-dangerous?” Kenshin asked with a shaky voice. “No! Of course not! He’s really sweet and he wouldn’t hurt a fly. In fact he’s a very huge fan of Samurai movies and he would love to meet you. Also, he’s just a baby dragon.” Twilight said which confused Kenshin slightly. “Whats a movie?” Kenshin asked only for it to be completely ignored as Twilght opened the door to the young drake’s bedroom. Kenshin could not believe what he was seeing. Sitting in front of a television was an actual living breathing dragon. The young purple dragon wore a pair of blue jeans and a black t-shirt along with what looked like a Japanese style sun hat on his head. In his hand he was holding what appeared to be a toy katana. The young drake was totally entranced by what Kenshin could only describe as a magic box with talking and moving pictures. The box showed a group of bandits fighting a lone samurai, Kenshin found it even more interesting due to the fact that the samurai was a pony. Kenshin unknowingly sat down on the floor and watched the story unfold on the box. As the fight continued the young drake was cheering for the lone samurai to which Kenshin could not help but find adorable. As the fight finished up, it showed the pony samurai that was victorious sheathe his sword and walk off into the sunset right before the screen turned black and the young dragon turned the device off. “Wow that was great! I still can’t believe that he defeated all those diamond dog bandits!” The young dragon said as he got up. “Me neither. That was amazing, that it was.” Kenshin said causing the young drake to jump with fright and turn around quickly. What Spike saw sent fear through him; he saw a strange creature that had red hair and carried a sword at his side with a crossed shape scar on his left cheek. “AHHH!!! TWILIGHT THERES A MONSTER IN THE LIBRARY, DON’T WORRY I’LL PROTECT YOU!!!” Spike screamed to Twilight who was standing at the doorway the whole time and watched the whole thing unravel with a smile on her face as she giggled at the hiliarity of the whole situation. Spike quickly charged at Kenshin and started whacking him with the plastic toy sword which did absolutely nothing to the red head. “Spike calm down, he’s not a monster. He’s our guest. He saved me and the girls in the Everfree Forest.” Twlight said as she explained what happened in the Everfree forest. Spike’s jaw hit the ground with a thud when she showed him the video on her cell phone of Kenshin defeating ten manticores with nothing but a sword. “Whoa… That… Was... EPIC!!!” Spike said while jumping up and down with excitement at what he just saw. “The only way that this could be more awesome is if you were a samurai, too bad they disappeared over ten thousand years ago.” Spike said with a smile as he walked up to the samurai. Kenshin couldn’t help but smile at the baby dragon. He couldn’t help but giggle a little at how the tiny drake only came up to his chest in height. “Actually Spike he is a samurai and to top it off he’s from another world, and he’s a human.” Twilight told Spike which caused his eyes to turn to the size of dinner plates as he stared at the heavily bandaged samurai. “…” Spike was silent. “Spike?” Twilight said trying to get Spike’s attention. “…” “Spike-san?” Kenshin said, trying to check if the young drake was okay. “TEACH ME YOUR WAYS OH GREAT AND WISE SENSEI!!!” Spike shouted as he tackled Kenshin to the ground and continued to pester him as he sat on his chest with one of the biggest grins. Twilight couldn’t help but burst out laughing out how cute the whole scene was of Spike begging Kenshin to teach him to be a samurai while wearing his samurai costume that she got him for last year’s Nightmare Night. Kenshin could only laugh at how their new friendship started off with hardly any words being said. *End of Flashback* ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Kenshin could not help but laugh quietly to himself as he remembered that day. Since then Spike and him have been hanging out a lot and have become inseparable. As Kenshin was walking through the main part of town he couldn’t help but marvel at how peaceful it was. He saw many ponies walking about and going about their day; some were shopping while others were catching up with old friends. He couldn’t help but smile as he saw a group of foals running around screaming and laughing as they played tag with each other. Kenshin couldn’t help but notice that there were hardly any stallions around, he did see the occasional stallion or colt but that could be counted on one hand the times it did happen, it seemed as though the majority of the population was comprised mainly of mares. He would have to ask Twilight about that when he got back to the library. Speaking of which, Kenshin knew he was going to be in big trouble when Twilight found out that he sneaked out of the library. Kenshin continued to walk through the market place, as he did he noticed that many of the ponies in the market place were staring at him. Kenshin simply smiled which seemed to put some of the ponies at ease as he made his way to the out skirts of town. As Kenshin finally reached the out skirts of town, he decided take a moment and enjoy the view and catch his breath due to his injuries not being fully healed yet. As he sat there on the grass he heard the strangest sound. “Pfffffffft!!!” It sounded faint at first but then began to grow louder and closer as time went on. It sounded as if someone was blowing a raspberry nonstop. “Pfffffffft!!!” was the only sound Kenshin heard as a light pink pony that looked like a giant pink fluff ball ran past him at full speed while blowing a raspberry with her mouth. “That’s something you don’t see every day.” Kenshin said as he began to walk again, but this time he was heading back into town to do a little more exploring of Ponyville but in his mind his thoughts were “The hell was that?” As Kenshin was walking he heard the sound of something running towards him at full speed. As Kenshin turned around to try and find the source of the noise he was tackled to the ground by three young fillies. “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS SAMURAI CATCHERS YAY!!!” The three young fillies shouted as they tackled the heavily bandaged Kenshin to the ground. “Orororororo.” Kenshin said as he lay on the on ground in pain with the three young fillies sitting on his chest. “We did it, we caught the samurai!” Scootaloo said with excitement. “Did we get our cutie marks yet!?” Applebloom said with excitement as she and the other crusaders checked their shoulders and hips for their cutie marks only to find them blank. “Nope, we’re still blank flanks.” Sweetiebelle said with a disappointed tone. The three stepped off the injured samurai as they began to talk amongst each other. “Well that was a waste of time.” Scootaloo said. “You said you had a plan Applebloom!” Sweetiebelle said as she pointed to Applebloom. “Ah do, jus’ gimme a second.” The farm filly said as she walked up to Kenshin who was now getting up and slowly dusting himself off. “Excuse me.” The southern filly said to Kenshin. “Yes little ones, how can this one be of help?” Kenshin said with a warm smile. “We’re sorry ‘bout knocking ya over.” Applebloom said with puppy dog eyes which Kenshin found adorable. “It’s alright, no one was hurt.” Kenshin said despite the excruciating pain coming from his injuries. “We were jus’ wondering if you could help us get our cutie marks Mr. Samurai?” The young farm filly said with a smile. “What’s a cutie mark?” Kenshin asked with a confused look on his face, his answer causing the three fillies jaws to hit the ground in disbelief. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Golden Oaks Library* “This is bad, very bad!” Twilight said as she paced around the library frantically while nervously stroking her now disheveled hair in her hands. “Jus’ calm down there sugar cube, chances are he jus’ went out for some fresh air.” Applejack said as she sat there with the rest of their friends. “You don’t understand! He’s the only one of his kind here, and he’s the last of an ancient race of warriors! What if something happens to him!?” Twilight says while going into a panic attack. “Darling, I do believe you are overreacting. Judging by the way he handled those manticores I’m pretty sure he can handle himself.” Rarity said while trying to comfort Twilight. “Yeppers, besides I don’t think Kenny would ever do anything to anypony that would make him a big ol meanie!” Pinkie added in. “You still don’t get it girls. If anything happens to him, the information he holds will be lost forever! His fighting style along with his culture could be gone without a trace, what would the princess think! Oh no what if the Princess sends me back to magical kindergarten!” Twilight said as she started to rant in a panic. “Don’t start with that magic kindergarten stuff Twilight, just calm down, you know she would never do that. All we have to do is find him; I mean how hard could that be? Besides, what are you so worried about anyway?” Rainbow Dash said while hovering next to Twilight. “Lyra found out that there is a human in Ponyville and she’s looking for him.” Twilight said with a deadpan look. “Crap…yeah your right we better find him.” Rainbow Dash replied wide eyed. “We have no way to contact him or find him.” Twilight says as she rubs her temples in agitation. “Oh yes we do!” Pinkie Pie said as she began jumping up and down in excitement. “What do you mean?” Twilight said as she turned to the pink pony. “Well you know how Kenshin said that the video we had of him fighting the manticores was neat?” Pinkie said. “Yeah, so Kenshin’s never seen a cell phone before. What are you getting at Pinkie?” Twilight said with a little confusion. “Well since we’re all super-duper friends now, I decided that he should have a way to always stay in contact with us. So I gave him my old cell phone!” The pink party pony said with a huge smile across her face. “Pinkie you’re a genius! Quick, call him!” Twilight shouted. “Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie says as she starts to dig around inside her crazy fluffy pink mane and pulls out her P-phone and begins dialing. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Kenshin and the Cutie Mark Crusaders* “Oh so that’s what a cutie mark is.” Kenshin said as he was sitting on the grass across from the crusaders after their long explanation on what a cutie mark is and its importance. “So what’s your cutie mark Mr. Kenshin?” Applebloom asked. “Oh well you see I don’t have a cutie mark.” Kenshin said with a gentle smile on his face. This caused the three young fillies to stare at the samurai in shock, but before any of them could say anything a strange noise began to play from Kenshin’s pocket. Kenshin reached into his kimono’s sleeve and pulled out a little device that was playing a song that he has never heard before but sounded very familiar for some strange reason. (Start Cell Phone Song) As the song played Kenshin couldn’t help but get lost in a sense of nostalgia as memories of his adventures with his friends and loved ones came rushing back to him. He remembered all the good times he had with his friends and the challenges they had all faced together. But Kenshin was soon brought out of his nostalgia by the three young fillies. “Aren’t you going to answer it?” Scootaloo asked. “Answer what?” Kenshin asked with confusion. “Your cell phone.” Sweetiebelle said as she pointed towards the device in Kenshin’s hand. “Oh…What’s a cell phone?” The clueless samurai asked. “It’s that thing you have in your hand.” Scootaloo said with a deadpan expression on her face. “What does it do?” Kenshin asked. “Ya use it ta’ talk ta’ ponies and friends.” Applebloom chimed in. “Oh…Hello?” Kenshin said as he tried speaking into the device. “You gotta answer it first!” Scootaloo said as she got a little annoyed at how clueless the samurai was. “How does this one do that?” Kenshin asked still clueless as ever. “Ya jus’ press the green button that says ‘talk’.” Applebloom said. “Oh ok, I got it now.” Kenshin said as he answered the phone. (Stop song) “Hello?” Kenshin said into the phone. “Hi Kenshin, it’s me Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie said. “Oh hi Pinkie Pie, how are you?” Kenshin asked. “I’m doing good, I just called to see how you were doing.” The party mare said. “I am doing fine that I am. I must say this technology is amazing, it allows you to stay in contact with friends and loved ones.” Kenshin said with a smile. “I know right it’s-” Pinkie was interrupted as Twilight snatched the phone from her. “Kenshin this is Twilight, where are you!?” Twilight said in a panic. “I have just entered the market place, why do you ask?” Kenshin replied. “Kenshin, you need to get back to the library now!” Twilight said in a panic. “Ok, but can I ask why?” Kenshin asks slightly confused. “You’re in no condition to be walking around and performing strenuous activity and also you can’t be wandering around by yourself in your condition, what if something were to happen to you!” Twilight shouted. “Twilight, I assure you that nothing will happen and that I have been taking it easy and also I am not alone.” Kenshin said. “Wait what, who’s with you?” The lavender unicorn asked. “The three young girls from the forest, I think they call themselves the ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders’.” Kenshin said as he rubbed his chin in thought. “Kenshin, listen I need you to get-” was all Twilight was able to say before the battery in Kenshin’s cell phone went dead. “Hello…Hello?” Kenshin said as he was now looking at the dead phone in his hand. “I think it’s broken.” Kenshin said as he inspected the device in his hand. “It ain’t broke, the batteries jus’ dead. Jus’ put it on a charger and it’ll be good as new.” Applebloom said to the clueless red head as he put the cell phone back in his kimono’s sleeve pocket. “Sorry about that kids, what was it that you needed?” Kenshin asked. “Well we were wondering if you could help us get our cutie marks.” Sweetiebelle said as she kicked at the ground shyly. “I would be more than happy to help you that I would.” Kenshin said with a smile which caused the crusaders to smile in return, but their looks of joy soon turned to confusion. “Uh, Kenshin?” Scootaloo said. “Yes, Scootaloo?” Kenshin replied. “I think somepony’s trying to get your attention.” She said as she pointed to behind Kenshin. This caused Kenshin to raise an eyebrow in confusion, but his thoughts were soon interrupted as soon as he heard heavy breathing coming from behind him which caused him to turn around. As he turned around, Kenshin found himself facing a mint green unicorn mare that had a light green mane and tail with a streak of white going through them. She stood there, staring at Kenshin with a wide smile and a deranged look in her eyes that sent pure terror into his very being. “Hi *HUFF* I’m *HUFF* Lyra.” She said as she slowly stepped towards Kenshin while reaching for him with her hands while her left eye was twitching. Only one thought came to Kenshin’s mind. “Why me?” > Chapter 4.5 - In the Big City (Side Chapter) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Side Chapter) Chapter 4.5 – In the Big City It was early morning as the sun shined through the blinds in Sanosuke’s room and landed on his face causing the brawler to stir. Sanosuke lay in bed trying to block out the sun by pulling a pillow over his head only to realize how futile it was. As he got up he began to get dressed in his signature attire that he was well known for back in Tokyo. He pressed both hands to his lower back and leaned backwards causing it to emit a series of loud cracks as he stretched. As he finished stretching he took a moment to inspect his right hand. As he gazed upon the heavily bandaged limb he couldn’t help but marvel at how Discord managed to heal it completely with just a simple snap of his fingers. The only reason why he still even kept the bandages on was due to the fact that he had grown accustomed to wearing them all the time after so many years. Sanosuke turned his attention to the window as he looked at how the sun was shining ever so beautifully through the windows. “Damn sun, almost as fucking annoying as Saito.” Sanosuke muttered to himself as he made his way to the kitchen and poured himself a bowl of cereal. Sanosuke couldn’t help but remember how much he hated the ex-shinsengumi captain and how annoying he found him. “Oh well, at least I’ll never have to deal with that bastard again. The chances of me ever seeing him again are as likely as someone being able to raise and lower the sun and moon.” He said to himself with a laugh as he walked into the kitchen. It had been almost a week since the bar fight and Cheerilee and Vinyl had been kind enough to let Sanosuke stay with them as a way of saying thank you for saving them. Sanosuke was more than happy to help them out by giving them the money that he took from Blue Blaze; it wasn’t his money anyway so he figured it was no skin off his nose. He figured that they didn’t need to know the details on how he acquired the money. Despite just meeting each other five days ago, the three managed to become fast friends. He told them about how he was trying to make his way to ponyville in order to find an ‘old friend’ as he put it and they agreed to help him get to ponyville. As he sat at the kitchen table of the small city apartment that Vinyl used whenever she was performing in Manehattan, he poured himself a bowl of cereal. As he sat there eating his bowl of frosted oats he could only think of one thing. “Damn… I’m eating food that’s meant for a pony and it’s still a million times better than Kaoru’s cooking. That’s just messed up.” Sanosuke thought as he quietly laughed to himself. He remembered how she would always call him a bum and a good for nothing moocher. It was all true of course. But he still couldn’t help but laugh at it, but never the less he knew that she was a good woman and a good friend. He was soon brought out of his thoughts as he saw Miss Cheerilee walk into the kitchen “Good morning Cheerilee.” The young fighter greeted her. “Good morning Sanosuke.” The young teacher said with a slight blush as she gazed at the former gangster that was in front of her. “Sanosuke, I think we need to talk about your behavior.” Cheerilee said as she sat across from the street fighter at the kitchen table who was eating a bowl of cereal. “Did I do something wrong?” Sanosuke asked with a raised eyebrow as he took another bite of his cereal. “No no, it’s just that I’m a little concerned with your attitude towards authority figures. Mainly towards the police and other law enforcement officials.” Cheerilee said in a way that she would address her young students with when she was trying to get them to open up to her about their problems. “What do you mean?” Sanosuke asked with a look of confusion that was evident on his face. “I’m referring to how you made us out run the guards the night that you saved us.” She replied with a deadpan expression. “Oh that!” Sanosuke said as a smile spread across his face as the memory began to play in his head. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Flashback Start* “STOP!!!” Screamed the guards as they chased the two mares and human who dashed down the alley way at full speed. Vinyl and Sanosuke were running as fast as they could while trying to lose the guards. Despite the fact that he was carrying the young teacher, Sanosuke was still able to keep up a pretty good pace and stay ahead of the guards without too much trouble. They kept turning down alleyways and side streets, trying to lose their pursuers. Vinyl was able to keep up with Sanosuke without too much trouble. She told Sanosuke that she use to run track and field in high school, he didn’t know what she meant by that but as long as she was keeping up he was happy. As they ran down the alley way they eventually ran into another group of guards. As they stood there with nowhere else to go as the rest of the guards began to catch up. “Sanosuke, I thought you said you had a plan to get the guards off our tails!” Vinyl said in a panic. “I do!” Sanosuke shouted to the white unicorn with the electric blue mane as his cloaked flapped in the wind. Just as the guards were closing in on the trapped trio Sanosuke heard the voice of Discord in his head. “Well well, it seems that you have caused quite a bit of commotion, and it hasn’t even been an hour! Good work my violent friend!” Discord’s voice echoed in Sanosuke’s head. “The hell! Who’s there?” Sanosuke said in surprise. “Oh calm down you ninny. It’s me Discord and I’m talking to you telepathically.” Discord said. “Tele what?” The brawler replied. “…I’m talking with you through our minds, and I must say yours has a lot of empty space.” Discord said. “You can do that…hey wait a minute are you calling me stupid!” Sanosuke replied with anger. “Never mind that my human friend, right now it seems that you are in quite the predicament, which I am more than happy to help you out of.” Discord said mischievously. “What’s the catch Discord?” Sanosuke asked with caution. “Oh nothing much, besides it’s not like you can fight against all these guards in your current state while carrying a mare and defending your friends all at the same time. So you really don’t have any other options” Discord said mockingly. “Fine, what do you want this time!” Sanosuke said with anger. “I want you to… Humiliate the guards.” Discord said with a huge grin. “Wait…what? Let me get this straight. You want me to humiliate the police and you are going to help me?” Sanosuke asked with confusion. ”Yep, pretty much!” Discord said laughing. “Well what are we waiting for!?” Sanosuke said with a demented grin. “Wow, I’m guessing you really don’t care much for law enforcement officials do you?” Discord asked while cocking his head to the side. “Not really. Any requests?” Sanosuke asked. “Just do what feels natural, but there are two things I would like you to say to them.” Discord said as he told the street fighter what it was he wanted him to say. “Alright. It is part of our other deal after all, but you better help us out of this!” The brawler said threateningly. “Don’t worry I’ll be sure to provide a distraction for you guys to escape.” The spirit of chaos said as the guards surrounded the three. “Sanosuke, would you quit standing there and do something!” Vinyl said in a panic. “Sanosuke… maybe we should just give ourselves up.” Cheerilee said timidly to Sanosuke who in turn looked around for anything that he could use until his gaze landed upon an old dumpster that was sitting just a few feet away from him. “Don’t worry I got an idea!” The young man said with a smirk. One of the guards stepped forward out of the group that had them surrounded. “Just give up, there’s no escape!” The guard barked at the cloaked warrior. At that moment the young brawler threw the young school teacher high into the air above himself causing her to scream in terror. While Cheerilee was still in the air Sanosuke quickly picked up the old rusty dumpster with little effort and quickly flung it at the guards. As the dumpster flew full speed at the lead guard it slammed into him and three other guards sending them flying backwards and to the ground in extreme pain but with no serious injuries. As Sanosuke smiled at his achievement he saw the lead guard’s radio lying on the ground with someone asking for a status report. Sanosuke had heard about radios but didn’t know much about them. But never has he heard of a two way radio. He saw the guard use it as they chased him and got the general idea of how to use it. Sanosuke quickly picked up the radio and remembered what Discord wanted him to say and screamed into it. “MAN WHORE DOWN, MAN WHORE DOWN!!!” He then tossed the radio to the side and held out his arms and caught the screaming mare as she landed safely in his arms. Vinyl along with the rest of the Royal Guards just stood there in shock and awe at the street fighter’s strength. But all of them came out of their states of shock. As the rest of the guards began to charge towards the three there was a loud noise that echoed throughout the alleyway that sounded as if someone had snapped their fingers followed by a loud explosion. The guards were sent flying back by a large torrent of water that shot out of a man hole that was underneath them. As the rushing water came shooting out of the ground and sending the guards flying back and landing flat on the ground. With their way now clear, Vinyl and Sanosuke while still carrying Cheerilee took off in a full on sprint as the lead guard screamed out to them. “HALT!!!” As Sanosuke followed the white unicorn while carrying the injured teacher in his arms, he remembered the second thing that Discord wanted him to say. “RUN, RUN, RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN, YOU CAN’T CATCH ME BITCH’S I’M THE MOTHER FUCKING GINGER BREAD MAN!!!” Sanosuke couldn’t help but come to the conclusion that Discord was a complete whack job. The three kept running as they made their escape. *End of Flashback* ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ “Yeah… well you do have to admit that it was funny.” The human said with a grin. “Sanosuke, have you ever had run in’s with the police in your past.” Cheerilee asked with slight concern and sympathy. “Yeah… But to be honest I’ve had run in’s with psychopaths, serial killers, and an insane man who wanted to take over Japan but that’s a whole another story there on its own.” “S-s-serial killers!” Cheerilee said as her face turned pale from what she heard. “Well to be honest that was Kenshin who took down that psycho, but when I struck out on my own I had to deal with a few of them.” The human said as he finished his cereal and cleaned his bowl in the sink. “How can you act so calm about fighting somepony that kills for fun!? You could have been killed!?” The young school teacher shrieked. “Simple, stay calm and don’t let them land a hit on you. When you get them down on the ground, kick the ever loving shit out of them. Besides, you eventually get used to it anyway” Sanosuke said with a sly grin. As Cheerilee was about to state her protest Vinyl walked into the room. “Good morning guys!” Vinyl said with a grin. “Good morning.” The brawler and teacher replied. “What are you guys talking about?” The white unicorn asked. “We were just discussing Sanosuke’s behavior towards law enforcement officials.” Cheerilee said in a serious matter-of-fact tone. This caused Vinyl to go wide eyed. “Dude! That was awesome how you threw that giant dumpster like was nothing!” The DJ said as she plopped down onto the couch and turned on the TV. “Vinyl!” Cheerilee said in a shocked tone. “What, it’s true.” Vinyl replied as she switched the channel to the news. “On today’s top story a UFO was seen flying past Canterlot castle. Guards say that it was moving at a high rate of speed and were not able to identify it. According to the guards that were on duty at the time it said only one thing as it flew past. What it said was this and I quote ‘I’m Winnie the Pooh, bitches’. This UFO was seen flying towards the direction of Manehatten. As he heard this the young human couldn’t help but burst out laughing which confused the maroon colored mare. “And what is so funny?” Cheerilee asked with a little annoyance. “Nothing, nothing.” The brawler said in between laughs as he put on his cloak and made his way towards the door. “Where are you going?” Vinyl asked the young man as he opened the door. “Just for a little walk.” He replied. “Wait! Sanosuke, this conversation is not over! Get back here this instance!” Cheerilee said as the fighter closed the door behind himself and made his way out into the big city. “You do realize that we are currently housing a mythical creature that has the strength of an Ursa Major, right?” Vinyl asked with a smirk. “Yeah, why?” The young teacher answered as she began to rub her eyes in fustration. “Just wanting to make sure. I can’t wait to see the look on Octavia’s face! Oh, especially Lyra’s! She will go nuts when she sees a real life human face-to-face!” Vinyl said with a huge smirk. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *15 minutes later* Sanosuke always enjoyed walking through the city back home. The city of Manehatten was a lot bigger than anything he has ever seen before in his life. Despite being the rowdy and loud tough guy that he was, he always enjoyed the time that he had alone. He always loved being surrounded by friends and loved ones. It’s just that sometimes a man needed time to think and figure things out. As the young man walked throughout the city he couldn’t help but marvel at how the buildings looked like they were made in a western style. As he walked he couldn’t help but think about how weird things have been ever since he arrived. He arrived in a strange new world with talking pony like creatures, got into the bar fight of the century, and now he was staying with two ladies that were ponies themselves. “This week couldn’t get any weirder.” Sanosuke said to himself as he watched the hustling and bustling of the city. He watched as a young filly kept begging her mother to for ice cream to which the mother gave into with a smile. The little filly’s face lit up with joy as her mother led her to an ice cream shop. The street fighter couldn’t help but smile at this. As he made his way deeper into the city where things were livelier he couldn’t help but think about Cheerilee. Ever since she and Vinyl offered him a place to stay she has been spending a lot of time around him. Not that he minded, Sanosuke found her to be a very likeable mare mainly due to the fact that she was down to earth. Vinyl was fun to hang around with her laid back attitude and energy. But something about Cheerilee just stood out to the young brawler. She would always try to correct him on his manners and behavior. Cheerilee told the human that she was an elementary school teacher which explained why she was always correcting him. He didn’t mind though, in fact he thought that it was very noble that she dedicated her life to helping young children obtain an education and achieve their goals and dreams. One thing that caught Sanosuke’s attention was the fact that she kept blushing around him for some reason. Vinyl’s face did have a red hue to it whenever he caught her staring at him as well as he began to think about it. But all these thoughts were immediately cast aside as soon as the young fighter saw a group of young teenagers doing some strange yet very impressive form of what he thought was some form of martial arts in an alley way. As the young stallions and mares finished break dancing they all turned their attention to the young human who was watching them. “That was pretty impressive, what do you call that thing you were doing just now?” He asked. “It’s called break dancing, what of it?” A neon blue unicorn stallion with a jet black mane that was dressed in cargo pants and a sleeveless hoody stood there while eyeing Sanosuke up and down. On both of his shoulders were cutie marks of bandaged fists. From the looks of things, the young brawler could easily tell that he was the leader of the group. “Nothing, I think it’s pretty cool.” Sanosuke said as he pulled back the hood of his cloak, revealing his face which caused everypony to gasp in shock. Many were just staring at him in amazement. “You’re that guy who kicked the shit out of Blaze and his gang like they were nothing.” The leader said. “Yeah, what if I did?” Sanosuke said in a calm but cocky tone while flashing a slight grin. “Anypony who can stand up to that piece of shit and his crew must be a decent enough fighter.” The stallion said with a cocky grin. As the stallion walked up to the human and glared at him, both of them sizing each other up. The neon blue unicorn stared at him for a few moments as the human brawler showed no fear at all before he laughed and said. “Anypony who would stand up to that scum bag is alright by me. Name’s Quick Strike.” Quick Strike said as he held out his hand. “Sanosuke, Sanosuke Sagara.” The street fighter said as he shook the stallion’s hand. “Where’d you learn how to fight like that?” Quick Strike asked. “Part of it I learned from others that I’ve met and fought, but most of it came from the streets.” The human replied. “Same here, that’s how I learned. You said you liked our break dancing?” Quick Strike asked “Yeah, think you could show me how to do some of those tricks?” Sanosuke asked. “That depends.” Quick Strike answered. “Depends on what?” The brawler asked. “Depends on if you can beat me in a little sparring match. I hardly ever find a good fight anymore.You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” The stallion said with a cocky smile. “Sure, I could use a little workout. But what do you get out of this if you win?” Sanosuke said as he popped his neck and threw his cloak to the side. “If I win you have to teach me some of those tricks you did to Blaze and his gang.” Quick Strike said with a grin as he took his stance and his friends backed up so the two could have enough room to fight. “Sure, works for me.” Sanosuke said as he took his stance. One of the mares of the group stood to the side with her hand raised in the air. As she looked at both of the fighters to make sure that they were ready she quickly threw her hand down. “FIGHT!” The mare shouted as the two began the match. (Start Song) Quick Strike took the initiative and charged at Sanosuke with blinding speed. Sanosuke barely had enough time to see the giant fist coming at him. The young brawler swatted the strike away and threw an uppercut to the young stallion’s chin which connected. Sanosuke could have sworn that he heard one of the young mares say “Toasty” when the strike hit. The strike sent the young stallion flying backwards threw the air. Before he could hit the ground he shifted the wait in his body and performed a backflip and landed on his hoofs in a crouching position. Quick Strike pushed off with all his might and leapt threw the air and threw five rapid kicks. Three of the kicks struck Sanosuke in the chest and the last two struck him in the face. The human’s vision went blurry from the pain as he was sent stumbling backwards. As his sight returned back to normal he noticed that the stallion was gone. The young brawler felt an arm rap around his neck from behind him and pulled him into a headlock. “Never let your opponent get behind you.” Quick Strike said as he tightens his grip on the human. “I was about to say the same thing to you!” Sanosuke said as he ran three steps up the alleyway wall, escaping the headlock and landing behind the blue unicorn. As the brawler landed behind Quick Strike he quickly landed two kidney punches and three rapid kicks to the unicorn’s ribs. This caused Quick Strike grunt in pain. As the two fighters now faced each other once again they began to circle each other. “You know, most people aren’t able to take even a single punch from me without passing out.” Sanosuke said with a toothy grin as he and the stallion continued to circle each other. “Yeah, I have the same problem.” Quick Strike said as he charged at the human and threw a punch to the human’s face. Sanosuke caught the punch with his left hand as he threw a right hook at the stallion’s jaw and flipped him over his shoulder. As the stallion was thrown to the ground he felt the air rush out of his lungs. Sanosuke took advantage of the situation and grabbed the stallion by one of his hoofs and started to spin him around for a few seconds. As the human was picking up speed the stallion new he was about to be in for a world of pain if he didn’t think of something. As the human brawler let go he sent Quick Strike flying through the air and straight towards a brick wall. Once again the unicorn rights himself while in midair and plants booth of his hoofs into the wall and launches himself at the human, landing a flying kick to the brawler’s chest. As the stallion lands on the ground he begins to unleash a flurry of punches on the brawler. Sanosuke manages to block most of the strikes except for the last one which is a right hook to the jaw. At this moment the stallion jumped up and rapped both legs around Sanosuke’s neck and dragging him to the ground. The street fighter managed to bring his hand up just in time to keep the sleeper hold from cutting off his air way. He realized that he was in a bad situation so he did the only thing that came to mind. He bit the stallion’s leg. The stallion screamed as his legs released the human’s neck as the brawler flings himself back up into a standing position. Quick Strike opened his eyes despite the pain, as he does he sees Sanosuke jump into the air and slam his fist down straight towards his face. The unicorn manages to roll out of the way just in time. As the brawler’s fist hits the ground, all the concrete within a ten-foot radius explodes around him. Quick Strike sat on the ground wide eyed while the other ponies that were watching all stood there with their jaws hitting the ground. (End Song) As Sanosuke stood back up and slowly started to walk towards the shocked stallion that clenched his eyes shut, awaiting the strike that would never come. When he opened his eyes he saw the human offering his hand. Quick Strike took the brawlers hand as he was helped up. “Well Quick Strike, you sure do live up to your name.” The human said with a friendly smile. “Why didn’t you do that glowing thing with you horn in the fight?” The brawler asked. “You mean my magic? The main reason I didn’t use it was because that it wouldn’t be honorable. Also, it seems that magic doesn’t have any effect on you.” Quick Strike said with a laugh. “How do you know about that?” The human asked “One of my buddies saw the fight at the bar and told me about it.” The stallion replied. “Well a deal is a deal. Meet me here tomorrow and I’ll teach you my tricks.” The stallion said as he turned and walked off with his friends. Sanosuke couldn’t help but laugh at how the stallion reminded him of himself when he was much younger. Sanosuke picked up his cloak and wrapped it around himself and pulled his hood back over his face. He knew that Cheerilee and Vinyl were going to be pissed at the fact that he was covered in cuts in bruises, especially Cheerilee. But he would cross that bridge when he got to it. As Sanosuke made his way back to Cheerilee’s and Vinyl, he couldn’t help but wonder what Kenshin was up to as he walked back to the apartment. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Meanwhile in Ponyville* “Doesn’t this mare ever get tired?” Kenshin screamed as he and the Cutie Mark Crusaders ran from the mint green unicorn that chased after them. “Come back Mr. Human! I want to touch you!” Lyra shouted as she chased Kenshin through Ponyville. “Run girls! Run!” Kenshin screamed to the Cutie Mark Crusaders as they ran for their lives from the crazy mare. Little did they know that there was something else following them. Off in the distance was a samurai that was dressed in a plain black kimono that stood at the edge of the Everfree Forest. He had a scarf that wrapped around his face and head that completely hid his face except for his cold lifeless eyes and wore a Japanese sun hat. At his side he wore a katana and wakazashi. But what stood out the most was the fact that he reeked of pure death and bloodlust. “This should be fun.” The murderous samurai said as he walked in the direction of the small town that was called Ponyville. (Start Song) > A Very Important Announcement > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Today was the hardest day of my life...Today my Mother died in the hospital at 2:19 PM, Wednesday, May 14, 2014. I don't know what to really do at the moment other than to try and move on and help my family in any way I can. As for the story, don't worry I will continue the story no matter what. It's what she would want... She always loved my stories, especially when I told them to her myself. In fact I think I will be using my story to help me cope with this whole situation. So expect the story to progress at a faster rate (Hopefully), expect the new chapter to be out soon (maybe a week). For the moment... I just need some time to rest. Thank you for all of your support and God Bless. > Chapter 5 - Settling In (Part 2): The Party Crasher! ( Over 26K words, Not proof read yet) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 5 - Settling In (Part 2): The Party Crasher! (Start Song) Legs hurting, lungs burning, Kenshin was nearly at his limit as he and the Cutie Mark Crusaders ran for their lives from the crazy mint green unicorn mare that was obsessed with the red headed human. He was amazed that the kids were able to run so fast and keep up without breaking a sweat. His injuries were not helping the matter at all. “Run girls, run!” The samurai said as they ran. “Why is she chasing us?” Sweetie Belle panted. “Lyra has a thing for humans.” Scootaloo said. “WHAT!?” The young samurai shrieked with eyes wide. “Yeah, no pony believed her when she said that ya humans existed. Now that your here she mus’ want to show them that she isn’t crazy.” Applebloom said with heavy breaths. As Kenshin was running he couldn’t help but feel sorry for the young mare. To be called crazy just because you believed in something was horrible. Kenshin didn’t know much about the mare but he could tell that she was desperate to prove to everyone that she wasn’t crazy. “She must see this as her only chance to prove that humans exist…I should help her. Besides it’s not like she’s really crazy…right?” The human thought to himself. As the girls ran for their lives they noticed that the red headed swordsman began to slow down and eventually came to a full stop. “Kenshin, what are you doing!?” Scootaloo said with worry. “Yeah we need to keep running, she’s gonna catch us!” Applebloom said with worry as she tugged at the samurai’s sleeve. “What are you doing Kenshin, that crazy mare is gonna get us!” Sweetie Belle shouted. “Now girls that’s not very nice to say, that it’s not. From what you told this one it sounds like she’s just misunderstood.” Kenshin said to the girls. “But Kenshin! There is something very wrong with the way she was looking at you! She looked like she wanted to eat you!” Scootaloo pleaded. “Let’s just give her a chance girls.” he said as the girl’s eyes went wide and their ears laid flat against their heads in worry. Around that time Kenshin turned around to see the mint green unicorn mare running at him at full speed. He could’ve sworn that as she ran at him she sounded almost like a train coming at him at full speed. It sure as hell felt like he was hit by one when she tackled him to the ground. Kenshin opened his eyes to see the mint green unicorn on top of him with a crazed smile and her left eye twitching. She slowly lowered her face towards Kenshin’s until it was barely an inch away from his. The red head could feel her hot minty breath tickle his face. As she opened her mouth the young samurai could only cringe in fear as to what she about to do. “I want you.” The human obsessed mare said to the pinned human. The ex-hitokiri had seen a lot of terrifying things in his life time, but this took the cake as his he began to scream in terror. “I WAS WRONG, I WAS HORRIBLY HORRIBLY WRONG, SHE IS CRAZY!!!” The samurai screamed. ‘What do we do!?” Apple Bloom asked with worry. “GET TWILIGHT AND THE OTHERS QUICKLY!!!” The terrified man shrieked as he clawed at the ground, trying to get away. As the three young fillies ran off to get help they shouted to red head. “Don’t worry we’ll be back as fast we can with help!” As the three young fillies disappeared into the distance, Kenshin was now at the mare’s mercy. Kenshin tried to get free but the mare on top of him would not budge an inch. “You’re not going anywhere now that I have you all to myself.” Lyra said with a demented grin which caused Kenshin to gulp in fear. As Kenshin was sure that there was no way out an idea popped into his head. “It’s a long shot…but it just might work.” The rurouni thought to himself. The human reached his hand up towards the unicorn’s head before she could even react. “Hey what are-” She said but was cut off as Kenshin began to scratch behind her ear. The result was instant. Her eyes rolled back into her head as she was overwhelmed by the pure pleasure caused by the human’s action. “~Oh that’s nice~” She said as she rolled off the samurai and onto her back. She started kicking her hoof like a dog when it has its belly scratched. The red haired swordsman kept this up for thirty seconds. As he looked at her face he could see that she was lost in pure bliss. He saw that now was his best chance to escape and took off in a dead on sprint towards town. “Hey get back here!” Lyra screamed to the samurai as she came back to her senses and gave chase after the human. As the samurai ran for his life he remembered the best and wisest advice that his sensei gave him in life. “Kenshin, a brave man knows when to stand and fight…But a smart man knows when to run like a little bitch!” The swordsman sprinted towards town with the deranged mare hot on his heels. As he ran through the quiet little town he ducked and swerved around the ponies and vendors that were in the market place at the time, trying to lose the human crazed unicorn. (End Song) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Ponyville – 20 minutes later* The girls had been searching for their samurai friend but to no avail. As they walked through the town looking for any signs of the red head they all stopped at Sugar Cube Corner deciding to take a break. “I can’t believe we haven’t found him yet! Where the Tartarus is he? I mean it can’t be that hard to find one human!” Rainbow Dash shouted in annoyance. “Oh, I hope Kenshin is alright.” Fluttershy said with worry. “I’m sure he’s fine sugarcube. After all, he did take down all them there manticores.” Applejack said trying to reassure the shy mare. “We don’t know that! He’s severely injured and walking around with the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Lyra is looking for him! Who knows what kind of a trouble they might have gotten into!?” Twilight said with her hair frazzled and her left eye twitching due to the stress of the situation. “Come on Twilight, turn that frowny upside downy! I’m sure Kenny’s fine!” Pinkie said with a huge grin. “Darling, I agree with Pinkie Pie. I believe that you are blowing this completely out of proportion.” Rarity said with a toss of her hair. “M-maybe you’re right girls. M-maybe I just need to calm down and-” Twilight said right before she was interrupted as they all saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders running towards them at full speed in a panic and appearing as if they were in a panic. “Everypony help! It’s Mr. Kenshin, he’s in trouble!” The three fillies screamed. The mares quickly surrounded the young fillies and began questioning them. “For land’s sake girls, you nearly got the poor stallion killed the first time with your shenanigans, what ya’ do this time!?” Applejack said with a mixture of worry and annoyance in her voice. “It wasn’t us this time, we swear! It’s Lyra, she got one look at Kenshin and went nuts and tackled Kenshin to the ground!” Applebloom said as she and the other crusaders were trying to catch their breath. “Oh my gosh, is he alright? Did he manage to get away?” Twilight asked with worry. “We don’t know, he just told us to run and get you girls for help. So we did what he said and tried to find you guys.” Scootaloo said while breathing hard from all the running they had just done. “Oh, I am so going back to magical kindergarten.” Twilight said to herself as she began to rub the temples of her head. “Come on girls, we got to go save Kenny!” Pinkie Pie said as she took off running. The others decided to not ask how Pinkie knew where she was going in order to avoid a migraine. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Ponyville 20 minutes ago – POV: Kenshin* Lyra was hot on the swordsman’s heels as she chased him into town as he ran for the sake of his life and sanity. Kenshin’s lungs felt as if they were filled with liquid fire as he tried to put some distance between him and the crazy mare. The fact that his injuries were acting up didn’t help matters in anyway. All the pony’s that were going about their business in the market place soon started to look around as they heard a strange sound that was off in the distance. "Orororororo!" The sound was faint but it sounded as if it were growing. "Orororororo!" The noise started to grow to the point that it caused one solar guard that was on patrol at the time to start looking around as she heard the strange sound. At this point everypony saw a red maned human run by at amazing speeds. "ORORORORORO!" He screamed as he ran past the guards mare. Before the mare could say anything a mint colored unicorn mare ran by screaming. "Let me examine you!!!" She screamed. The guard's mare's mouth hit the ground when she saw what was happening. As she was snapped out of her stupor by the situation she could not believe what she was seeing. Lyra was chasing an actual human stallion and he didn’t look to be in the best of health. “Damn, guess she was right!” The guard thought to herself right before she snapped out of her deep thought. “Hey! You leave that poor stallion alone!” The guard shouted as she darted after the two. "FEET!" Lyra screamed. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *POV: Kenshin – 1st Person* This one was running as fast as he could and was starting to feel the effects of it. The green unicorn mare was still chasing after this one and it seemed that she was gaining on me. This one was beginning to panic as he saw a guard that we just ran by begin to give chase. “Hey! You leave that poor stallion alone!” The guard shouted as she gave chase. As this happened I couldn’t help but remember my old friend Sanosuke. He was and still is my best friend to this day. His advice for any and all encounters with the police was quite simple and easy to follow. He would say “Kenshin, if the police are after you for any reason, just follow these simple steps. (1.) Run as fast as you can and do not stop for anything, no matter how much they order you to stop, just keep running. (2.) If you get caught, bust out and escape. (3.) Repeat steps 1 and 2 as needed.” Despite the fact that one should never run from the police, Sanosuke’s advice has come in handy more times than this one would like to admit, but this one digresses. As I ran I noticed that mint green unicorn mare was starting to gain on this one. I believe she said her name was Lyra. As she got closer her horn began to glow a light green as she used her magic to lift this one off the ground. But strangely enough as this one was lifted off the ground and pulled almost within her reach, the magic that surrounded my body faded away. As I took off running again and got twenty feet away from the crazed unicorn as she used her ‘magic’ again to grab me and pull me towards her, but strangely enough the same thing happened but at a much faster rate this time. As this one dropped to the ground again Miss Lyra tried the same thing again but this she could not even lift me off the ground. It was strange that Miss Twilight could lift me with her magic back at the hospital but this young mare could not. Was this one becoming immune to their magic? There was no time to ask myself these questions as I got back up and tried to run as the young mare seemed to be very confused by what had just happened. As Miss Lyra snapped out of her confusion and was about to grab me the guard’s mare that was following us tackled the green unicorn to the ground. This one decided to follow Sanosuke’s advice and took off running as hard as he could. “Wait! Come back!” Both mares screamed as I took off running. This one was not taking any chances as I crouched down and leapt to the top of the nearest building. As I ran and jumped from the rooftop to rooftop for five minutes straight until I decided to stop and take a break on one of the rooftops. As I sat on the roof of a store that was named ‘Quill’s and Sofa’ I could not help quietly laugh to myself about the name. As I sat there I started to think about the past. Many things went through this one’s mind, my friends, family, my son, and…Kaoru. (Start Music) This one could not help but feel regret. Regret at all the things that this one has done. Regret for being Battōsai. Regret for Tomoe’s death. The fact that I was never their enough for my son Kenji as a father. Regret for the fact that I was not there enough for my wife Kaoru and that I gave the disease that that this one had to her. This one was barely holding on from the disease, but when Kaoru caught it... It hit her so hard that she was barely alive the last time this one saw her, when this one... Died. This one could tell that she was holding on just long enough for the both of us to be reunited for one last time. (End Song) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Kenshin - 3rd Person view* As Kenshin sat on the roof of the store, he reached into his kimono jacket and pulled out a very old wooden toy top. As he sat there lost in thought he wrapped the string around the top, causing it to spin. As watched the spinning toy, he began to have a flash back of his dark days during the Bakumatsu. "It seems that no matter what this one does… the past will always come back to haunt me… Always." He said to himself as the top stopped spinning and fell on its side before he picked it up and put it back into his kimono jacket. As the young samurai gets up and begins to stretch, he hears a sound that is all too familiar with him. *SWISH* The sound of a blade flying through the air. Adrenalin pumping, eyes dilated. Time seems to slows down for Kenshin as he turns towards the oncoming throwing knives. As he does this, the young samurai draws his blade and swats the two knives out of the air with his sword only for five more to come out of nowhere. At this point the red head jumped to the side, dodging the knives which stuck into the spot on the roof where he stood. Kenshin tried to locate the assailant, but to no avail as the hidden enemy continued to throw a flurry of knives at him to which Kenshin tried to block . “Damn! I’m too exposed up here, I got to hide!” The rurouni thought to himself as he jumped off the roof and landed into a back alley to which he took off running at full speed, cutting through the back alleys and using the building’s as cover. When the human was sure that he was not being followed he stopped running and caught his breath in a back alley until something important dawned on him. “Why is this one not being followed” He thought to himself. Any assassin worth their salt would chase down their target or at least keep track of them. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. “He’s toying with me.” The samurai realized as he saw the sun high in the sky and heard the cicadas screech in the day. The samurai sheathed his sword and walked out of the alley way and onto the busy streets of Ponyville only to run face first into a pony, causing both the human and the pony to fall back on the ground on their butts, both of them rubbing their noses. “This one is sorry miss; I should have watched where I was going.” The samurai said as he was rubbing his nose in pain. “No no, it was my fault. I ‘m sorry about that.” The mare answered. As the pain subsided, they both opened their eyes and saw each other. The samurai’s pupil’s turn to pin pricks as he saw the mare the mare that is in front of him. Right in front of Kenshin was the crazed unicorn mare that had been chasing. Lyra Heartstrings. “Kuso! (Shit!)” The samurai said, amazed that he was still able to speak Japanese. This also led him to wonder how he was able to speak English but these thoughts were soon interrupted as he saw that deranged look in the mares eyes again as he took off running. As he ran, the human heard a familiar voice in his head. “Well, well, well, what do we have here? Did my favorite samurai run into some trouble?” Discord said to Kenshin telepathically. “Discord, is that you? How are you talking to this one?” The samurai said. “Simple, I’m using magic to talk to you telepathically.” “Magic can do that?” “Of course! Why do you think you’re able to speak English right now?” The spirit of chaos answered. “Well that answers that question. Well anyway if you are not too busy could you possibly, HELP ME!” The rurouni pleaded. “I’ll tell you what, since your funny antics have made my day. I am going to give you a freebie. I will help you escape Lyra.” Discord said. “Oh sweet Buddha, thank you!” The rurouni said in happiness and relief. “Oh, you are quite welcome my friend, but you might want to hang on for the ride of your life.” Discord said as he laughed mischievously to himself followed by the sound of him snapping his talon fingers. Kenshin could only gulp in fear at what he meant. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *POV: Mane Six – Present Time* “Pinkie darling, we have been looking Sir Kenshin for the past twenty minutes. Do you even have any idea where he could even be?” Rarity asked the pink party pony that was hopping to the middle of town as they searched for their human friend. “He should be here any second now!” Pinkie exclaimed innocently as she sat in the middle of the town square next to a statue of Celestia. Twilight walked up to Pinkie and said. “Pinkie, none of us knows where Kenshin is. How could you possibly know that-” The lavender unicorn was interrupted as she heard a loud thundering of hooves off in the distance. (Start Song) As the elements of harmony looked into the direction of the thundering noise, their jaws all hit the ground at what they saw. Kenshin was riding a strange creature that they have never seen before, but for some strange reason seemed oddly familiar to them. “What in Equestria is he riding!?” Twilight said in awe as Kenshin shot past her and the girls on horseback with Lyra following close behind on horseback as well. “We have to help him!” Fluttershy said with worry. “Come on girls!” Twilight said as she and her friends gave chase after Kenshin and Lyra. The red headed human was grasping on tightly to the reins for dear life as he rode the horse through town. The samurai turned and weaved through on the ponies and pedestrian as he tried to lose the mint green unicorn that was chasing him on horseback as well. “I must examine you!” The mare screamed “Yah!” The human shouted as he drove his heels into the horse, causing it to gallop faster. As he was making his way through town he felt a deep sense of dread as he saw the mint green mare gaining on him. “Hurry up, she’s gaining on us!” Kenshin shouted to the bronco. “Discord, I understand having this one ride a horse to escape, but why her!?” The young samurai said in panic. “Eh, I wanted to make it fair.” Discord replied. “FAIR! YOU’RE GOING TO GET ME KILLED!” The human said as he was making his way towards the Everfree forest with Lyra close behind. As Kenshin was nearing the entrance to the Everfree forest he thought to himself. “This cannot possibly get any worse.” “Of course it can!” Discord said as he snapped his fingers which caused the pair of horses to disappear right out from under both the human and the unicorn. This sent the swordsman flying through the air and face first into a pile of weird looking flowers that were a bright shade of blue. (End Song) As the samurai managed to stand up, he spat out one of the blue flowers that wound up in his mouth from the fall and dusted himself off. As stood up he noticed that Lyra was now standing in front of him and slowing making her way towards him. The human realized that there was no way out of this situation as he was too tired to move. When everything seemed like it was over, Kenshin was surprised to say the least to see the six mares that found him in the forest. But what surprised him the most was that Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were both standing in front of him. “You can’t have Kenny, he’s mine!” Pinkie said as she grabbed the samurai and pulled him into a bone crushing hug. “You expect me to give up this once in a life time chance? I don’t think so!” The mint green unicorn said as she lunged at her human target only to be stopped in her tracks by the timid Pegasus Fluttershy. As Kenshin looked at was going on he couldn’t believe it. The unicorn that had been chasing Kenshin with no intention of letting anything get in her way was now standing stalk still with a look of pure fear on her face. As he looked at Fluttershy he was shocked at what he saw. She was giving Lyra a look that could put the Shin No Ippo to shame. The look that she was giving the unicorn reflected every amount of anger that she could possibly muster and then some. Kenshin knew one thing for sure, he would sure hate to be on the receiving end of Fluttershy’s stare. At that moment the cream colored Pegasus flew up to Lyra’s face in an instant. “How dare! How dare you chase Mr. Kenshin all around town when he’s still recovering from his injuries!” Fluttershy said in anger. “B-but I-I-” The unicorn stuttered. “He’s in no condition to even be moving around on his own and yet chase him like he’s some kind of criminal!” Fluttershy said, her voice now rising with her anger as she maintained her stare. “I d-didn’t know” Lyra said now tearing up. “Miss Fluttershy.” The young human said with a gentle voice which snapped the pink mane Pegasus out of her stare. “It is not her fault.” He said which caused the other mare’s to get involved. “What do you mean? She done chased all ‘round Ponyville and back!” Applejack said with an upset tone. “Yeah she’s right, I mean look at you! You look like you’re about to collapse!” Rainbow Dash said with anger in her voice. “Kenshin, how can you say that after how she chased you around all day?” Twilight said as she gave the rurouni an exasperated look. “She’s right darling. What she did was very rude and uncouth.” Rarity added. At this Kenshin did not say anything as he walked up to the now sitting on the ground and crying. The young samurai knelt down in front of her and said. “Miss Lyra, it’s alright this one is not angry with you.” The samurai said to her in a kind and caring voice. “B-b-but I c-chased you all around t-town like y-you were some kind of animal.” She replied in between sobs. This caused the human to smile gently. “Did you intend to hurt this one?” he asked. “N-no” She answered shakingly. “Then why did you chase this one?” He asked already knowing the answer. “I-I j-just wanted to show everypony t-that I wasn’t c-c-crazy.” She told the rurouni. This caused the other mares to feel guilty as she went on to explain how she was ridiculed and made fun of for believing that humans existed. As she finished telling them her story, Kenshin along with the six other mares who’s ears were now drooping in sadness and shame, all felt bad for the mint colored unicorn. “Well then, let’s change that shall we.” Kenshin said as he gently took Lyra’s hand in his which caused her to blush as he led her to the town square. All the other girls were curious as to where the red head was taking her. Pinkie felt a surge of jealousy shoot through her as she watched the samurai grab Lyra’s hand, but she quickly controlled her jealousy when she remembered the unicorn’s sad story. They six mare’s decided to follow the two. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Ponyville – Spike POV* Spike was darting around Ponyville handing out the fliers that Pinkie gave him for Kenshin’s surprise party. He had spent a good amount of time trying to pass them out to everypony in town. Usually Pinkie would handle this whenever she did one of her party’s somepony but today was different. She had asked Spike to do it saying that she had to go rescue her ‘Kenny’ whatever that meant. Being the young gentle drake that he was he naturally accepted because he was always happy to help a friend out in need. “I don’t know how Pinkie Pie does it so fast, this is hard work.” The young drake said to himself as he kept handing out the fliers to anypony that he would happen to come across. As the young drake decided to take a break and sat on a park bench. As he sat there he saw a mysterious figure walking through the town off in the distance and passing by the towns ponies without even looking at them. Despite the fact that he wasn’t looking at the ponies around him, he gave off an aura that said he was completely aware of everything that was going on around him. What caught Spike’s attention the most was that the figure was carrying two swords at his side. One was a long katana and the other was a regular sized wakazashi, both had a square guard. He was wearing a long grey kimono with a black sash that held his swords in place along with a straw hat on his head with a long black scarf that was covering his whole face except for his eyes. Spike could immediately tell that this guy was a samurai. But something was off about him, really off. The young drake couldn’t put his finger on it, but he decided that it was probably nothing and shrugged it off. Excited that there was a second samurai in Ponyville Spike immediately ran up to the stranger which caused him to stop and eye the young dragon wearily. “Excuse me mister, but are you a Samurai?” The young dragon asked the mysterious swordsman. “Yes I am, what’s it to you?” The swordsman said to the young dragon which caused him to flinch in fear. What frightened the young drake even more was his voice. It could only be described as a bone chilling and ice cold, as if its owner had no amount humanity or care for others to give. It was as if the whole world could be burning down around him and he would watch with a smile on his face. “Well?” The swordsman said to the young drake causing him to snap out of his deep thinking. “U-um well s-since you’re a samurai I t-thought that maybe you might know K-Kenshin.” Spike said to the samurai. “Wait a minute! Did you say Kenshin. As in Kenshin Himura.” The swordsman questioned. “Y-yes, I thought that since you’re a samurai and he’s a samurai, I thought that maybe you two were friends.” The young drake said nervously. At this the masked swordsman began to remove his scarf to reveal his face. “Oh Kenshin! Yeah he and I go way back. He’s an ‘old buddy’ of mine” The samurai lied once he got the scarf off from around his face. When Spike saw his face it set him on edge. He had pale skin and grey hair. But that wasn’t what made him afraid; it was the fact that there was something extremely wrong with his eyes. The pupils where white, while the sclera were a dark purplish blue instead of white. To top things off he had a creepy smile that could unnerve even the most fearless royal guard. “Names Udo Jin-E, sorry for snapping at you kid. I’ve just been a little on… edge lately.” He said as he held out his hand to the young drake who hesitated for a moment before taking the serial killer’s hand in his claw and shaking it up and down. As he did this the young drake began to smile and feel at ease with the friendly gesture. “I’m Spike, since you two are friends why don’t you come to the surprise party for Kenshin. It’s gonna be at the old barn at Sweet Apple Acre’s, everypony’s gonna be there. I think he would be real surprised to see you.” Spike said with a smile on his face as he handed Jin-E an invite which he took in one hand and looked at for a moment. “Oh trust me kid; when he sees me he’ll be very surprised. I ‘ll see you there.” Jin-E said with an evil smile as he turned and walked away, disappearing into the crowed. As he walked off Jin-E muttered to himself. “Stupid brat, I can’t wait to kill him and everyone there.” Jin-E said to himself with a scowl which turned into a demented smile. As Spike was now walking off he couldn’t help but feel creeped out. “That guy sure was creepy; I wonder how he knows Kenshin?” Spike said as he went about his day again. *Ponyville Town Square - POV: Kenshin, Mane Six, Lyra* As the red headed human and seven mares stood in the middle of the town square the young samurai began to walk up to the town square’s stage which was only used during special occasions such as holidays and announcements for important affairs. The young man made his way up onto the stage. Before any of the mares could protest he began to speak out to the citizens loudly but politely. “Can this one have everyone’s attention please!?” He announced loudly to which every pony turned towards the young human that was on stage. As all eyes were on the samurai he took a deep breath and said. “This one has heard that everyone believes that humans are nothing but folklore or myth. Many have chalked my kind up to children’s stories and empty tales. I have no idea what your opinion of my kind is, but I want to thank the only pony that has believed in my kind the whole entire time while many have scoffed at her and called her crazy.” The rurouni said as he motioned for Lyra to come up onto the stage. She was hesitant at first but managed to work past her fears and walked up onto the platform. All the ponies in the area were stunned at the fact that there was a living breathing human in front of them. As she was standing next to the samurai he grabbed her hand and lifted it high into the sky and said. “Let’s give a round of applause for Miss Lyra for being right about humans existing!” The rurouni said while casting a gentle smile toward the mint green unicorn. At this moment all the ponies in the town square began to clap and cheer for Lyra. Lyra couldn’t help but tear up out of joy at what was happening. She was finally able to prove that she was right and that she wasn’t crazy and it was all thanks to the young swordsman that was standing next to her, she was finally able to redeem herself. He was a complete stranger yet he was helping her despite everything that she put him through earlier. She couldn’t help but wonder why. As they got off the stage every pony began to surround the young mare apologizing for ridiculing her and not believing her. As she was finally able to achieve her goal, she could only look on at the samurai as he walked off and joined the elements of harmony, his kimono flapping in the wind. “Thank you, thank you so much.” Lyra said as she watched Kenshin and the six mares walk off. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *10 minutes later* “That was very kind of ya.” Applejack said. “Hm?” The red head answered as he turned his attention to the orange earth pony. “What ya did back there for Lyra. Ya didn’t have ta’ do what ya did but ya didn it anyway, even after everythin’ that happened ta ya sugarcube.” She said. “Yeah, I was pretty pissed when the crusaders told us what happened, and I wasn’t even the one being chased! How are you able to just let it go so easily?” The cyan Pegasus said as she flew beside the human. “There really is no reason to be upset, Miss Lyra meant no harm. Besides, this one cannot stand to see someone-” He said but was interrupted. “Somepony!” Pinkie corrected causing the samurai to smile gently at the party pony, causing her to blush. “-Sompony being mistreated or made fun of. If this one can solve another’s problem he will.” The red head said with a warm smile which made the six mares feel as if they had butterflies in their stomachs. “W-well I t-think that is very sweet of you Kenshin.” Fluttershy said, barely even audible. “Thank you Fluttershy” He replied. “Um, I’ve been meaning to ask you something Kenshin.” Twilight asked. “Ask away my friend.” He said with a smile. “What was that creature you were riding through town?” This caused the samurai to stop dead in his tracks. How was he going to explain this to them he wondered. “Ummm…” “Yes?” She edged him on. “Well this one was riding a horse… My world’s version of a pony…” The human said while scratching the back of his head nervously. There was a moment of silence which was broken after a few seconds. “WHAT!!!” The mares shrieked. “You have ponies in your world?” Twilight asked, excited to hear this. “Yes actually, but they are nothing like the ponies of this world.” He answered. “Well duh, we saw it with our own eyes.” Rainbow Dash said with annoyance as she crossed her arms. “Yeah, it looked really funny. Why didn’t it talk to us and why was it running around like a wild animal?” Pinkie asked innocently. “W-well, t-that’s the thing. Ponies in my world are unable to talk and are nowhere near as intelligent as the ponies of this world; in most cases…they are considered wild animals.” As he said this the mares were shocked at the news. The young human was worried that he might of offended the young mares but as he looked at them they seemed to understand. “Um… you’re not angry?” He asked. “Why would we be, darling? We understand that you are from another world and that some things maybe topsy turvey compared to ours.” Rarity said. “Yeah, were not angry with you. Besides, the closet things we have to a human in this world before you came were Gorillas and we consider them to be wild animals. So in a way, it’s even on both sides.” Twilight said which caused the samurai to sigh in relief. “How in tarnation did they get here anyway?” The apple farmer asked. “It was Discord.” He answered. “Why am I not surprised.” Rainbow Dash huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest as she hovered next to the samurai. “He’s not bad; he just takes his jokes a little too far sometimes is all.” Fluttershy said in a hushed tone. “Do not worry Miss Fluttershy, I know that he’s good. He just seems to get carried away sometimes, that he does.” He assured the shy Pegasus which caused her to smile as she hid behind her mane. As they continued to walk in silence Rainbow Dash decided to break said silence. “Sooo… How did you get that scar on your face?” Asked the cyan mare which caused the five other mares to gasp in horror. “Dash!” Twilight shouted in anger “What! I think it looks cool!” Rainbow said as her friends glared at her. “Rainbow ya don’t go asking stuff like that!” Applejack explained in an angry tone “She is right Rainbow that was very rude!” Rarity said in an upset tone. “It’s alright everyone, that it is.” He said trying to calm the other mares down. He then turned his attention to the cyan mare as they all continued walking. “I got this scar during a war… due to a mistake that I made… A mistake that cost me the life of someone that I loved very much.” The young human said in a sad and downtrodden tone. As he turned around to face the mares, he saw that they all had looks of pure horror on their faces. “A w-w-war?” Fluttershy stuttered. “Yes” The warrior answered. “T-there’s w-war where you’re from?” Twilight asked shakily. “Yes, why do you ask?” Kenshin asked a little confused. “Well… Equestria has never had a single war during the Princesses entire rule.” Twilight said. “Oh… Well I’m glad; no one should ever have to experience the horrors of war, that they shouldn’t” He said with a sad smile. That’s when they all saw it; none of them could tell what it was about his eyes that seemed so sad. But now they figured it, his eyes were empty. They were the eyes of a man that had experienced a life of only pain and suffering. It was as if he was dead on the inside. But despite it all he always tried to smile, he always tried to help others. “Oh crap! I am so sorry! I didn’t know-” Rainbow sputtered with her ears pressed against her skull in regret, but was interrupted. “It’s okay Rainbow Dash, as you said you didn’t know. There’s no reason to be sad when in the company of good friends. Right?” He said as he gently ruffled her mane with his hand, causing her to blush. “R-right! Just forget I said anything!” She said, her face burning red with embarrassment. As they began walking again the group couldn’t help but notice a small, yet steadily growing sound approaching. As they all turned around to find the source of the noise, three young fillies dashed past the mares and tackled the human down to the ground. “You’re alive!” The three fillies were going shouting as they hugged the samurai who in turn hugged him them back. “Hello girls, it’s good to see you too.” The human said while casting the young fillies a warm smile. “Girls what are you doing here?” Fluttershy asked shyly. “We were worried about Kenshin.” Sweetie Belle said. “Yeah, we wanted to make sure that he’s fine.” Applebloom said as the mares walked up to them. “Besides, we wanted to see if he can help us get our cutie marks.” Scootaloo said as she put her hands in her pocket. “Girls, ah that we told ya not ta’ get into any more trouble since you all got Kenshin hurt from trying to tame manticores.” Applejack said while raising an eyebrow at the three young fillies. “Don’t worry, Miss Applejack. They didn’t do anything wrong, in fact all we did was talk. It was just a coincidence that we ran into Miss Lyra.” He said as Applejack stared at him for a good ten seconds to see if he was trying to lie and cover for the girls. As she saw that he was telling the truth she could only let out a sigh. “I guess you’re right. But I don’t want you girls to be getting in anymore trouble ya hear!” Applejack said she gave the crusaders a serious glare to which Rarity and Rainbow Dash joined in. “Yes ma’am.” The three fillies said quickly trying to avoid getting into any trouble. “Well okay, I’m glad to hear it. Now come on we all need to get to Sweet Apple Acres.” Applejack said as her expression changed to a smile. “We do?” The rurouni questioned as they began walking in the direction of the farm. “Well of course, duh!” Pinkie said as she began bouncing alongside the human. “Where is this Sweet Apple Acres and what is it?” He asked. “Why it’s the Apple family farm, we grow and sell the best apples in all of Equestria.” The orange mare answered with pride. After her answer they all continued to walk on silence until they arrived at the farm fields and made their way to an old abandon barn. By the time they arrived the sun was already setting. “Where are we?” The swordsman asked. “Where at the old barn, we don’t use it much fer’ anythin’ anymore but it is a nice place to rest. Wanna take a look inside?” The farmer asked with a smile. “Sure.” The swordsman answered, returning the mare’s smile. As he walked past the orange farm mare, she couldn’t but stare at him and think about how was riding a horse earlier. “Oh if this fella likes to ride than I’ll give him the rodeo of his life that he’ll never forget.” Applejack thought to herself as she looked at the samurai with bedroom eyes. As the samurai walked into the old broken down barn along with six the mares and three fillies, they were greeted by a pitch black room. Everything was silent but that silence was soon broken. “SURPRISE!!!” This caused the samurai to jump in surprise at what he saw. The barn was filled with ponies, balloons, streamers, and food. Everything that was needed for an amazing party. But what surprised him the most was that Pinkie Pie was at the front of the crowd of ponies with the biggest smile on her face even though she was just standing next to him a split second ago. His thoughts were interrupted as she quickly closed the distance between herself and the man. “Were you surprised, were you, were you?” She asked as she was bouncing up and down in place as her nose was pressed against his, still maintaining her massive smile. “Yes, I am very surprised Pinkie, that I am.” The swordsman said as he gently ruffled her fluffy pink mane with his hand and smiled, this caused the pink party pony’s face to burn red with embarrassment. “This is your ‘Welcome to Ponyville and Thanks for Saving Us’ Party!” Pinkie Pie said as she hugged the kind human. “Thank you Pinkie Pie.” He said which caused her to jump up into the air and scream “IT’S PARTY TIME! LET’S BOOGIE!” The pink mare shouted as the party officially began. The experience was something else for the young human that was for sure. The old barn was practically filled with the whole entire town. The music was loud but not too loud the samurai noticed as he began to make his way through the crowd of party goers and guests. He noticed that the six mares following him very closely the entire time. He found it nice that they wanted to be close to him but he felt that something was off slightly off about this. But due to the number of party goers he somehow got separated from the mares. As he walked by he noticed that many of the mares that were attending the party were eyeing him intently like a pack of hungry predators eyes a slab of fresh meat. As he passed by he overheard them whispering amongst each other. “Is that the stallion that saved the Elements of Harmony and those fillies? He sure is a cute one!” One mare said to her friends. “I heard he took down ten manticores all on his own. Now that’s a stallion! Even if he sort of looks like a mare.” One of the other mares said. “He’s the one from that video that’s been floating around, the one with the stallion fighting those manticores! He’s that human that was with Lyra earlier!” “Did you see how he rode that creature earlier? I wouldn’t mind him riding me; in fact I wouldn’t mind him riding me until I break!” “Do you think he’s in a herd?” A third mare said. The mare’s conversation made Kenshin’s face turn a bright shade of red as he tried to hide his embarrassment, which he was failing miserably at. It also didn’t help that they were wearing very revealing outfits. One of the mares outfit was so skimpy that the red head could clearly see her thong due to her jean shorts riding so low along with a tube top that showed her well-toned stomach that was barely able to contain her enormous breasts, they looked as if they were about to pop out of her top. In fact her jean shorts were so skimpy that they appeared as if they were a thong themselves. Even though the samurai was trying his hardest not to look at the mares, he couldn’t help that but find them attractive. But the man quickly regained his composure. But it was quickly lost when he saw the three mares approaching. “Hey there cutie, you come here often?” the daisy duke wearing mare said as she walked up to Kenshin with a sultry grin with her two friends following suit. “Why don’t you let us buy you some drinks cutie.” the second mare in the group said. He saw that both the second and third mare of the group were dressed in a similar manner as there friend. One of them was dressed with a similar blue tube top and a mini skirt while the other was wearing a red blouse that showed a lot of her cleavage with a very tight pair of hip hugger jeans. “Thank you very much for the kind offer, but this one must decline.” The samurai said nervously. “Oh come on cutie, we won’t bite…unless you want us too.” The second mare says as she gets closer while swaying her hips, causing Kenshin to back up into a wall nervously, leaving him cornered. “Ah, don’t be so shy sweetie.” The mare with the daisy dukes cooed as she latched on to warriors arm, causing his face to turn blazing red as he saw and felt the mares enormous breasts pressed against his arm. Kenshin was glad that he was wearing a very baggy hakama otherwise he would be pitching the biggest tent in history at that moment. The mare holding on to the man’s arm lean’s in closer and whispers into his ear. “We could give you a night that you will never forget.” She says in very low and sultry tone. At this point the swordsman’s face was glowing solid red as steam came out of his ears from embarrassment. “Hey! Kenny said he didn’t want a drink!” This caused the man and mares to turn around to find the owner of the voice only to see Pinkie Pie. “What do you want? Can’t you see we’re busy here?” The mare said in an annoyed tone as Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack as they came up behind Pinkie Pie. “What I want…” Pinkie said as her mane began to flatten and go straight “Is for you hussies to get your dirty hands off my Kenny.” Pinkie continued as she began to gain a twisted grin. “Oh yeah, and what if we don’t? Can’t you see that he wants a real mare, not some little filly.” One of the other mares said which caused Pinkie Pie to growl like a dog at the mares. “If ya don’t then you’ll jus’ have ta deal with us.” Applejack said as she and Rainbow Dash popped their knuckles. “All of us.” Rainbow Dash added as the rest of the mane six gave death glares to the mares which caused them to start backing off slowly, realizing that they were clearly outnumbered and out matched. “Like, I said before. If you ever want to be with a real mare just come and find me~” She said to the human as her and the three other mares walked off into the crowd. As they walked off and were out of sight the six mares quickly turned their attention to the samurai. “Are you alright sugar cube?” Applejack asked. “They didn’t try anything funny did they?” Rainbow Dash added. “This one is fine everyone. I must say though, that was a first for me that it was.” He said. “What do you mean?” Twilight asked as they all made their way over to a table and sat down. “Well that is the first time that I have ever had a woman or in this case a mare hit on me let alone ask this one out, that it is. Usually the man asks the woman out, not that I have anything wrong with a woman asking a man out.” He said. “Wait a minute, what type of society are you from?” Twilight asked. “What do you mean Twilight?” He answered confused by the question. “What I mean is, was your society a Matriarchy or a Patriarchy?” The lavender unicorn asked politely. “A Patriarchy, why do you ask?” This answered caused the unicorn and the others to go wide eyed a little at the samurai’s answer. “I just remembered that I never explained Equestrian society to you because I was so caught up with trying to document and study you.” She said as she massaged the bridge of her muzzle before she began tell him about pony society. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Canterlot Castle – Council of Nobles* The Council was in an uproar at the news of the reappearance of the samurai. If it weren’t for the fact that Celestia was a few thousands of years old than she would have lost it with the nobles insistent whining. Thankfully, though she was able to keep her composure as she addressed the council calmly. “I understand your concerns my little ponies, but you need not worry yourselves, this samurai means us no harm. My faithful student Twilight Sparkle and the other Elements of Harmony have been interacting with him and watching him carefully.” Celestia said as she addressed the nobles in a neutral tone. “How can you be so sure that he is friendly? He could be putting on an act in order for us to lower our guard.” One noble said in a snobbish tone. “He saved the Elements of Harmony and three young fillies from ten manitcores in the Everfree Forest when he could have easily run away, and from what Twilight Sparkles reports have shown me he seems very kind hearted and wishes to only help others. That more than proves that he has a kind heart in my book.” She said in a matter of fact tone. “Princess, with all due respect, do you actually expect us to believe that a mere swordsman managed to escape ten manticores with nine ponies in tow? Next you’ll be telling us that humans exist.” Another noble said in a stuck up tone while laughing. “Of course not my little pony, I am not saying that at all.” The princess said in a sweet and innocent tone which caused the stuck up noble to smirk and raise his head up high in triumph. “I am saying that this swordsman stood his ground and defeated ten manticores single handedly while defending nine ponies all on his own…and for the record it just so happens that he is a human.” The Princess said with a smug grin which caused the stuck up noble’s jaw to drop which was quickly followed gasps which quickly turned to shouting. “SILENCE!!!” Luna shouted in the Royal Canterlot voice as she stood next to her sister as they both stood in front of the council. “If thou does not believe us than here’s undeniable proof!” The Princess of the Night said as she tried to work the monitor which proofed to be tougher than she thought. She struggled with it until she finally gave up and had a guard operate it for her. As the video of the fight played out it showed a red haired human fighting at such a high rate of speed that it appeared as if he disappeared and reappeared as he defeated the manticores with nothing but a sword as if they were nothing. This caused the nobles to begin shouting and arguing, but this time among themselves about who he would work for or who would have his fighting style. This caused the Princess of the Sun to massage the bridge of her muzzle in annoyance before she turned to the freeze framed picture of the samurai on the monitor. The picture was of poor quality and she could not see the human clearly. But as she gazed upon the picture she remembered the legends of humans being masters of the ways of war and having remarkable intelligence and being able to to master not just one talent, but as many as they wanted, they could adapt to any situation. As she turned her attention back to the fighting nobles she felt dread as she thought about how the other nations would react when they discover the existence of Equestria’s alien visitor. She could only fear what would happen if this samurai and his skills fell into the wrong hands, it could be catastrophic. “Kenshin Himura… just who are you exactly?” Celestia said to herself. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Party* As Kenshin sat there with his jaw hitting the table the girls could only look at him with fear and worry in their eyes. “Kenshin… You okay there sugar cube?” Applejack asked as she tried to make sure that their human friend was alright. Kenshin was surprised to say the least about the information that was given to him about Equestrian society. 1. Approximately 90% of the mares in Equestria are bisexual while the remaining 10% are either heterosexual or homosexual. 2. Mares outnumber stallions 10 to 1. 3. Equestria was a Matriarchy, a female dominant society. 4. Interspecies relationships were common and accepted, therefore making them legal. 5. Some, if not all gender roles were switched. 6. Due to the lack of stallions herds are formed making polygamy legal and widely practiced. A herd comprised of one stallion and 2 or more mares. The mares all share, protect, and love the stallion. The mares not only are able to love and share the stallion, they are able to love their other herd mates too. Also, in every herd there was a lead mare who was in charge of the herd and a second mare who was second in command. While monogamy was legal and accepted, it was rarely practiced. “So does that mean that all of you girls are…” Kenshin asked nervously realizing that this was a sensitive subject and he was trying to make sure that he did not offend his friends in any way. “Yes, we’re all bisexual.” Twilight said as she motioned to the rest of the Elements of Harmony that were sitting at the table. “Why? Is that a problem?” Twilight said with a slight edge to her voice. “No no, not at all! This one would never judge anyone based on their sexual orientation!” The human quickly stammered out which caused the girls to sigh in relief. As the samurai sat there taking in all of the information that he had just been given his mind began to wander. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Inside Kenshin’s mind* Battōsai stood there in the middle of Kenshin’s mind with his jaw hitting the ground. “They’re all bi… I have the most wicked boner right now.” He said right before he passed out on the floor. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *The party* The man was finally brought out of his state of shock as he felt himself being shaken by the pink party mare. “Kenny, are you okay?” Pinkie asked with worry. “Oh yes, this one is fine. Just a little surprised is all. Things here are much more different than Japan, but that is to be expected when coming to a new country let alone a new world.” He said to the pink party pony with a friendly smile. “That’s understandable. This has probably got to be a huge culture shock to you. Are you upset by any of the things I told you?” Twilight asked. “Not at all. Just a little surprised is all.” He reassured the lavender unicorn. “How are relationships handled were you’re from?” Twilight asked with curiosity. “Well almost all relationships are monogamous. It is usually frowned upon to have more than one wife or lover. If a man were to be married with one woman and he was going out with a second woman on the side or vice versa it would be considered cheating and betraying your spouse.” The man explained. “There must be a lot of lonely mares in your world.” Rarity said. “Not really, the gender ratio is 50:50.” As he said this all the mares gasped in amazement. “So ya mean each mare can get a stallion of their own in your world?” Applejack asked amazement. “Pretty much.” “I like the sounds of that. It would make heat season so much easier.” The farm mare said. As Kenshin was about to ask what heat season was he was quickly interrupted by the party who appeared an inch from his face. “Hey Kenny, what do you think your wife would have done to you if you cheated on her?” She asked. At that exact moment he turned as pale as a ghost and began to shake shake like a leaf. “T-this one h-has gotten to k-know Twilight a little bit while staying with her, but this one has not had a chance to get to know the rest of you personally. Why don’t you tell a little about yourselves?” The samurai said trying to change the subject. “That there seems like a good idea.” Applejack said as she tilted her Stetson back. All the girls seemed to nod their heads at this. “Oh oh, we should have some treats and cider while we talk.” Pinkie said. “You don’t have to do that Pinkie, allow me to-” He fell silent in awe as he saw the table filled with mugs of cider and an assortment pastries and confectionaries despite the fact that the pink mare never moved from her seat. “H-how did you-” The exasperated man asked in confusion. “That’s just Pinkie being Pinkie sugar cube, best not think about or you’ll get a head ache. Twilight found that out the hard way.” The farm mare said as Twilight rolled her eyes at the comment. The samurai sat there for several seconds before he finally broke the silence. “Pinkie Pie... Are you a ninja?” The samurai asked in a dumbfounded way. “Wait! Have you encountered ninjas before?” Twilight asked but was ignored as the two continued their conversation. “No silly! Oh, oh but I do have a ninja constume!” She said as she pulled the black garb out of nowhere. “What in tarnation is a ninja?” Applejack asked, “A ninja or shinobi as they are most commonly known as in Neighpon are highly trained shadow assassins of the night. They were originally farmers that were being oppressed and miss treated by their feudal warlords to the point where there fought back by creating secret societies where they secretly trained in the art of stealth and assassination. They were spies, saboteurs, and most of all they were master assassins. It was believed that they had their own form of magic that could not only be used by unicorns but by Pegasus and earth ponies as well. Others say that they could fly without wings as well. They differ from the samurai by the fact that while the samurai followed the code of honor, the ninja on the other hand followed the code of the assassin, doing any and everything to complete their missions obtain and achieve their goals. They were the only ones that were on par with the samurai when it came to power and skill.” Twilight explained, giving a textbook answer to the Apple farmer and her friends. “Woowee! They don’t sound too nice if ya ask me.” Applejack said. “Yes indeed, they sound like ruffians if you ask me daring.” Rarity said. “Some of them are actually pretty nice once you get to know them.” The red head said. “So you have encountered ninjas before?” The lavender unicorn asked as she leaned closer to the samurai. “Yes, but most of them were hired to kill me though. But I am friends with a couple that are good.” He answered causally as if it were nothing while taking a sip from his mug of hard cider, causing the six mares to stare at him with looks of pure horror on their faces. “W-well, Pinkie why don’t you start by telling Kenshin a little about yourself?” Twilight said as she tried to change the direction of the conversation. “Oh, oh, okay!” Pinkie said as began to pounce up and down in her seat. “Well I use to live on a rock farm but it was all gloomy and sad there because my family never smiled and we weren’t allowed to do anything fun. But one day I saw a rainbow streak through the sky which was actually Rainbow Dash doing a Sonic Rainboom, that’s when I decided to throw a party for my family so that they could smile and be happy. When I did that my cutie mark appeared proving that I was meant to make other ponies happy. A few years after that I moved to Ponyville where I got the bestest job in the whole wide world working as a baker at Sugarcube corner and I can spend all the time I want with my bestest friends in the whole wide world.” Pinkie Pie said all in one breathe before gasped for air. “I must say, that was an interesting story Pinkie Pie, that it was. You seem to have a very interesting life.” He said which caused the party mare’s eye to light up by the fact that he was actually listening to her instead of just pretending to, she found her face heating up at this. This amazed everypony as well due to the fact that he was able to take one of Pinkie’s signature ramblings and come out unfazed. The samurai then popped a cupcake into his mouth. As he ate the pastry his eyes lit up. “This is very tasty Pinkie Pie.” This caused Pinkie’s smile to widen to an impossible level. Kenshin couldn’t help but admire her childlike innocence. “Pinkie.” “Yeah Kenny?” The party pony said with a smile. “Never lose that childlike innocence that you have. It is one of your best qualities.” He said. This caused the pink mares face to flush and heat up. Her heart felt as if it were about to jump out of her chest. At this point it was Rainbow Dash’s turn to give the human some information about herself. “Like I said before I’m the fastest flyer in Equestria and future Wonderbolts and I’m also the only pony to ever perform the legendary Sonic Rainboom. That’s why I train every chance I get when I’m not managing the weather!” Rainbow Dash said with a sense of pride. “As long as you keep training and keep that confidence that you have then there is no way you could possibly fail Rainbow Dash.” Hearing this caused Dash to blush. “Y-you really think so?” She asked. “I know so, that I do. But may this one ask you a question?” He asked with a warm gentle smile. “Sure.” Rainbow said with a smile. “Who are the Wonderbolts?” The samurai asked. This caused the cyan mare’s jaw t hit drop in shock. “How can you not know who the Wonderbolts are!” she shouted. “I’m from another world remember.” He replied with a deadpan expression. “Oh, yeah.” She said as she remembered that fact. “Well they’re only the best fliers in all of Equestria! They’re an elite unit of the Equestrian Royal Air Force that performs the best air shows ever and they only accept the best of the best, which I am.” She said with excitement as she hovered in the air, flapping her wings slowly. The swordsman could only stare in awe and amazement at the young mare that was flying in front of him. “With beautiful, elegant, and powerful wings like those you should have no problem of getting in. Especially with the raw talent that you have.” This comment caused the cyan mare’s face to turn bright red. She could feel her heart about to beat out of her chest at his compliment. To compliment a Pegasus wings was the highest compliment one could give, it showed great admiration and respect, but it also meant that they were interest in the Pegasus as well. “B-but I’ve n-never even shown y-you my stunts yet.” Dash stuttered in nervousness as she felt her face heat up even more as she tried to look him in the eye. “This one can tell just by looking at you.” He said with a smile. Back in flight school everypony made fun of Rainbow Dash and saying that she had no talent and that she would never amount to anything which caused her to feel the need to prove herself to others by showing off all the time. But Kenshin just took her word for it. He just looked at her and saw not a loser, but a talented pony that could do anything that she set her mind to. No pony had ever done that for her. She didn’t know what to say. “Uh… Thanks.” She said as she lowered herself back into her chair, her face still red from embarrassment. Next it was Rarity’s turn. As he turned to the alabaster mare she flashed a smile towards him. “Lady Rarity, what can you tell me about yourself.” The human asked politely causing her to plush at his statement. “Please darling, just call me Rarity, but thank you for the compliment.” The fashionista said as she batted her eyelashes at the samurai. “Sure thing Rarity.” He replied. “Well I am seamstress and cloths designer as you can already tell by the wonderful Kimono I made for you.” She said. “Thanks again for the clothing. Sorry that this one was unable to pay you.” Kenshin said as he scratched the back of his head nervously. “Oh think nothing of it darling.” She said with a smile before she continued. “Well as I said my passion is fashion design. My family is originally from Ponyville but my parents decided to move to Trottingham for a few years which is where I was born which explains my accent. When I was five my parents decided to move back to Ponyville where they had my sister shortly after. Ever since I was young I just loved designing my own clothing, I guess that’s where my interest in fashion started. My goal in life is to make the best outfits in the world so that I may leave my mark on the world.” She said. “You will Rarity. In time your dream will become a reality. With each stitch you sew your skills grow and you come that much closer to your dream.” He said to the white unicorn mare. Rarity was rendered speechless by his words and she found her face heating up. “Thank you Kenshin, no pony has ever said that to me… you truly are a gentlecolt. Thank you.” She said with a gentle smile. Next was Applejack’s turn to give some information about herself. “What about you Applejack?” He asked. “Not much to say sugarcube. Ah run Sweet Apple Acres with my older brother while taking care of ma’ sister and granny.” Applejack said with pride. “Your parents must be very proud of you.” The swordsman said but as he did he saw the apple farmer’s smile quickly disappear and was replaced by a frown. “Ma’…ma’ parents died when ah was just a filly.” She said in a sorrowful tone. “I’m very sorry, this one did not know.” He said as he gently rubbed her back with one hand, trying to comfort her. “It’s alright sugarcube, ya didn’t know. I-it just gets so hard sometimes. I learned to deal with it, but when ah’ nearly lost Applebloom to those manticores... Everything came rushin’ back.” Applejack said as tears began to slowly roll down her cheeks before she continued. “Don’t get me wrong. Ah mean we make good money and we never go hungry and ah always loved working on the farm since ah could remember and I have ma’ family and friends and we have the best of times. Ah mean ah have everything I could ever ask for and I’m very appreciative... But ever since my Ma and Pa died… ah feel… ah feel…” “You feel alone. Despite how much time has passed, you still feel that emptiness that was left behind when you lost your parents. You feel like your trapped, don’t you?” The swordsman finished for her. “H-how did you know?” She said. All her friends could were shocked by the fact that they never knew that their best friend was suffering right in front of them this whole entire time and they never even knew it. Despite always wearing a happy face, she was still mourning the loss of her parents. “This one also knows the pain of losing your parents at a very young age.” He said with a sad smile as he hugged her which was soon followed by the others joining in on the hug and telling her that no matter what happened they would always be there for her. As he looked at the farm mare in his arms he stared into her eyes and said. “You are very strong Applejack to be able to carry this burden, but remember that no matter what you are not alone. You have your friends and family that are always there for you, that you do.” He said with a smile to which the five other mares nodded in agreement to. “Your parents would be so proud of you to see that their daughter has grown into a very strong and beautiful young mare.” He said to the apple farmer in his arms as he wiped the tears from her eyes which caused her face to burn bright red. Her heart was beating so hard at the comment that she felt like she was going to pass out. As they released the hug and returned to their seats they all took a few minutes to calm down. Applejack was happy that they were sitting at a table that was located in one of the far corners of the old barn that was out of sight. As they finally calmed down the young man turned his attention to Twilight Sparkle. “U-um me?” She asked to which he nodded. “But you already said you know a little bit about me.” She said nervously. “This one knows that you’re the Princess’s personal student and that you like to study a lot and ask me a lot of questions.” The swordsman said with a playful smile which caused the lavender unicorn to smile sheepishly as she began to play with her fingers nervously. “Well I was never very social as a filly until the Princess sent me to live here in Ponyville. I basically lived in the castle library. Spike was always there for me and would keep me company. I never really had friends back in those days because most kids would make fun of me for being a book worm. But I didn’t care, I was happy because I had Spike and the Princess. Now I’m even happier because I have my friends here with me.” She said with a smile. “Never be ashamed of your love for learning Twilight. A thirst for knowledge is a very admirable trait to have. Loving to learn does not make you a nerd, quite the opposite actually. This one finds that to be a very attractive trait to find in a woman. You will do many great things in life Twilight.” As he said this Twilight found her face burning with embarrassment just like her friends as her heart was racing. As the swordsman finally turned his attention to Fluttershy, causing her to let a cute ‘eep’ as he stared at her. “And last but definitely not least, Fluttershy.” He said to the yellow colored mare which caused her to blush. “O-oh I’m n-nothing s-special. I-I just take care of the animals that are sick and hungry at near my cottage.” She said in a shy tone that was barely audible as she hid behind her pink mane. “You take care of animals? That is very sweet Fluttershy, it suits your kind nature so well, that it does.” He complimented the shy mare which caused her to blush in embarrassment. “I-It’s nothing r-really, it’s my s-special talent that I got my cutie mark in. Do y-you know what a c-cutie mark i-is.” She said as she poked both of her index fingers together in a nervous manner. “Yes ,the cutie mark crusaders explained what they are.” He answered. “O-oh ok.” She said as she began to fidget in her seat until the samurai motioned for her to continue. “I’ve never b-been to good when it came to interacting with other ponies.” She said as she began to calm down a little bit, losing her stutter in the process. “But when I’m around my animal friends… I feel like nothing can go wrong.” She said, still maintaining her hushed tone. “Do not sell yourself short Fluttershy there is nothing wrong with being shy. In fact many find it to be a very cute trait. This one just happens to think that your shy nature makes you look absolutely adorable. At hearing this Fluttershy’s face was blazing hot as blood rushed to it. Like her friends her heart rate shot through the roof at his kindness. “To tell you the truth, this one is quite shy as well.” He said. “R-really?” She asked while peeking out from behind her pink mane. “Oh yes, whenever I talk to someone I feel very nervous and worry that something might go wrong or that I might say something wrong, that much indeed I do.” He said which caused her to sigh in relief by the fact that she wasn’t the only one who felt these feelings of anxiety. As the mares finished up with telling the samurai a little bit about themselves they stared at the rurouni for several seconds at the human. “Well…” Rainbow Dash asked as they all stared at him expectantly. “Well what?” Kenshin asked, tilted his head in slight confusion. “Well aren’t you gonna tells about yourself silly?” Pinkie said happily. “Well what would you like to know?” He said. “Tell me how you moved so fast that we couldn’t even see you when you fought the manitores in the Everfree Forest.” Dash asked while trying to hide her excitement. “Oh, from the training this one’s sensei gave him since I was a child.” He said Dash narrowed her eyes at the man believing that he was trying to the secret of his speed from her. “Yeah I get that but what I meant was what kind of training your sensei made you do. Did he make you lift weights or do sit ups while hanging from a tree, that sort of thing.” The rainbow mane mare asked in an annoyed tone. “Oh well he would have practice fighting and running with heavy weights that were sewn into a suit sometimes. But he would mainly teach me without it. It was mainly used as a punishment for when I did something bad.” He answered. “Weighted suit huh, I should try that sometime.” Dash said to herself. “Y-you said you had a wife. What was she like? If that’s okay that is.” Fluttershy asked timidly. The other mares were eager to hear about his wife as well. “Well… Her name is Kaoru and she could brighten up any day no matter how dark or gloomy it got. She had a bad temper sometimes but a kind and beautiful heart just the same. She’s was a loving wife and a loving mother and quite beautiful.” He said. “You’re a daddy?” Fluttershy asked as she began to perk up. She loved any and everything that had to do with animals and babies. “Yes I am, or at least I was before I died.” He said with a long and forlorn look as he stared into his mug of cider. The mares could only look on with sadness as the samurai sulked. “Were very sorry Kenshin that you’re not able to be with you family. But look at the bright side. At least you’re alive, and you’re not alone. We’re here for you Kenshin and we always will be.” Twilight said to which the mares nodded in agreement. The red head could only smile at their kind words. “Thank you girls, that really means a lot to this one.” He said. As they sat there the silently Dash decided to break the silence. “So… now that you’re single again what do you plan on doing?” The cyan mare asked which caused the rest of the mares to gasp at her question. “RAINBOW!” They all shrieked. “What?” She said. “Ya’ don’t go askin’ a stallion those kinda’ questions Rainbow!” Applejack shouted. “Rainbow Dash, that was very rude!” Rarity said. “It’s okay everyone, there was nothing wrong with her asking that question.” The man said calmy. “See! He’s cool with it!” Dash said triumphantly. “To be honest, this one has never really thought about it until now.” He said with a sigh. “Well whatever you chose to do Kenshin we’ll be behind you on it all the way.” Twilight said. “Thank you girls…Um I’ve been meaning to ask you all something that has been bugging this one…Who is the Red Swordsman. I heard Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy call me that a few times, not that there is anything wrong with that.” He said. “Well duh, you are silly!” Pinkie said with her usual giddy tone. “Pinkie the Red Swordsman is just a Neighponies comic, a work of fiction. There is no way that Kenshin could possibly be the Red Swordsman, I admit he shares a lot of traits of the character. But for him to actually be him his life would have to follow the events perfectly.” Twilight said in a matter of fact tone which caused Pinkie Pie to cross her arms and pout. “Uh ladies, that still does not answer the question.” He said politely. “The Red Swordsman is a story from Neighpon about a legendary human samurai who would help others in their time of need no matter how dangerous it was. In the first book he wanders into a town where he meets a young human mare who is a sword instructor. She mistakes him for a murderer who was killing others with her father’s style. She finds out that he is not the killer when he shows her his sword which just so happens to be a reversed blade sword and that he can’t kill any pony using it. One day the killer tries to kill her at her own dojo but the Red Swordsman stops him and saves the mare. They become very good friends and she lets him live with her. They called him the Red Swordsman because of his red mane and his cross shaped scar on his left cheek and he could move so fast that no pony could even see him.” Fluttershy said to everyone’s surprise. Kenshin was baffled by what he heard and this did not go unnoticed by the girls. “May I see this book?” The samurai asked to which pinkie pie pulled out a copy of the eastern comic and handed it to him. As he gazed at the cover he couldn’t believe what he saw. The mares quickly noticed that something was getting to Kenshin. “Kenshin, are you okay?” Twilight asked in worry as she watched him flip through the book quickly. Page after page, Kenshin all the major events of his life in the book. From the first time he met Kaoru to meeting Sanosuke. Since it was the first book in the series it only covered a small amount. The last page showed a picture of Udo Jin-E smiling dementedly at the reader and underneath the picture it said “To be continued in the next issue, The Red Swordsman vs. Evil Eye.” He silently handed the book back to Pikie Pie and sat there silently before finally saying. “That book… it shows my life.” Kenshin said which caused the mares to all gasp except for Pinkie Pie. “See! I told you!” The pink party pony said as she pointed accusingly at Twilight. “That’s impossible! How can you be so sure?” Twilight said in an exasperated tone. “Simple, because everything that has happened in that book has happened to me.” He said in a serious tone. “How is that possible?” Twilight asked with a dumbfounded expression that mirrored the girls at the table. “This one has never read the series but I can tell you what happens in the next volume. At the end of that book it showed a picture of someone called ‘Evil Eye’. In my world he was known as Udo Jin-E, he went around killing people and government figures just for the fun of it. What made him even more dangerous besides the fact that he was an expert swordsman and a deranged sociopathic serial killer was the fact that he had a special technique called the Shin no Ippō. It is similar to what Fluttershy did earlier to Miss Lyra when she was chasing me. But there is one huge difference though. Not only does it render the target immobile with a single glance, but the caster does not have to maintain eye contact for it to remain in effect. It can be so strong that it can shut down the victims lungs.” Kenshin said as he took a calming breath before he continued as the mares could only listen in shock at what he was saying. “The caster can also cast it upon themselves to make themselves stronger by thinking that they are absolutely invincible. This one’s wife was kidnapped by Jin-E so that he could lure me into a duel to the death. To get me angry he used Shin no Ippō on my wife telling me that if I didn’t kill him she would die from suffocation due to the Shin no Ippō shutting down her lungs. In a fit of rage I almost killed Jin-E but Kaoru stopped just in time as I was about to strike the finishing blow when she broke free of the effects of the Shin no Ippō with the strength of her willpower. In the fight I had smashed Jin-E’s elbow and ligaments in his right arm therefore making his life as a swordsman over. Because he couldn’t kill again in his current condition he stabbed himself in the heart with his wakasashi thus killing himself. This one will take a wild guess and say that just so happens to be what happens in the next book.” He finished. The mares all sat there with their mouths open in pure shock and awe at how the red head rescued his wife and in horror by the evil that was Udo Jin-E. What surprised them the most was that he had just explained the next book to the perfectly to the T. Twilight just sat there completely dumbfounded by the fact that something that was impossible was sitting write in front of her. But what baffled the most was that Kenshin was just sitting there casually with his usual smile that made it feel like nothing bad could happen. “You’re the Red Swordsman! This is… How… That makes no sense!” Twilight said as her eye started to twitch in frustration. “Twilight just calm down, this one is sure that there is a reasonable explanation. We will figure this out all in due time. For now let’s just enjoy the party Pinkie has worked so hard to set up.” He said in a comforting voice which eased Twilight’s tension. “You’re right Kenshin, sorry about that.” She said letting out a sigh. “Twilight’s face was funny. Almost as funny as when the doctors gave Kenny too much morphine when he was at the hospital causing him to wrap himself up in bandages like a mummy and walk around the hospital shouting ‘Face me Battōsai!’” Pinkie Pie said which caused Kenshin to go wide eyed. “Wait what!” He said. “OH! I know what’ll cheer Kenny up! Come on!” Pinkie Pie said randomly as she quickly grabbed the samurai’s hand and began to drag him to a platform that had a karaoke machine. “Pinkie Pie, what is this?” He asked. “This is a karaoke machine silly, haven’t you ever seen one before?” Pinkie asked. “No, this one has not.” “Well it’s simple, all you have to do is sing into the microphone the words that come appear on the screen!” She said happily as she handed the swordsman a microphone to which he inspected for a few seconds before him and Pinkie faced the crowed of ponies who were eagerly awaiting for them to sing. “Well, here goes nothing.” The samurai said as the screen turned and the words flashed upon the screen. “Don’t worry Kenny, I chose a very special song that I know you’ll love.” Pinkie said in a sing song voice right before they both began to sing in unison. (Start Song) Daikirai datta sobakasu wo chotto Hitonade shite tame iki wo hitotsu Hebii kyuu no koi wa migoto ni Kakuzatou to issho ni toketa Mae yori mo motto yaseta mune ni chotto "Chiku" tto sasaru toge ga itai Hoshiuranai mo ate ni naranai wa Motto tooku made Issho ni yuketara nee Ureshikute sore dake de Omoide wa itsumo kirei dakedo Sore dake ja onaka ga suku wa Hontou wa setsunai yoru na no ni Doushite kashira? Ano hito no egao mo omoidasenai no Kowashite naoshite Wakatteru no ni Sore ga atashi no seikaku dakara Modokashii kimochi de Ayafuya na mama de Soredemo ii koi wo shite kita Omoikiri aketa Hidari mimi no piasu ni wa nee Waraenai episoodo Sobakasu no kazu wo kazoete miru Yogoreta nuigurumi daite Mune wo sasu toge wa kienai kedo Kaeruchan mo usagichan mo Waratte kureru no Omoide wa itsumo kirei dakedo Sore dake ja onaka ga suku no Hontou wa setsunai yoru na no ni Doushite kashira? Ano hito no namida mo omoidasenai no Omoidasenai no Dou... La La La La La La Doushite na no? (End Song) The crowd was going wild at their performance and were calling for an encore. Kenshin was amazed by the fact that Pinkie new how to speak Japanese but he was learning not to question these things and just accept it. But what caught him off guard the most was the fact that this was the same song from earlier and it kept making him have flashbacks of all the adventures he had with his friends again. But it also made him happy as well. Just why was this song so important to him he asked himself. As he stood next to Pinkie, she pulled out a Shamisen out of nowhere and handed it to him to which he took it in his hands as she also handed him a Bachi. He could not help but wonder where she kept all of these things. As he got into a kneeling position he noticed that there were news reporter ponies that were carrying big video cameras on their shoulder’s that were trained on him and Pinkie. As he sat in the Seiza position he saw Twilight come running up to the stage. “Kenshin what are you doing? No pony has played the Shamisen in over ten thousand years let alone knows how to play it!” Twilight said while worrying that he was about to make a fool of himself in front of everypony. Twilight was caught off guard by the samurai’s wide smile. “This one does.” Was all he said before him and Pinkie Pie began their performance. Pinkie held the microphone to her mouth and flashed the man a smile letting him know to start playing. As they began his hands were flying as Pinkie Pie’s beautiful voice sang. (Start Song) nana iro emaki no you nigiwau machi azayaka ni kisetsu wa oukaranman koko wa edo hana kouji ougihashi no ue ni hi iro no koi ga saki kasumu sora he to omoi haseru fuwari fuwari maiodoru koi fuwari fuwari tsutsumu hanabira fuwari fuwari usubeni iro ni fuwari fuwari somaru hana kouji tatoe koyoi sakura fubuki ga mittsu yottsu to chiri nure do asu mo kono machi no kashiko ni wa hyaku man no yume midare afureru fuwari fuwari maiodoru koi fuwari fuwari kirameki nagara fuwari fuwari nishiki no yume ni fuwari fuwari somaru hana kouji shanrara sharara shanrara.... yukikau shanrara sharara shanrara.... hana kouji (End Song) As they finished the song the whole room broke out into a huge round of applause to which both of them stood up and took a bow before they both walked off the stage only to be met by the sight of their friends running up to congratulate them. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Party: POV – Jin-E* Jin-E was watching Kenshin and the pink mare perform on stage as he was standing at the bar that was set up for the party. “Hit me.” Jin-E said as the bartender handed him a tall mug of hard cider to which he took without taking his eyes off his target. As Jin-E brought the mug to his lips he savored the alcoholic beverage. He enjoyed the taste of apple that was accompanied with the burning of the alcohol as it went down his throat. As he set the empty mug down he watched as he got off the stage along with the pink mare. Jin-E knew that Kenshin was suffering from previous injuries and was exhausted from the incident with the mint colored mare from earlier thus making him an easier target. As he watched the red head talk with the six mares that he was told were the Elements of Harmony. Despite them being a threat to the plans of his boss and the others he was told that his one and only priority was to kill Kenshin no matter what and if possible. But since he was here, why pass up the chance to kill two birds with one stone. Seven in this case. One thing bothered him though, who was it that attacked Kenshin with throwing knives earlier on the roof, it certainly wasn’t him. As he pushed these thoughts to the back of his head he stood up and slowly drew his sword. Now was the time to strike. As he began to make his way towards his target he was stopped by a group of ponies that were wearing golden armor. “STOP RIGHT THERE!” One of the guards ordered. “What do you want? Can’t you see I’m busy?” Jin-E said in annoyed tone. “Sir, please sheathe your sword.” The guard told the assassin. “Why should I?” The ex-shinsengumi asked in a sarcastic tone. “Sir, it’s illegal to draw a weapon out in public unless it is in self-defense.” “And your point is?” Jin-E said trying to piss of the guards. “Sir, if you do not put sheathe your sword you will be placed under arrest. This is your final warning.” The guard said in a serious tone as more guards started to surround him in a full circle with swords drawn. He counted twenty-five guards in total. “Aww the Princess’s little bitches think they actually pose a threat, how cute.” He said finally pushing the guards over the edged. “THAT’S IT! YOU’RE COMING WITH US! GET HIM!” The guard shouted which caused Jin-E to laugh as the guards rushed him. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Party: POV – Kenshin* “Kenshin That was amazing! How do you know how to play a Shamisen!? And Pinkie since when do you know how to speak Neighponies!?” Twilight shouted to the two in question. “This one’s sensei taught him as a child.” The red head said as Pinkie just giggled. “That was awesome!” Dash said. “Y-you sing v-very well Kenshin.” Fluttershy added. “That performance was simply divine darling and your language is beautiful.” Rarity added. “Whoo-wee that was some fancy fiddlelin’ ya’ did there!” Applejack complimented the human. “Thank you girls, but it was Pinkie who was the real star with her beautiful voice.” He said which caused Pinkie’s cheeks to turn red. At that moment Spike came running up to the mares and the human. “Kenshin! Pinkie Pie! That was awesome!” Spike said. “Thank you.” The human and the party mare said at the same time in perfect unison as the smiled. “Kenshin you’ll never believe who I found!” The young drake said excitedly. “Who?” The samurai asked. “I found one of your human friends that’s a samurai just like you and he’s here at the party!” the baby dragon continued. The red head along with the six mares eyes widen at this. “What’s his name!?” Twilight asked, excited that there was another human. “Udo Jin-E!” Spike answered which caused everyone’s eyes to go wide in horror. As soon as the words left his mouth there was a loud scream. “AAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!” As they all everyone turned to see what happened they were met with the horrific site twenty-five dead guards that were laying on the ground sliced up and standing over them was their killer with a bloodied sword. “That was oddly disappointing. These guards are straight up pathetic; I’ve seen old ladies that put up more of a fight…literally.” He said as ten more guards rushed him only to freeze in place as they made eye contact with him due to his Shin no Ippō. Ponies were screaming and trying to run away only to find the doors locked and bolted shut along with the windows. “Ah this is the life. Slaughtering the innocent does my heart good.”Jin-E said as he disappeared from in front of the guards and reappeared behind them. At first nothing happened, that is until the guards had blood spraying from their necks and chests and all other vital spots. “Jin-E what are you doing here?” The red head demanded. “Well after I died I wound up in the deepest and darkest depths of hell. As I was burning and screaming in pain for what felt like an eternity, I one day found myself alive again thanks to my boss. He made me an offer that was too good to pass up.” Jin-E said with an evil grin. “And what offer was that?” The red head said as he maintained his death glare. “Simple, I kill you and the Elements of Harmony and I’ll be able to kill anyone, anytime, all the time.” The psychopath grinned as he said this causing the girls to gasp in horror. Fluttershy was hyperventilating in pure terror at the murderers words. Kenshin’s anger spiked. “I can’t wait to gut those little whores, I’m gonna-” Jin-E started but was interrupted. “Touch them and you’ll fucking wish you were back in hell when I’m through with you, you son of a bitch.” Kenshin said in a low and deadly tone that sent chills down everyone’s spines as he took a battle stance with his hand gripping the handle of his sword, ready to draw. “Girls get everyone back and whatever you do, do not look into his eyes no matter what.” The rurouni said did not take his eyes off of his enemy. “B-but K-Kenshin, w-what about you?” Pinkie Pie said as tears streamed down her face in fear an worry for Kenshin. “This one will be fine, I promise that I will protect you girls no matter what, that I will.” The red head said as him and Jin-E squared off. Everything was silent as they glared at each other for what felt like hours. Then out of nowhere both swordsman lunged at each other at full speed. “DIE BATTŌSAI!!!” Jin-E screamed. "AAAAAAAHHH!!!" Kenshin screamed back in anger. As the two samurai closed the distance instantly, their blades clashed against each other sending sparks flying everywhere. Everypony was in pure shock and awe at how fast they were moving. *CLANG!* *PING!* *RING!* *DING!* Their two were striking andd blocking each other at such a high rate of speed that they both appeared as blurs. They sounds of their swords clashing against each other sounded as if they were clashing against each other a thousand times per second. As they fought the camera crew that arrived at Sweet Apple Acres looking for what they heard were reports of an alien roaming around Ponyville were recording the whole event live. “Are you getting this!? Are you actually getting this!?” The news mare said to the camera mare in excitement. “Every bit of it Exclusive Story!” She said to the news mare that ran in front of the camera to give her report. “This is Exclusive Story coming to you live from Ponyville! Right now we are at the scene of what appears to be two aliens fighting to the death! From what my sources tell me, the alien with the red mane is the stallion who saved three young fillies and the Elements of Harmony in the Everfree forest and right now he is currenltly fighting a deranged stallion who just murdered thirty five royal guards in a matter of seconds. We are watching history in the making here ponies, two samurai are dueling in front of us to the death on live TV despite their long absence for thousands of years! Let’s see if we can get an interview!” Exclusive Story said in excitement as the fight continued behind her. ______________________________________________________________________________ *Kenshin POV* As the two samurai squared off, neither one saying anything. Seconds past and felt like hours. Then out of nowhere the both lunged at each other. “DIE BATTŌSAI!!!” Jin-E screamed. "AAAAAAAHHH!!!" Kenshin screamed back in anger. As they closed the distance to between each other their blades clashed together sending sparks everywhere. Jin-E slashed at Kenshin’s neck to which the red head blocked the strike and returned one of his own towards his attacker’s head. Jin-E side stepped the strike only to be met with the pommel of Kenshin’s sword to his face sending the serial killer flying backwards onto a table. The table shattered under the force and weight of his body, but Jin-E was up in a flash. Unfortunately he was not fast enough as Kenshin closed the distance, Jin-E just barely managed to block the strike as Kenshin’s Sakabatō swiped at his stomach. *CLANG!* The blades clashed loudly as Kenshin was pushing the psychopath back with extreme force. Their swords rang out as they clashed and slammed against each reapetedly for ten seconds straight at such a high rate of speed that they appeared as blurs. *CLANG!* *PING!* *RING!* *DING!* As Jin-E and Kenshin locked blades, Jin-E could only smile dementedly at how much fun he was having at trying to kill the red head in front of him. As their blades were still locked, Jin-E gazed into the blade of his sword and casted Shin No Ippō on himself causing his muscles to expand immensely along with his strength; this caused the red head to go wide eyed. Jin-E took advantage of his opponents surprise and leapt through the air and performed a downward slash at Kenshin’s head. The red head quickly brought his sword up above his head to block the oncoming strike. As Jin-E’s strike connected there was a loud explosion and a cloud of smoke emitted from the bone crushing force of the strike. There was so much force behind the strike that it created a crater that was three feet deep and five feet wide all around. “KENSHIN!” The six mares cried out as they saw their friend crushed from the sheer force of the strike. They couldn’t even spot the red haired samurai due to the smoke; they could only assume that he was lying in a crumbled heap inside the crater or worse. “HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, I KILLED HIM, I’VE FINALLY DEFEATED HITOKIRI BATTŌSAI!!!” Jin-E laughed insanely as the mares all cringed in horror at the death of their friend. “H-how could you do such a thing?... WHY DID YOU KILL MY FRIEND!? WHAT DID HE EVER DO TO YOU!?” Pinkie screamed with tears flowing down her cheeks as she started to break down crying with her hands on her face. “Why? Simple, it gets really boring when my victims don’t fight back. I wanted my prey to put up a little more of a fight, trust me when I say that it is much more fun to kill a strong opponent. I find killing in general to be the best way to relax. The way the blood just spills, sprays, and splatters everywhere. They way my victims cry and panic as they try to put their organs back into their bodies, thinking that they can actually survive being gutted alive. The way a mother becomes frantic when I force her to choose which one of her children will live which one of her children will die, only to go completely insane when she finally makes her choice, only for her to lose all reason to live when she finds out that I was lying when she sees me slaughtering all of her children right in front of her and then finally her. Now that is truly a magical moment to see.” Udo Jin-E said as he appeared to have look of pure bliss on his face as he remembered how he murdered his previous victims. The ponies that were trapped in the barn were screaming in terror at what they were hearing. Mothers were holding their children tightly and close to themselves in terror. Others were huddled together as they cried and hyperventilating causing some to pass out. Others were rocking back and forth on the ground in the fetal position with their hands clamped over their ears, on the verge of insanity. Fillies and colts were crying. “You monster! You’re the ruffian that kidnapped Kenshin’s wife! Have you no remorse!?” Rarity shouted at the hitokiri. “Bitch, there’s only one thing that I regret and that’s not being able to gut that little whore he cared so much about, Kaoru-” Jin-E was cut off from his rant as Kenshin shot out of the smoke cloud from the crater at blinding speeds and slammed his sword straight into Jin-E’s nose causing it to emit a sickening cracking sound from the cartilage breaking. This sent Jin-E flying through the air and straight into a wall. But before Jin-E could even cup his broken nose in pain, two sandal wearing feat smashed into his already broken nose causing him excruciating pain which caused him to scream at the top of his lungs in pain as he rolled around on the ground cupping his nose. “KENSHIN!!!” The six mares cried in shock and relief as they saw their friend alive. “Don’t. Ever. Speak. Her. Name. You have no right to say my wife’s name!” Kenshin said in a low and deadly tone. “How did you survive that strike!?” Jin-E demanded, still in pain. “All I had to do was flex my knees and arms just enough to absorb the shock, but not too much to leave me defenseless. You must be a complete idiot to think that had any chance of working.” The red head said while maintaining his death glare. “Don’t kid yourself into thinking that this fight will end up like last time Battōsai!” He barked as he saw a lit lantern hanging over a bale of hay to which he slashed the rope holding it up. As it fell to the ground a fire broke out which spread at an alarming rate. Ponies began to scream in terror and as they desperately tried to break down sealed doors. Luckily Kenshin was already close enough to the door to which he slashed it so fast that the door exploded into a million tiny splinters. The moment this happened the fire flared up to an astronomical size from the oxygen rushing in, causing everypony to scream. “Go! I’ll deal with Jin-E!” Kenshin shouted to which all of the ponies ran out of the burning barn, except for the six mares that were with Kenshin. “Kenshin, what about you!? We can’t just leave you here with him!” Twilight shouted. “She’s right! We can back you up!” Rainbow Dash shouted over the roaring flames and the snapping of the wood being burnt. “Come on, we’re just gonna get in his way.” Applejack said while trying to pull both mares towards the exit. “As much as I hate to admit it, she’s right. Kenshin is trained for this.” Rarity said to which the Twilight reluctantly nodded in agreement. “I don’t care if he’s trained in whatever style of martial arts! We gotta help him!” Dash said in anger and worry. “Rainbow Dash! If we get involved he’ll have to worry about protecting us and that will put him in even more danger! Please! We have to go!” Twilight cried as she tugged at the rainbow mane Pegasus to which she finally gave in and they all ran out of the barn leaving only Kenshin and Udo Jin-E left in the burning barn. "I think it's time that we both stop holding back." Kenshin said while casting a death glare. "I couldn't agree more." Jin-E said with a wicked grin. (Start Song, keep the song playing even if the scene changes.) This time Jin-E took the offensive and lunged at the red head, performing an upward slash. Despite the red head leaping into the air to avoid the strike, the blade managed to catch him in the shoulder causing him to grunt in pain. Kenshin leap sent him up into the rafters to which Jin-E followed. They both balanced themselves on the wooden support beams as if they were nothing. As they charged each other again their blades clashed and sparked. Jin-E unleashed a flurry of rapid strikes on the red head. The first one was aimed at his neck to which the red head duck only to be followed be a quick stab which managed to slice Kenshin’s right bicep. But the red head ignored the searing pain as the third and fourth strikes followed which was a horizontal strike aimed for his stomach followed by a downward slash. Both of which the samurai managed to block. The fifth strike was a low slash aimed at the red head’s shins. Out of reflex Kenshin front flipped over Jin-E, as he was in mid-air behind the psychopath he unleashed a flurry of rapid strikes of his own. All of which were blocked with relative ease. “You seem to have gotten stronger Jin-E.” The red head said as he landed back on the rafters that were getting weaker by the second. “Yes I have. Tell me, how strong have you gotten since our last battle?” Jin-E said with a sadistic smirk. “Why don’t I show you instead?” Kenshin said as sliced the roof above Jin-E causing it to cave in on the serial killer. As the pieces of burning wood came crashing down, Jin-E went to slash the pieces of wood away only for Kenshin to slash the support beam that Jin-E was standing on, catching him of guard. As the murderer fell to the ground with pieces of the burning roof collapsing on him Kenshin took this chance to leap through the loft window, shattering the glass on his way out. The red head grunted as he felt the razor sharp shards slice his skin. As he landed he went into a tuck and roll. Ponies cheered as they saw the samurai running from the burning barn. Kenshin quickly turned and faced the barn as he knew that this fight was far from over. At that moment Jin-E came charging out of the burning barn, screaming in a fit of rage with his sword in hand. As Jin-E closed the distance, he slashed at the red heads head only for him to duck under the strike which sliced an apple tree causing it to crash to the ground. The rurouni took advantage of the opening and slashed at the deranged maniac’s stomach, landing a solid strike. This caused the maniac to hack up a little blood. At this moment the red head jumped high into the air and tucked his feet under his body while he lets himself drop with his sword ready to strike. “Ryūtsuisen!” Kenshin screamed as he aimed his strike towards Jin-E’s head only for it to be blocked. But to Jin-E’s amazement his sword cracked slightly but still seemed to be okay for the most part as he forced the red head back. “I guess I can’t take any chances with you.” The grey haired swordsman said with a sinister look on his face that set off an alarm for Kenshin. The red head knew that Jin-E used the Shin no Ippō on himself to increase his own power and Jin-E knew that said technique would not work on Kenshin. The red head knew that something was up, but the question was what? At this point Jin-E pulled out a small vile with green glowing liquid. He pulled the cork out of the bottle with his teeth and presumed to gulp it down as fast as he could. As the bottle was empty he tossed it to the ground to which it landed in tact on the grassy ground. A few seconds later the greyed haired murder smiled evily as he his muscles began to grow even bigger. At this point he appeared as if he was a body builder on steroids with a bad case of roid rage. The psycho path charged the red head at such a high rate of speed that he was almost as fast as Kenshin. Almost. Jin-E unleashed another flurry of strikes at lightning speeds. Due to Kenshin’s prior injuries he was not in the best of shape and this slowed him down. The red head was blocking the strikes as best as he could. But due to the maniac’s new found strength and speed along with the severity of the red heads injuries he was not able to completely block the strikes. He was only able to lessen the damage that he was receiving. Slash after slash, slice after slice, and stab after stab, Kenshin was only able to lessen the depth of the cuts and protect his vitals. Barely. (End Song) The red head was sent flying back fifty feet through the air. Screaming in pain as he slammed into a tree and collapsed to the ground in pain in a crumbled heap, covered in his own blood. As the six mares ran to the side of their injured friend. “Kenshin, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!” Twilight said in a complete panic as she looked at the down samurai. Kenshin opened his eyes slowly, as he did he gazed into the eyes of the six mares. They all had looks of pure horror and worry as they gazed at him trying to help him. “Well, well, well. Looks like the legendary Hitokiri Battōsai has lost his edge. Your skills have become as dull as that stupid blade that you carry.” Jin-E said as he began to slowly walk towards the six mares. Pinkie was holding Kenshin, she was the first to get to him. As she gazed at the only line of defense that they had, his eyes closed and his breaths becoming shallower by the second. But he was more than just a means of a defense from this psychopath. He was their friend. He was more than just a friend. Pinkie didn’t know what it was about Kenshin, but every time she saw him her face would heat up with embarrassment and become flushed. Her heart rate would sky rocket, her legs would feel like Jell-O, her breathing would become rapid. Whenever he smiled, oh Celestia how she loved that smile. Whenever he would flash his heart warming smile at her, her stomach would feel like it had a whole flock of butterflies. No matter what it was, whenever she would ramble about whatever it was that was on her mind he would set down whatever it was he was doing and listen to her. He never got upset at her, not once. He would listen to her and nod and answer all her questions with a smile. As she held him she began to cry as she saw his breathing becoming slower and slower until… It stopped. As Jin-E was thirty feet away now. He saw that the red head’s chest was no longer rising and falling. At seeing this he began to laugh insanely as he finally stood over the now dead form of the samurai. The six mares were in shock at what happened to their friend. “How pathetic! He died of blood loss! Now that is one of the biggest let downs that I have ever had, I wanted to gut him alive!” Jin-E said as he stared at the fallen form of Kenshin being held lovingly in the pink party mare’s arms as she cradled him against her chest, sobbing over him. Pinkie was terrified. Never had she been so terrified in her young life. It wasn’t just the fact that this man was going to kill him, it was his eyes. As he turned his gaze onto Pinkie Pie she trembled at his gaze as she quickly broke eye contact as she remembered Kenshin’s warning. But for that split second she saw something that she hadn’t seen in years. Something she thought that she had escaped all those years ago when she left the rock farm. Those eyes…Those eyes… Those were the same eyes that her father had. Eyes of pure hatred and anger, as if the least little thing would set him off. It made her shake as the evil man was slowing making his way towards her. But he would never even come near the pink party pony. In a flash Kenshin’s eye’s shot open and in one lightning fast strike he lunged forward with his sword still in his hand. Kenshin swung his sword into the side of Jin-E’s knee with extreme force, causing it to emit a loud and sickening crack. *CRACK!!!* “AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!” Jin-E screamed in agony as his right knee shattered like a glass plate causing his right leg to bend inwardly at a sickening angle. Before he could collapse to the ground Kenshin aimed a second strike at the serial killer’s right elbow with a swift uppercut to the joint, this caused aloud snap to echo, causing the six mares along with the crowd to cringe at the results of the two strikes. *SNAP!!!* “AAAAHHHHHHHH!!!” Jin-E screamed yet again, but this time in pure anger and rage as the pain worsened to new heights that were unimaginable. “YOU BASTARD!!! I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!!! I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU AND THOSE WHORES!!!” Jin-E screamed in pain as he hit the ground and rolled around in agony. “How can you when I shattered your right knee cap along with your right elbow. I’ll say the same thing that I said to you all those years ago Jin-E. Your life as a swordsman is over. “Y-you son of a bitch! Y-you were playing dead the whole time weren’t you?” The gray haired swordsman said with venom. “Not the whole time. Your final flurry of strikes managed to cause me to pass out from blood loss. I managed to wake up thanks to Pinkie Pie pulling me into her arms. I took advantage of the moment. I slowed my breath down until I made it appear that I stopped by holding my breathe. I was in the perfect position to protect the girls by being close to them. I still can’t believe that you didn’t see it coming. I mean seriously Jin-E, rule number one of being an assassin is make sure that the target is dead. Not that I'm complaining mind you. Also you never heeded my warning. DON’T EVER TRY TO HURT MY FRIENDS!!! EVER!!!” Kenshin screamed the last part out at the top of his lungs. “You think I’m defeated, don’t you? You have no idea how wrong you are.” Jin-E said as he stood up, to everyone’s surprise as began to limp away. As he did he tossed a black crystal at the ground to which it shattered and released a series of large black lightning bolts that shot out of the ground, covering Jin-E’s escape. But it didn’t stop there, out of the shard came two-hundred figures that appeared as if they were made out of shadows. “What’s happening?” Kenshin asked with worry. “This is dark magic! Those are shadow warriors!” She said as weapons started to form in the shadow warriors hands. At this point ponies started to scream in terror again. “What are shadow warriors?” The swordsman asked as he limped to the six mares. “It’s a spell that uses dark magic which allows the caster to create an artificial warrior that is under their complete control. They can be stored in special crystals so they can be used by others who can’t use magic. But I’ve never heard of anypony being able to summon more than ten at a time. Whoever gave Jin-E that crystal must be very powerful with magic.” Twilight said with great fear. “Then I have no choice but to stop them before they hurt anyone.” Kenshin said only to fall to one knee, gasping in pain as he clutched his left hand to the bloody bandages that were wrapped around his chest as he used his sword to support himself. “Kenshin you can’t fight a shadow warrior! You’re in no condition to even move let alone fight! Besides, it takes at least ten elite guards to take on one shadow warrior!” Twilight said as she and the other mares were trying to talk the samurai out of fighting. “It’s the only way girls. If I don’t fight then innocent ponies will be killed. I’m sorry.” Kenshin said as he tried to get up only find himself too hurt to move. “Looks like you need my power once again.” A familiar voice echoed inside the red heads mind. “You! What do you want!?” Kenshin demanded in his mind. “You need my help again and don’t say that you don’t because I can see you struggling to try and stand up.” Battōsai said with mocking yet sadistic grin. “It’s ironic that you chose a time like this to offer your help. What’s your angle? Why do you want to help me?” The swordsman replied. “Let me put it this way. If you die, I die along with you, and if we die so will all of these ponies because no one will be around to protect them.” “You make a valid point, but still. There’s more to this than you’re letting on. What ‘s your hidden reason?” “I could tell you, but I won’t because I don’t want to. Besides, there’s no time for that. The enemy is closing in. So, are you still going to argue with me or are you going to accept my power?” “…” “Well?” “Alright, but this one will be in control the whole time.” Kenshin said with deadly seriousness. “Ha ha fine by me.” Battōsai laughed with sadistic glee as Kenshin’s eye’s started to glow an eerie yellow. “Kenshin what are you doing?” Twilight asked worryingly as he stood up, tightening his grip on his sword. “Twilight…are these shadow warriors living, breathing creatures?” The red head asked in an emotionless tone. “N-no. They’re basically puppets made out of magic. They are in no way alive. W-why are you asking?” Twilight asked with worry. “Good…Then that means I don’t have to hold back.” Kenshin said as he felt a surge of new power poor through his veins as it began to surge throughout his body in full force. (Start Song, keep the song playing even if the scene changes.) “Kenshin wait!” The lavender unicorn pleaded as her and the other Elements of Haromony tried to stop the injured samurai only to fail as he charged at the two hundred shadow warriors which all screamed battle cries as they charged at the lone swordsman. The six mares along with the crowd of ponies from the party all watched in shock and amazement as he charged at the oncoming army. As he finally closed the distance, he did not stop. He charged straight through ramming his enemies as his sword sliced and slashed at blinding speeds through his enemies. To the mares shock and amazement twenty-five shadow warriors went flying back through the air as they landed right in front of the crowed of ponies and six mares right before they started to fizzle out of existence with black smoke like mist coming off their bodies as they faded to nothing. The six mares were speechless as they saw Kenshin’s fighting prowess, his true fighting prowess. As the red head charged his way through, five shadow warriors charged at the samurai. Three of them carrying katanas while two carried yari spears. As the two spearman lunged at the red head to which he side stepped the first one and caught the second spear in his hand as he lopped off the shadow warriors head causing him disappear in a puff of smoke. Kenshin threw the spear at the first spearman’s chest. *SHINK!* As the yari found its mark the shadow warrior turned to smoke. Kenshin quickly switched his hold on the sword to a reversed grip as lunged at the three sword wielding shadows. He slashed the first enemy across the stomach to which he slashed the second from the middle of the stomach upwards past the middle of the head. As the third lunged at him with a straight stab aimed at the red heads heart only to be side stepped. The swordsman gripped the handle of the katana and in one full motion he flipped the shadow warrior onto the ground and stabbed the katana straight into his chest cause, leaving it there as the shadow disappeared into nothing with only the katana in left sticking out of the grass. “Thirty down, one hundred and seventy to go. There has to be some way to speed up this fight.” Kenshin said as he was now surrounded by all of his enemies. “Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū: Ryūsōsen!” Kenshin said as he unleashed a flurry of strikes on the ten shadow warriors that were charging at him. They let out a sickening screech as they literally exploded into inky black smoke which dissipated into the air. Kenshin quickly sheathed his sword as ten more came at him with many more coming behind them. The swordsman quickly drew the sword at such a high rate of speed that there was a loud crack that it emitted a loud a crack that echoed as it struck five enemies across the stomach to which they vanished. As the other five leaped into the air to impressive heights, ready to drop on the red head with their blades. The red head was not worried as he leapt through the air and somersaulted while holding his blade out which made him into a spinning blade as he sliced the five airborne enemies. “Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū: Ryūkansen Arashi!” He shouted as he landed on the ground as five katana blades land on the ground from the newly fallen shadows. “Fifty down. I need to speed this up.” He said as he saw one of the katanas from the fallen shadow warriors sticking out of the ground to which he quickly ran to it and pulled it out of the ground and held it in the grip of his left hand. “Perfect. It’s time to get to fancy.” Kenshin said as he readied both swords in each hand as twenty five more enemies rushed at him screeching horrific battle cries. Kenshin stays in his spot as they ran towards him waiting for his attackers to get close. As they do, two lunge at him with spears to which he blocks with both swords which causes them both to lose balance to which he slashed them both across the throats to which they vanished as well three came up behind him and slashed at him only for him to back flip over them and land behind them to which he unleashed another flurry of strikes which took care of the three. This time five came at Kenshin from the front and five from the back. As all ten attacked at the same time, Kenshin brought up one sword to block the five in the front and the second sword to block the five coming at him from the back. As he was on one knee struggling to hold back all ten blades for a few seconds he quickly spun himself around forcing all of them back as he spun in full circle. “Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū: Ryūkansen!” He shouted as he defeated the ten shadows warriors only for the other ten to be charging at him. To which he moved so fast that he disappeared and reappeared behind them but they had their blades up ready to block. “I wasn’t aiming for you.” Kenshin said in an emotionless tone as his eyes continued to glow an eerie yellow. The shadow warriors seemed confused at this but they soon found out what the red head meant when three apple trees crashed on top of them, crushing them into smoke. As Kenshin turned around he quickly turned around only to feel a sharp pain in his shoulder from a kunai knife finding its mark in his shoulder. As he reached and pulled it out he saw that the cut was shallow and bled only a little. He turned his attention to the enemy that threw it only to find it laughing in a distorted monotone voice. “You gave me a mere scratch and you act like you’ve already won the fight. Yet I’ve already defeated seventy-five of your men. You’re pathetic.” Kenshin said as he moved so fast that it appeared as if everything was standing still, including his enemies as he slammed the enemy flat on his back and jammed the kunai into its skull. As it disappeared into smoke Kenshin simply said. “Seventy-six.” He said as he stood ready for the next assault. ____________________________________________________________________________ *Manehattan* “COME ON KENSHIN!!! KICK THOSE MOTHER FUCKERS ASS’S!!!” Sanosuke screamed at the television set as Cheerilee and Vinyl were wrapping up his wounds and patching him up. “Quit moving!!!” Both mares shouted as they poured antiseptic onto his cuts and bruises, causing him to shout in pain. “Ow!” Sanosuke said as he winced in pain. ______________________________________________________________________________ *Ponyville* “One-hundred down. Half-way there.” The samurai said after he took down another twenty-four enemies as he tossed the katana to the side and went back to using the Sakabatō. Normally Kenshin would never use a katana for fear of killing his opponents. But since these opponents were just magical puppets and not alive in anyway, he could make an exception. “I think I’ve paced myself long enough.” He said as increased his speed. Kenshin moved so fast that he flickered out of sight. For Kenshin this would always feel surreal to him. Everyone appeared as if they were not even moving at all. He could literally take down his opponents with relative ease which he was doing at the moment. As he ran towards his opponents which appeared to not be moving at all as he used Shinsoku to speed himself up, he ran past them slashing each and every one of them as he ran past them as fast as he could and for good reason. Shinsoku was a very useful technique but the longer one used it the more strain it put on the body and used a lot of energy. Normally this was not a problem since Kenshin was well trained and in good shape. But due to his current injuries he was in a lot of pain. As he came to a stop thirty shadow warriors disappeared into black smoke and mist. As Kenshin fought while using Battōsai’s power he noticed something very disturbing. He was far more powerful than normal and he could ignore most of his injuries, but he was also becoming more blood thirsty the longer he used this power. He was almost having fun as he took down each opponent and that’s what was scaring Kenshin the most as he fought. Another problem was that he was reaching his limit even with this power. At this point he noticed that on his left side were twenty shadow warriors were pointing what he thought were spears at him until he saw the ten in the front take a kneeling position as they took aim. When he saw this he felt a huge sense of dread as he knew very well that what they were carrying were not spears but matchlock rifles. As they prepared their first folly ten more shadows came rushing him to his right. The samurai heard the cocking of the guns and dove to the ground as they unleashed their first volley which passed over his head and hit the ten charging shadow warriors causing them to disappear. As they tried to get into position for the next volley, Kenshin charged them but in his current state he was beginning to slow down significantly as they took aim at him. At that moment Kenshin tried to front flipped through the air and over the shots only to have a bullet hit him in his left shoulder. Even though the shot only grazed him it was still enough to cause him a lot of pain and knock him out of the air. At this point the twenty shadow warriors tried to bayonet Kenshin only to have him for him to roll out of the way and slash three of them across their stomachs defeating them as he lunged at the rest. As he worked through the pain he blocked a strike of one of the bayonets that was aim for his throat as he slashed two more shadow warriors. “Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū: Ryūkansen Tsumuji!” Kenshin screamed as he flew the air in a drilling motion, taking out the fifteen remaining rifle wielding shadows before he landed. At this point the remaining forty shadow warriors all charged at the lone swordsman in one last ditch effort to kill the red head. Kenshin charged as he sheathed his sword and drew it so fast that he took out the first five that came his way. As two came at him from behind while three came at him from the front, Kenshin back flipped behind the two and delivered two swift slashes to each of them right before he spun around in full circle striking the three enemies in the face, turning them to smoke. As he charged again he quickly found himself slowing down from exhaustion as ten more attacked him. He blocked the first one’s sword as he jabbed he stabbed it as he side stepped the second ones sword, causing it to stab into the third attack as kenshin did a downward slash to the second attacker from its sternum. As the next two managed two slash his back and right arm. “Agh!’ Kenshin screamed in pained as he fought through the pain and quickly dispatched the two. Now he was only left with twenty-five enemies. The ten more lunged at him slicing at him with everything they got. Despite his dodging and blocking, a few strikes were able to get past his defenses strike him. As they came in for another assault Kenshin took the offensive as he slashed the first one five times and lunged at the next only for it to block his strike, locking blades with each other. Kenshin quickly head butted the shadow, causing it to stumble backwards as he grabbed its wrist and wrenched its blade from its grip. As he did he turned it’s blade around and stabbed it into its stomach. The ghostly figure quickly dissipated, freeing the blade to which the red head hurled the blade as hard as he could at on another shadow. As the katana pierced the ghost like enemy’s chest sending it flying back straight into two more enemies, impaling them as well on the same blade. The red head charged at the five others as they fired arrows at him to which he sliced all of them in half. As one last arrow flew at him Kenshin caught it with his bare hand to which he squeezed it causing it to snap in half. He slashed one of them with an uppercut to the jaw as he caught its sword as it fell from it as its body vanished in midair. As two more came up behind him Kenshin quickly flipped both swords into reverse grips and then he stabbed the swords behind him finding his mark into the two chests of the enemies behind him. It was very weird for Kenshin to be stabbing an opponent with his Sakabatō, mostly due to the fact that it was able to go straight through his opponent which it was never able to do before due to the fact that it is not able to slay the living. But this case was different mainly due to the fact that these enemies were basically made out of pure shadows which could be solid at the same time. He didn’t question, they weren’t alive anyway so he kept on fighting. He left the Katana behind inside of his enemy as he went back to using his Sakabatō. He slashed another enemy in its right side as he ran past as it vanished in smoke. He slashed the next one in the chest then moved behind it and delivered a diagonal from its right shoulder to its left hip. Kenshin ran towards another five enemies. As he slashed at one of them which tried to block his strike only for the red head’s Sakabatō to slice straight through the blade and into the shadow warrior, turning it into mist as he disappeared from in front of the four enemies and reappeared behind them. “Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū: Ryūsōsen!” He said as a flurry of strikes tore apart the shadows. Kenshin dashed at seven more shadow warriors. He swung his blade so fast that he was able to take out for of the seven before he front flipped through the air and delivered a downward stab towards his enemy, turning it to smoke as he landed the strike. He spun around in a full circle as he land, taking out the other two. Now he was only left with three. He lunged at them one last time as he slashed the first one across the chest and the second in the back. As they disappeared the last one tried to run off only for the red head to appear out of nowhere in front of the shadow puppet as he delivered one final strike to it only for it to disappear in a puff of black inky smoke as the discarded weapons from the fight disappeared as well into mist. The black stone that Jin-E used earlier shattered into a dozen little pieces as it was now useless. (End Song) All six mares quickly surrounded the samurai with the other ponies following behind them. “Kenny you did it!” Pinkie Pie shouted in excitement as she bounced up and down in place. “Kenshin that was amazing!” Twilight said in astonishment. “Darling you were simply dashing as you fought that brute and those ruffians so heroically!” Rarity added with a dreamy stare. “That was some fancy fightin’ ya’ did there!” Applejack cheered. “I-I’m g-glad y-you’re o-ok.” Fluttershy stuttered shyly. “That was awesome!” Rainbow Dash shouted with a fist pump. The crowds of ponies were now cheering wildly at this point for the human’s heroics. Out of the crowds came a camera crew and a news reporter. “Sir! A moment of your time please!” Exclusive Story said as she pushed a microphone into his face. “Mr. Himura how do you feel after that epic fight?” She asked Kenshin as his eyes stopped glowing an eerie yellow as they went back to their normal violet color. “Ooooooowwwwwww.” He said in a long and drawn out voice as all the pain came rushing back as the injuries took effect to which he passed out on the ground. *THUD* “KENSHIN!” The six mares shouted as the rushed to help the samurai. *POMF!* “Really RD, again.” Applejack said in disbelief as Rainbow Dash’s wings stood at attention yet again. *POMF!* The mares turned their attention in to Fluttershy to see her blushing madly as she frantically tried to force her stiff wings down but to no avail. ______________________________________________________________________________ *POV: Udo Jin-E* Jin-E was already on the outskirts of the small town of Ponyville but his shattered elbow and knee was making it almost impossible for him to even move, but he pushed anyway. If he ran into any guards now he would be at their mercy and he knew it. “THERE HE IS! GET HIM!” “Shit.” Jin-E said as a group of twenty guards screamed as they ran after him. They were closing the distance quickly. As they were practically upon him, a huge flurry of knives came flying out of nowhere and killed fifteen of the guards. Then to Jin-E’s surprise a young man wearing a Shinsengumi uniform came rushing by with his sword drawn. He moved so fast that he was nothing more than a blur that he couldn’t even see as he cut down the five remaining guards. Blood sprayed everywhere as they collapsed dead to the ground. “Well Jin-E it’s been years since I last saw and you are still getting into trouble, aren’t you?” Jin-E’s rescuer said with a playful voice. As he turned around Jin-E’s jaw dropped as he saw who his rescuer was. “Okita Soji! What the hell are you doing here!?” Jin-E asked the Shinsengumi Captain which walked up to the fallen warrior. “The boss sent me to keep an eye on you and save you should things go wrong. That’s the understatement of the century. Oh and don’t worry about your injuries, those are easy to fix back at the hide out, come on.” Okita said in a happy-go-lucky tone as he helped Jin-E up and flung his arm over his shoulder, holding him up. Okita then pulled out a strange looking crystal which caused them to both become surrounded by a ring of light and in a flash they disappeared. ______________________________________________________________________________ *POV: Kenshin* Kenshin began to stir in the hospital bed as he began to wake up. “Uhhh… How long has this one been out for?” He moaned. “A few hours. You’re very lucky you know. You mainly suffered from over exhaustion and shallow cuts. The main problem was the fact that you lost a lot of blood but we gave you something that should help you recover your blood levels to normal in a few more hours.” Doctor Heart Throb said as she walked in with a clip board in hand. “KENSHIN!” He heard the girls squeal as they came running into the room as they dog piled onto him giving him hugs and telling him how worried they were about him, this caused the doctor chuckled good naturedly at the scene. “Well, you should be able to leave at any time. But you need to take it easy for a while or you could wind up seriously hurt!” She said in a serious tone. “Don’t you worry, I’ll make sure Kenny gets lots of bed rest.” Pinkie Pie said as she was now wearing a nurse outfit showed her beautiful curves and huge breasts causing Kenshin’s face to turn beat red at her beauty. “For Celestia’s sake.” Twilight said as she face palmed only to realizing something important. “Oh no! I forgot to send a letter to Princess Celestia.” Twilight gasped as she quickly began wrighting the letter. Dear Princess Celestia, Today me and the other Elements of Harmony were attacked by a deranged murderer as we were attending Kenshin’s welcoming party. If it wasn’t for Kenshin’s quick thinking and bravery we would all be dead. Unfortunatley the murderer killed 35 guards in the matter of a split second. Kenshin was able to defeat him but he got away by unleashing an army of 200 shadow warriors on Ponyville. Kenshin was amazing as he defeated them too. Kenshin told us that he has had a previous run in with this murderer whose name is ‘Udo Jin-E. To make matters worse Jin-E is a human serial killer who murders for pure fun and pleasure and as if that wasn’t bad enough, Jin-E is a well-trained samurai as well. When I looked into his eyes I only saw pure evil, even now as I write this letter my hands are shaking. I‘ve never been so afraid in my life. Jin-E said that he was sent to kill Kenshin and all the Elements of Harmony. Despite Kenshin defeating Jin-E, the girls and I have been on edge ever since the encounter. Fluttershy has been taking it the worst. She’s jumping at the slightest sounds now more than ever, she’s shaking in fear. Even Rainbow Dash is afraid even though she is trying to hide it by acting tough and confident, she keeps checking over her shoulder every 2 seconds. Kenshin has given me information about Udo Jin-E that he believes will be helpful. He said that Jin-E is a master of a technique that is known as the Shin no Ippō which can immobilize an opponent rendering them absolutely helpless once eye contact is made with with the attacker. If it’s power is increased then the target’s lungs will be forcibly shut down thus killing them by asphyxiation if nothing is done to undo the Shin no Ippō. There are three ways to stop the Shin no Ippō. 1.) The caster must undo it themselves. 2.) The victim can break the hold of the technique if they are strong of will and spirit. 3.) Kill the caster of the technique. The user of this technique can also cast it upon themselves. When this is done the caster is given an immense boost in physical strength and speed as well as making them believe that they are invincible. Unfortunately Jin-E was able to get away and is still at large. Also 10 more guards were found down in the direction of his escape, bringing the total of deaths to 45. Kenshin’s advices is that a confrontation with Jin-E should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. Should anypony find themselves fighting Jin-E they must not under any circumstance look into his eyes! I hope this helps Princess. Please respond as soon as possible. We’re all very scared. Your faithful and scared student, Twilight Sparkle. Twilight then handed the finished letter to Spike who sent it off in a breath of emerald flames as it flew off to Canterlot. As Kenshin was sliding his sword back into his sash he noticed that Spike was sitting in the corner shaking as tears slowly welled up in his eyes. Kenshin knelt down in front of the young dragon. “Spike what’s wrong?” Kenshin asked the young drake with concern. “i-it’s m-my fault. I-it’s all my that all those guards are dead!” Spike screamed as he broke down into tears crying and sobbing. “No it’s not Spike. You didn’t do anything.” Twilight said as her and the girls all stood around Spike and hugged him in an effort to comfort him. “Y-yes it is! I was the o-one that told him about Kenshin being at the party! If I would have just k-kept my m-mouth shut they would all still be alive!” He wailed as he cried harder. “Spike, listen to me. He would have found this one either way. You did not know about Jin-E. If anyone is to blame it is this one for not reacting fast enough. Jin-E would have murdered hundreds if not thousands either way. It’s not your fault. In fact it’s thanks to you that we now know about him and are able to stop him, if anything you saved thousands of lives today Spike. I’ll find him Spike and I’ll bring him to justice, this one swears it. But filling your heart with anger, hatred, and rage will not bring them back. It will just make matters worse, trust this one, I know all too well how it feels to be in the same situation as you.” Kenshin said in a sad tone to the young drake as he hugged him. “D-do you really mean t-that Kenshin?” Spike asked while still in the group hug. “Yes. Every word of it Spike.” He said as the child wiped away his own tears and tried to put on a tough face. “Spike.” Kenshin said as he put his hands on Spike’s shoulders and looked him in the eyes with extreme seriousness that made the young drake very nervous. “Y-yeah.” Spike replied nervously. “If you were to by some off chance, become trained in the ways of the samurai, what would you do with that training? Would seek revenge or would you seek to protect the innocence? Would you use it for personal gain or to help others?” Kenshin asked stoically and as he did Spike’s face quickly shifted to one of pure determination. “I will never be like Jin-E! I will never kill! I will help any and all ponies that I can! Even if I never become samurai, I will still help and protect the ponies that I love and care about!” Spike proclaimed with pure determination burning in his heart. “Good answer.” Kenshin said with a smile. “Why do you ask anyway?” Spike asked now curiously. “No reason Spike. This one just wanted to see what drives your determination is all.” Kenshin said as he and Spike both smiled. But at that exact moment Spike let out a large fiery belch which Kenshin barely dodged in time. Out of the emerald flames was a letter with Princess Celestia’s Royal seal. Twilight quickly snatched the letter out of the air and read it out loud. Dear Twilight Sparkle, I am glad to hear that you and the others are okay and I am forever grateful to Mr. Himura for his bravery selflessness. But I fear for your safety as well as the other Elements of Harmony safety. I am greatly disturbed by the fact that an assassin would be sent after you and the Elements of Harmony and Mr. Himura. I sense that there is something horrible brewing. I need all of you to come to the Canterlot on the next train; you, the other Elements of Harmony, and Kenshin Himura. Bring Spike and the Cutie Mark Crusaders as well. Assassins will try to go for them as well to use as leverage against you. Also if you need to go back to your homes to pack anything make sure to stay together in one large group with Mr. Himura always accompanying you. I have received word of Mr. Himura’s condition from hospital staff and although the chance of a second assassin is unlikely, I would feel much better knowing that you are being protected by a warrior as powerful as him. Which brings me to my next concern. I saw the video footage of Kenshin Himura fighting Udo Jin-E and the shadow warriors. I will be perfectly honest with you my student. His power is terrifying. There has never been a warrior that was able to survive a fight against 1 shadow warrior, let alone defeat 200 of them and live. Mr. Himura along with his power and fighting style must be studied, analyzed, and documented. Do not worry; Kenshin Himura is a friend to Equestria as far as Luna and I are concerned. Do not worry none of these studies are invasive or harmful in any way. I am just very concerned that Kenshin or the knowledge of his fighting style may fall into the wrong hands and prove disastrous. Also, word about our other worldly friend has spread to the other nations and they demand more information on him along with the nobility of Equestria, I myself am very interested in our new friend as well. Inside this letter are first class train tickets to Canterlot for all of you. Also, whatever you do, don’t read this letter out loud with Mr. Himura in the room. Your loving mentor, Princess Celestia Twilight finished reading the letter out loud only to realize her mistake. “Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!” Twilight said frantically over and over. “Twilight don’t worry. This one has dealt with secrets of national security plenty of times before and this one has never told anyone about them.” “WHAT!” The everypony and dragon said in shock. “Are you a spy!?” Rainbow Dash asked as she immediately flew up to his face. “Dash he is not a-” Twilight said but was interrupted. “Gathering information was an important part of my job during the Meiji Restoration, so yeah this one has done some spying before but it was not my main objective in those days. But do not worry this one is not spying on any of you or this country if that is what you are worried about.” Kenshin said with a smile. “Told you!” Dash said as she fist pumped in victory until she quickly became worried at what he said. “Don’t worry sugar cube, he’s telling the truth when he said he wasn’t spying.” Applejack said causing everypony to calm down except for Twilight who was still panicing. Her panic attacked last for thirty-minutes until Kenshin wrote a letter himself to the Princess explaining the situation which read. Dear Princess Celestia, You should have mentioned the ‘Do not read this letter out loud with Kenshin in the room’ part at the very beginning of the letter. Twilight Sparkle is currently having the worst panic attack of her life. She is in tears thinking that you hate her because of a simple mistake. The doctors are currently holding her down while trying to calm her down. If something isn’t done they are going to have to sedate her. Sincerely, Kenshin Himura P.S. This one knows about the letter. Kenshin had Spike send the letter before Twilight could stop him. It took Kenshin, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and twelve hospital staff to hold her down. It took seven letters from the Princess telling Twilight that she was not angry and that she loved her like a daughter and that nothing could ever change that. Also the shot of Valium that DR. Heart Throb gave her made things much easier. Kenshin also received a letter from the Princess saying how sorry and embarrassed she was at the situation and that she hoped that this didn’t make him think bad of her and consider her un-trust worthy. The swordsman replied with a letter saying that there were no hard feelings but that he would be watching her carefully for any future deception. The Princess was shocked by the letter because she never had anypony consider her un-trustworthy before and she certainly never betrayed anypony’s trust before either and she meant no harm with her letter to Twilight. When she sent another letter asking why he didn’t trust her, he simply replied with a letter that said. Never trust anyone who works in politics. Kenshin was not angry at all about the letter. In fact he found it quite hiliarious. Truth be told he just wanted to meet her before he decided if he should trust her or not and his last letter was meant to be a joke…Partially. They all left the hospital went to their houses to gather the Cutie Mark Crusaders and pack for their trip. It was the dead of night as they made it to their homes. Each time they entered one of their homes the red head would tell them not to turn the lights on so that they could stay hidden and not alert any one to their departure. Each time they entered a home Kenshin would first search the home for any intruders or assassins. The girls were amazed at his thoroughness at it. They thought that it was amazing how he knew what to expect from an assassin almost as if he could think like one. The only trouble that they had was that they all had to take turns carrying a heavily sedated Twilight Sparkle with them. Thankfully Spike knew what to back for her. As they boarded the train and went to their onboard suite. They decided to get some sleep since it was 3 AM. As they all drifted into sleep Kenshin was the last one to fall asleep he thought about the day’s events. However what he didn’t know was that as he slept, the Poison Joke that he fell into earlier was slowly taking affect, turning his body into that of a 14 year-old boy. ________________________________________________________________________ *The Void* Discord stared at the man that stood in front of him. Discord could not help but feel uneasy as he stared into the man’s amber colored eyes. “Well if it isn’t the Chuck Norris of Anime!” Discord said as he floated in front of the man while popping his own eyeball out and breathing on it before polishing it with a rabid wolverine. To Discords shock the human did not even flinch or bat an eye at the spirit of chaos’s crazy antics. “Ani-what?’ Was all he said, still showing no emotion. “Ahead of your time my boy, never mind. Anyway I have something that you want.” The spirit of chaos said as he watched the rabid wolverine growl at the human for a second before it began to cower in fear under the man’s gaze. This made Discord even more nervous. “And what might that be?” The human asked. “Kenshin Himura.” If the man was interested in this new information then he sure as tarturas wasn’t showing it. “Where?” He said. “Eager are we? What are you willing to do to get this information?” Discord smiled as he shrunk himself down to the size of a mouse and was flying a miniature plane while having a dog fight with himself. “Gut you alive while slowly strangling you with your intestines until your neck snaps.” The man said as the both planes shot each other out of the air and crashed into flames. “HOW DARE YOU THREATEN ME!” Discord screamed as he changed into a giant dragon and roared directly into the human’s…and the human did not even flinch or bat an eyelash. He showed no emotion at all. "Fine, this one always gets them!" Discord snapped his fingers. "You are now 22 years old and... what the hell! That's always painful! DOES NOTHING FAZE YOU!" Discord shouted at the now young man who was unfazed. “I’ll ask nicely one more time. Where is he?” He asked, this time with an edge to his voice. As Discord looked at the man, he couldn’t help but feel as if he was being cornered by an angry lone wolf. “H-he’s in a town called P-Ponyville.” Discord said as he changed back into his normal form and tossed him a bag of bits. “Those are bits. The local currency, there should be enough there to last you six months.” He said. “Thank you.” The human said to the master of chaos before Discord snapped his taloned fingers and the man vanished in a huge explosion of cotton candy and chocolate milk. “That guy scares the living shit out of me.” Discord said. “Oh well, three down and one to go. The only question is, is when should I bring in the last warrior for this upcoming war?” Discord says before he turns to the readers and askes. “When do you think I should bring in the fourth and last fighter of the group?” He asks with a mischievous smile. ______________________________________________________________________________ *Badlands* The human was free falling at an alarming rate. He quickly searched for anything that could slow down his fall. To his luck he saw a cliff side to which he steered his body towards. When he was close enough he quickly drew his katana and stabbed it into the rocky cliff side. As he did this his fall began to slow down to where it was just slow enough to not be fatal. At this point he withdrew his sword from the cliff side and pushed off the rocky wall. Way down below was a lone diamond dog standing guard at the mouth of a giant cave. As he heard a weird sound that sounded as if something was falling he looked up and saw a creature falling from the sky. “WHAT…THE…FU-” *CRACK!!!* The diamond dog never even finished his sentence as the a lone human landed on top of him. Crushing the diamond dog on impact. The man stood up and looked down to see what he landed on. “What the hell did I hit? Oh well.” He said as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it up. As he inhaled the smoke he heard screams for help coming from deep in the cave. The screams sounded like the screams of women. The man simply took another puff of his cigarette and walked into the dark cave to see if he could help whoever it was that was in trouble. This man entered the diamond dog den. (Start Song) > Chapter 5.5 – The Lone Wolf of Mibu Strikes: Rescue the Guard and the Wonderbolt Captain (Side Chapter) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 5.5 – The Lone Wolf of Mibu Strikes: Rescue the Guard and the Wonderbolt Captain (Side Chapter) (Warning! There is a clop scene near the end of this chapter) *Diamond Dog Cave in the Badlands – POV: Saito – First Person* After I landed on top of that mutt I decided to take a smoke and figure out where I was. As I took a long drag on my cigarette I looked up at the full moon in the sky. Everything was peaceful until I heard what sounded like men and woman calling for help coming from deep within the cave. I decided to check it out since it seems like the best chance to find out where I am. As I walked through the cave entrance I found myself going through a very dimly lit tunnel, the lights that lined the cave ceiling barely lit the way at all. But that was not important, what was important was finding out who was calling for help. Once I find out where the nearest town is I can begin my search for Himura. Once I find him I will settle my score with him. It’s strange when I think about the fact that I was dead until that ugly mixed up bastard brought me back from the dead. Oh well, no time to dwell on the minor things. After walking for twenty minutes the cave opened up into a large dark cavern where the roof was sixty feet high. I took a look around until I spotted a light source that was moving. It appeared to be a group of soldiers with flash lights. About ten all together. But what caught my attention the most was the leader of the group. She appeared to be a young horse woman of some sort with a gold yellow coat while her hair was a blazing orange like fire. She was wearing a skin tight body suit that was blue with a streak of electric yellow going down the belly of her outfit. To top it all off she had a large pair of strong beautiful wings. She appeared to be a Pegasus, I remember learning about them when a attended a course on mythology during my college days. They are said to be masters of the skies, a good piece of information to have in case they turn out to be hostile. As I looked at the other soldiers, I saw that they also were some type of horse people as well. Some of them had wings while others had horns and some had neither. They were wearing golden armor with a crest of a sun on their chest plates. Some of them were carrying spears while others had swords. Due to the small number of their group I’d say that they were either a patrol or a recon team of some sort. I found it interesting that most of them were woman while only a few of them were men. I snuffed out my cigarette to avoid detection. I think I’ll stay out of sight and follow them for a while so I can figure out what’s going on here. ______________________________________________________________________________ *POV: Spitfire* Spitfire had been put in charge of this rescue mission from the start. She was given a small detachment of guards to help her search for a missing patrol royal guards that disappeared around this area when they were sent to investigate a string of strange disappearances in said area. The badlands were said to be one of the most inhospitable and dangerous areas in all of Equestria. There were rumors that the cause of these disappearances was due to diamond dog kidnappings. It wasn’t uncommon in the Bad Lands for this to happen, diamond dogs often captured any un-suspecting pony that wandered by one of their dens. The dens were so well hidden most of the time that no pony suspected a thing until it was to late. She heard rumors that diamond dogs would often force their prisoners to work for them in their gem mines as slaves. The other rumors that she heard were that diamond dogs would kill the stallions that they captured if they couldn’t work and rape the mares and keep them as sex slaves. But she was a Wonderbolt and she had some of the best combat training that Equestria had to offer. Her and her team were the best fliers in all of Equestria. Despite this fact she still found herself very nervous and anxious, mainly due to the fact that this was her first time in a possible combat situation. Her mission was to find and rescue the missing guards and civilians and get them back to civilization. “It feels like I’m being stalked by a wolf.” She said to herself. She didn’t know why she said a wolf, but it felt like the perfect description for what she was feeling. It didn’t feel directly hostile strangely enough. It felt as if whatever was stalking her would not attack unless provoked. But whatever it was it felt powerful. “You say something Captain?” One of the male guards asked with concern. “Oh no, just a little on edge is all. Nothing to worry about. Just keep your eyes open and your guard up.” Spitfire said to the guard. “Yes ma’am.” He replied as they continued to walk deeper into the cave. The cave was obviously one of their dens judging by the fact that there were water pipes running along the ceilings of the cave and a few dimly lit light bulbs set up every fifteen feet. She began to let her mind wander as they tracked through the many tunnels of the cave. She was stressed out badly, not just over her current situation, but over recent events. She had just broken up with her colt friend when she found out that he was just using her because of her status as the Captain of the Wonderbolts. He used her as a meal ticket to make his sports equipment manufacturing business more popular. To make matters worse was that he would often get drunk every day and degrade her, often in public. She just wanted to be loved and he took advantage of that. He would go to bars and shout “I’m fucking the Wonderbolt Captain!” which was in no way true at all. Even though she was embarrassed to admit it, she was still a virgin. But at least she left that bastard blue balled in the worst way. Her friends were there for her the whole time, many of them asking for her to join their herds. She was flattered by the offers and their stallions were all around good guys but she politely turned them down. They told her that their offers still stood should she ever change her mind. Soarin has always been like a brother to her and has always been there for her since they were foals, but that was the problem. She could only ever think of him as a brother and the same was said for him, he could only think of her as a sister. She had heard the news that a human samurai had appeared in Ponyville who went by the name Kenshin Himura. It was a huge surprise to everypony when they found out that humans exist and that the samurai have returned after ten thousand years. The nobles in Canterlot were in a huge uproar over this, claiming that they had to have the samurai in their service and that his knowledge would be theirs no matter what. Unfortunately all the nobles wanted the same thing and began to fight amongst each other. At first it was just arguments until it quickly escalated into a total free for all brawl. It took two hours for the guards to break up the fight. There was rumor that the human samurai was secretly the red swordsman from the famous book series. She remembered her mother reading the books to her as a foal when she was still alive. She remembered how her mom would do the sound effects for the story whenever she read the story to her. Her favorite character was always the stone faced swordsman known only as The Mibu Wolf who would eliminate all evil that he encountered on the spot. He was cold, calculating, and deadly when it came to combat and was one of the only few that were able to stand hoof-to-hoof with the Red Swordsman. She was still a huge fan of the series, the series is so famous that it was still ongoing and had new volumes still coming out periodically with ponies crowding at the stores to get the newest release. She remembered how earlier that day when she was watching TV earlier and saw what would forever be known as the legendary battle in Ponyville on the news earlier that day. It was a single stallion with a red mane who took on a deranged maniac along with two-hundred shadow warriors…and he won. Now that was a stallion. A stallion that was strong, brave, showed no fear in the face of death and evil, and had a strong sense of justice. But she also wanted a stallion that would love her not for her status but for who she was as a pony. As they were walking one of the guards noticed something odd. “Hey Captain.” The mare said. “Yeah, what is it?” Spitfire asked. “Do you ever get the feeling that you’re being watched?” “Actually yeah I-” Spitfire was interrupted when they all heard a loud clanging sound. They all readied themselves for a fight only to find the source of the sound which was a small round black ball which was slowly rolling towards them. As it came to a stop they all stared at it wondering what it was. At this moment the object in question released a huge cloud of purple gas causing the guards to go into a coughing fit as they began to lose consciousness and fall to the ground with a dull thud. As Spitfire collapsed to the ground clutching her throat while gasping for air, her vision began to slowly fade. As she fell into the grasps of unconsciousness she saw a strange creature that was shrouded in shadows. It had no fur on it at all except for its mane which was a blackish brown color which was combed back with only a few long strands of hair hanging in front of its face. It wore navy blue suit with a sword hanging from his left hip. It had no fear in its eyes as it silently stood there until it stepped back into the shadows and vanished without a trace. But as she passed out she could only think about one thing, those eerie golden eyes that stared at her felt as if they were staring directly into her soul. Seconds later she was out like a light. ______________________________________________________________________________ *Three hours later - POV: Satio* Saito had to dart out of the room as fast as he could due to the knockout gas that was released into the area lest he fall victim to it himself. Fortunately as Saito ran out of the room he drew his sword and slashed at the walls every so often, leaving markers for himself so that he wouldn’t get lost in the endless caverns. He knew the way out of the cave but he was not leaving until he got to the bottom of what just happened. He saw the soldiers get knocked out by the gas bomb that those weird dog creatures came in a rounded them up. Unfortunately he was not able to see where they dragged the soldiers off to when he left the room. He could tell that those soldiers were either rookies that had no combat experience or they were very stupid due to the fact that they were talking the entire time when they were in a dangerous unknown cave that was possibly in enemy territory. He voted on the latter. He had been walking around for a few hours looking for any sign of the soldiers he saw earlier only to find nothing but a few dog tracks that would disappear after a while thus leaving him without a trail to follow. As he rounded a corner he heard the distinct sounds of pickaxes and tools at work. “Hm, must be an excavation site.” Saito thought to himself as he followed the sounds and searched for the source. As he got closer to the noise the cave opened up into a wide area. What he saw filled the retired Shinsengumi Captain with blinding rage. He saw stallions, mares, and foals in chains being forced to work in the caves mines. All of them were malnourished and bruised from being constantly beaten. The mares had obviously been raped by their captors, he could see the look of fear and terror in the eyes of the mares as their dog like captors walked by making sure that they were working. *CRACK!* “Agh!” Saito’s attention turned to a diamond dog that was whipping a badly bruised mare that was holding a young filly in her arms as she cried out in pain, shielding her foal from her from their attacker. The diamond dog did not see the enraged samurai approaching behind him. “When I tell you to do something bitch you do it!” The diamond dog with the whip shouted in anger at the cowering mare that had her filly in her arms. “Please don’t! I’m sorry!” She sobbed in terror as the diamond drew back the whip, ready to strike the now bleeding mare again. “This will teach you, you stupid b- Agh!” That was as far as the evil diamond dog got as two white gloved hands tightly wrapped around his neck like a vice. The dog was gagging and reaching and clawing at his throat in a futile attempt. Saito tightened his grip until a loud sickening crack echoed throughout the cavern. As the dog’s body went limp he tossed it to the side only to see seven more diamond dogs come charging in with weapons ready. The cop leapt into battle leaving the mare and filly in a state of awe and shock as he did what he did best. The man saw no need to draw his sword against weaklings such as the ones in front of him, his main concern was to kill them before they could alert anyone. As the first enemy began to swing a spiked club at him, the Shinsengumi threw a quick jab to the dog’s throat with such force that it crushed the canine’s windpipe on impact causing him to collapse to the ground choking to death until its body finally went limp from the lack of oxygen. As the other six diamond dogs surrounded the man Saito could see that they were wearing armor and that they were big and burly, standing a foot taller than the cop. “Give up! You cannot w-” The diamond dog was cut off as Saito slammed a bone snapping kick into its stomach, smashing straight through the armor breaking three of its ribs which drove into the dogs organs, one of them being its heart. The man side stepped an oncoming charge from another armored dog effortlessly as he back handed it hard in the face causing it to lost balance and stumble backwards. The man took advantage of the opening and moved at speeds so fast that he appeared to disappear from where he was standing only to reappear right behind the disoriented dog. He quickly pulled it into a head lock and snapped its neck like a twig without an ounce of hesitation. As it crumbled to the ground Saito decided to end the fight quickly as he slammed a rapid series of punches to one of the four remaining diamond dogs heads with such rapid furry that it caved the dogs skull in, covering his white gloves with traces of blood. He closed the distance between himself and another of the armored dogs with such speed that the canine had no time to react as the Shinsengumi grabs the dogs sword from its sheathe and drove it straight through the canines chest, killing it instantly. Saito then slammed a roundhouse kick to the back of the next dogs neck, killing it instantly as its neck snapped, leaving Saito with the last diamond dog who was now cowering under the man’s death glare. “W-wait!” The dog cried out only for Saito to begin walking towards him calmly while still maintaining his murderous stare. “W-we can pay y-you! W-work for us and you can have all the mares and booze you want!” The diamond dog pleaded only for the man to ignore him as he kept walking towards the dog. “Hey! Aren’t you listening to me!” The diamond dog screamed again only to realize that his pleas were futile. The diamond dog quickly flipped out a butterfly knife only for Saito’s hand to shoot forward catch the knife in mid flip and clamp it shut on the dog’s fingers. The dog howled and screamed in pain as the blade slowly cut off his fingers. His screams were cut short as Saito clamped his other hand around the dogs throat and lifted him off the ground and slammed him into the wall. “Where were the soldiers in the golden armor taken?” Saito demanded in a calm but low and deadly tone. “Fuck you!” The dog shouted in pain. “Wrong answer mutt.” Saito tightened his grip on the closed knife causing it to cut deeper into the dogs now bloodied fingers, making him cry out pain only for it to be silenced as Saito tightened his grip on the canine’s throat. “Where are the soldiers?” He asked again. “W-work for us, like I said we can pay you!” “Wrong answer again.” “Agh!” The dog screamed in pain again as the blade cut deeper into his fingers, severing them even more. “AGH! Alright! Alright! I’ll talk you freaking psychopath! They’re in the main holding cells, just head down that tunnel and make a right at the armory! Now let me go!” He said in anger. “No.” Saito replied coldly. At this point Saito clamped the knife shut all the way with full force, completely cutting off the diamond dogs fingers. The dog tried to scream as his severed fingers fell to the ground only for Saito to stop him when he tore out his windpipe and shuffed it down his throat. The dog fell to the ground like a rag doll in a pool of its own blood. Saito grabbed a set of keys off the dead diamond dog’s body and walked towards the now terrified mare and filly that were chained up. They tried to pack away from the man only to be stopped by their chains. The mother held her daughter tightly in her arms. “P-please! Do whatever you want to me but please don’t hurt my daughter!” The mare pleaded as tears ran down her face when she saw the man draw his sword. She clenched her eyes shut as she waited for her life to end only to find that she was still alive. As she opened her eyes she saw that her and her daughter’s chains had been slashed off. He tossed the baffled mare the set of keys. “Use these to set the others free. Once I free the soldiers they’ll lead you to the closest town. Until then, you and the others wait at the entrance of the cave, I’ve slashed markings into the cave walls. Follow them and it will take you to the entrance.” The man said as the mare came out of her state of shock. “W-who are?” She asked. “Saito Hajime.” He said with no emotion in his voice. “Thank you.” She said as the man and her went to freeing the others in the area. As Saito freed pony after pony, he came across something interesting. A pack of bipedal wolves that were chained up as well. He sliced off their chains, freeing them from their bonds. “Thank you brave warrior for freeing us. We are in your debt.” The pack leader said as the other wolves went to free the ponies and their pack members. “Who are you?” Saito asked. “I am White Fang the pack leader of my brethren. What is your name warrior.” White Fang asked. “Saito Hajime, the last wolf of Mibu.” The human said. White Fangs ears perked up at this. “I have never seen a wolf that looks like you, no offensive. But you do indeed fight like one of my own kind.” The wolf said as Saito smirked at the comment. “You have our thanks for freeing us from these accursed diamond dogs. They have been capturing ponies and our packs for months now.” The giant bipedal wolf said. “Why have they been kidnapping ponies and your pack?” Saito asked as he lit up a cigarette. “They captured the ponies because they need workers to harvest the gems of these mines. They often enslave the stallions, mares, and the foals. But most of the time they rape the females just for fun.” White Fang spat in disgusted. Saito’s eyes hardened at the evil that was being committed to the innocent. “They captured my pack and I because we tried to stop them but they got the jump on us. They used some strange purple smoke that knocked us out.” He finished. “It’s true! The wolves tried to save us. They help any pony that gets lost in the Badlands.” The mare said as she held her filly, stroking the filly’s mane lovingly. “T-they did h-horrible t-things to us.” Another mare said as she began to sob as the other mares began to cry as well. At this point Saito snuffed out his cigarette by pressing the lit end into the forehead of one of the diamond dog corpses. He looked the mare dead in the eye. “You don’t have to worry about them; they won’t make it out of this cave alive.” Saito said with no emotion as he turned his attention to White Fang. “You think you and your pack can help the ponies make it to the cave entrance?” The man asked. “Of course! But what about you?” The wolf asked. “I have some unfinished business that I need to take care of.” Saito said as he drew his sword, causing it give off a low ring as was pulled from its scabbard. As he walked off into the darkness every pony and wolf was speechless at what they saw. As Saito passed a light his shadow appeared to be that of a wolf stalking it’s pray. ______________________________________________________________________________ *POV: Spitfire* Spitfire woke up in a cell feeling groggy. As she took in her surroundings she found herself in a large jail cell with her squad mates inside. “Finally you’re awake, thank Celestia!” One of the guards said. “W-what’s going on?” Spitfire asked. “I think we were jumped. Now we’re in some type of holding cell from the looks of it.” The guard’s mare said nervously. “Are you alright Strong Shield?” The Wonderbolt asked with concern for her friend. “Y-yeah, I think so.” She said as the other guards checked each other for injuries only to find minor cuts and scrapes and gashes. “So what do we do now?” Another guard’s mare asked as she got up from where she was sitting. “We need to try to come up with some kind of escape plan and complete our mission.” Spitfire said with a calm seriousness in her voice. “Your right, but I’ve been searching this entire cell for a way out or some weak spot in the walls and bars for the last hour. There is absolutely no way out.” Strong Shield said with a slight look of worry. “Shit… We’ll have to think of something else. It’s not like somepony is going to come along and save us-” As Spitfire said those words a bloodied diamond dog was sent flying through the air screaming and straight into the bars of their jail cell. As it hit the bars it dented them making the corpse stuck there for a few seconds until it slid down onto the ground with a dull thud. Spitfire and the guards were all scared shitless to say the least at what just happened in front of their very eyes. They could hear the distinct sounds of battle off in the distance as they saw a tall thin figure dressed in a navy blue suit making its way towards them as it killed its way through the a group of diamond dogs that were blocking his way to the very cell that they were in. Slaughtering them as if they were nothing. As three diamond dogs were throwing spears and shooting arrows at him, he was just slicing them and swatting them out of the way with his sword that he carried in his left hand. As he approached the first one he slashed it across the chest, severing its aorta. As blood shot out of its chest with every pump of its heart, Saito grabbed the dog by the skull with one hand and smashed its head into the wall two times with such force that blood and brain matter splattered all over the wall. As the second one charged at him with a spear, Saito just sliced straight the bladed tip of the spear and the staff and slashed the diamond dog’s stomach. The dog’s intestines fell out all over the ground only for the Samurai to grab the exposed innards and wrap it around the dogs neck. As he strangled the diamond dog with his own intestines, the man decided to pull tighter on the rope like organ until the dog’s neck snapped. This caused some of the guards to lose their lunch as they vomited all over the floor. As two more charged at the man with swords, the swordsman simply lobbed the one of their heads off and kicked it into the oncoming dog’s skull, knocking him to the ground. As the dog tried to get up the swordsman ruthlessly stabbed his katana straight through the dog’s helmeted head and into his brain, killing it instantly. As a third one tried to charge the swordsman from behind, the man simply front flipped over it and perfomed a leg sweep to it and sliced it in half along the waist as it was still in the air. The upper body was only alive for a little a few seconds until it bled out. At this point Spitfire and every single pony was vomiting on the floor of the cell. Some tried to get up only for their hooves to slip on their own vomit and land face first into it. As one of the remain diamond dogs was staring at Saito with pure terror, the dog snapped and pulled out a knife and made one last desperate charge at the Shinsengumi only for it to be in vain. Saito caught the dog’s hand and crushed it with his grip and broke its arm by bending it backwards all the way. As the diamond dog screamed in pain Saito slashed it across the chest causing blood to spray all over the man’s face as it died. At this point the guards were terrified by the pure ruthlessness and carnage of the creature that was in front of them. As they looked back to the man they saw that there was a diamond dog impaled on his sword. As the man stared into the terrified dog’s eyes for a few seconds, the dog could only say one thing. “M-monster.” Was all the dog said to the man as it slowly bled to death. “Ironic that you say that after all of the things that you’ve done to the innocent.” That was all Saito said before yanked the sword and performed a backwards spin kick before the dog could even hit the ground, Sending the dog flying straight into the cave wall, the body smashed straight into the wall and remained stuck as blood seeped down the walls. With the last dog out of the way in that part of the cave Saito made his way towards the cell. (Imagine the whole fight like this.) Spitfire was terrified as the strange creature walked up to the bars. All the guards scooted away in a hurry as he neared, Spitfire couldn’t help but think that this was the end for her and her friends. At that moment Saito sliced straight through the bars as if they were not even there causing them to clang to the ground. Now with nothing to separate them from the deadly swordsman they were at his mercy. As he walked closer to the scared ponies, Spitfire slipped on a puddle of her lunch that she threw up. As fell backwards and landed on her flank, Saito crouched down and got face to face with her and said something that she would never forget. “Those mutts defeated you without a fight? That’s just sad.” Saito said with no emotion in his voice what so ever. This caused Spitfire to blush furiously as she jumped up. “T-they got the jump on us!” She shouted in embarrassment. “And the sun was in your eyes.” Saito said mockingly causing her to blush more furiously as he smoked a cigarette. “I-I’m Captain Spitfire of the Wonderbolts and I’m commanding this squad of royal guards. W-Who are you?” The Wonderbolt asked as she tried to put on a brave face. Spitfire has always been a very brave mare but something about the stallion that stood in front of her just gave her chills. “Saito Hajime, 3rd Squad Captain of the Shinsengumi and former Tokyo chief of police. I’m here to rescue you and your squad.” He said as he lit up another cigarette. Spitfire was surprised to say the least as she looked at the man that was standing in front of her. He looked to be about just slightly younger than her. Despite being so young he has already held the rank of Captain and he was chief of police at one time or another. “I don’t believe you! You are way too young to have ever held those positions!” A male guard shouted. “I really don’t give a rat’s ass if you believe me or not.” Saito said as he let out an empty chuckle which angered the guard. “Laugh at me again and see what happens!” The stallion screamed in anger. Saito simply walked up to the guard and said. “Ha. Ha. Ha.” Saito said in a monotone voice as he towered over the stallion and gave him a death glare that made the stallion literally piss himself on the spot and scream like a little girl. “That’s what I thought.” Saito said as he walked away. “WAIT! We still need to save the civilians that are being held hostage!” Strong Shield said. “I already took care of that. They should be waiting at the cave entrance with White Fang’s pack of wolves.” The man answered. “WOLVES!” The ponies shouted in horror. “Don’t be so dramatic. They’re on our side.” The swordsman said as he began to walk off with the ponies following him. As they walked Spitfire couldn’t help but find herself staring at the tall lean sword fighter in front of her. For some strange reason she found herself blushing as she stared at the man. “You’re that stallion that was following us earlier weren’t you?” Spitfire asked. “Yep.” “Are you a human?” “Yep.” “You’re carrying a katana. Are you a samurai?” She asked. “Yep.” The samurai said without even turning around as they continued to walk through the caves. “He’s just like that samurai that came to Ponyville. The one with the red mane, I think they call him Kenshin Himura. I heard he took on a whole army of shadow warriors.” Strong shield said in amazement. This caught Saito’s attention but he didn’t stop walking or turn to face the mare. “So Discord was telling the truth when he said that Himura was in this Ponyville… Strange name for a town.” Saito said nonchalantly. “DISCORD!!!” The ponies screamed in shock. “You know Discord! I knew you couldn’t be trusted!” The stallion that challenged the samurai earlier charged at Saito before any of his friends could stop him. Spitfire cringed in fear as she expected the samurai to cut down the enraged stallion. But to her surprise he simply blocked every punch as if it were nothing with only one hand as he put a cigarette in his mouth, pulled out a lighter, and lit it. Spitfire could easily tell that this guy was a heavy chain smoker. He took one long drag and released it after a few seconds of holding it, all while still blocking the barrage of punches from the enraged stallion. In an instant the man grabbed the stallion’s arm and flipped him over his shoulder, slamming him to the ground flat on his back, knocking the wind out of him. “What’s your name soldier?” Saito asked the gasping stallion. “H-Heavy H-Hitter.” The guard gasped. “I think I’ll call you ‘Daddy’s Little Bitch’ from now on.” The human said as he walked off causing all of the mares to snicker at the new nickname. “Let’s move out.” The man ordered to which no pony questioned him. They walked in Silence for twenty minutes. As they walked Saito saw that Spitfire was shivering from the low temperature in the cave and was hugging herself in an attempt to stay warm. It didn’t surprise him though due to the fact that she was wearing a skin tight body suit. Saito wordlessly took off his jacket and placed it over her shoulders much to the shock of everypony. Spitfire felt her face heat up again as she looked at the man leading the way out of the cave. She couldn’t help but stare at his muscles as they stretched his black T-shirt. She found herself staring at intently at the man for what felt like forever. “Something on your mind Captain?” The Shinsengumi asked Spitfire. “N-nothing’s wrong, why do you a-ask? And p-please just call me Spitfire Captain Saito.” She stuttered nervously. “Alright Spitfire. You’ve been staring at me for the last ten minutes. Also…Just call me Saito. The Shinsengumi disbanded along time a go.” He said in his signature monotone tone. “What are the Shinsengumi?” Spitfire asked. “We were a special police force that fought for the Shogun back during the revolution. We were known as The Wolves of Mibu due to our methods.” The man said leaving it at that. This caused Spitfire’s ears to twitch at what she heard. “Could he be the Mibu Wolf?” She thought to herself. “What do you mean by a special police force?” Strong Shield asked. “Isn’t it obvious? This Shinsengumi or whatever it’s called is some kind of squad that kills all those that opposed them! They’re probably just a bunch of cut throats and murd-AGH!” Heavy Hitter was cut off as Saito picked him up by the throat and looked him dead in the eye. “I will say this once and only once. Don’t! Ever! Bad! Mouth! The Shinsengumi!”Saito said as his rage boiled over. But to his surprise Spitfire quickly jumped in and grabbed his arm. “Saito let him go now!” She ordered. Saito turned his attention and saw that she was afraid but still fighting through her fears, she stood her ground. As he looked into her pleading eyes he didn’t know why but they strangest thing happened. He slowly released his grip, letting the stallion hit the ground gasping for air. “Thank you.” Spitfire said giving a sigh of relief as she helped the stallion up who was rubbing his now bruised throat. But Spitfire’s relief was short lived as they heard a bone chilling voice. “So you’re the strange creature that’s been stealing my property huh?” A demented voice said as he stepped into the light revealing himself. Saito saw an interesting sight in front. A giant diamond dog was riding a giant wolf made completely out of wood. “Who and or what the hell are you?” Saito asked. “I’m the one that had all these ponies and wolves harvesting my gems, that is until you let my property go free.” The leader of the diamond dogs said in a snobbish tone. “YOUR PROPERTY!!! YOU’VE BEEN KIDNAPPING THE INNOCENT, FORCING THEM TO WORK IN YOUR MINES AND MAKING THEM YOUR SEX SLAVES!!! YOU SICK SON OF A BITCH!!!” Spitfire screamed in rage. “You’ll never get away with this!” Strong Shield shouted in anger. “Who’s gonna stop me, Bark Bite the Over Lord.” Bark Bite said as diamond dogs began burrowing their ways out of the ground, ceiling and walls. “I am.” Saito said as he stepped forward. “Aw yes! The young samurai that has been killing my warriors, you are nothing but a mere pup compared to me. But I am feeling generous. If you work for me then I shall spare your life. Hell I’ll even let you keep those mares as your personal pets.” Bark Bite said in a cocky tone as if he had won as more diamond dogs came out of the shadows ready to fight. “Spitfire, do you know what Aku Soku Zan means?” Saito said as he drew his sword and held it with his left hand. “Saito don’t! There’s no way to win, there’s got to be at least fifty of them!” The Wonderbolt said with worry only for the samurai to ignore her. “It means Swift Death to Evil. It is the code of the Shinsengumi that we live, fight, and die by.” He said got into his Gatotsu stance. His left hand held the blade as he extended his right arm and gently rested the tips of his fingers on the tip of the blade as spread his legs far apart and bent his knees slightly. “SAITO NO!!!” Spitfire screamed fearing for the worst as the man lunged forward at the fifty armored diamond dogs. (Start Song) Saito took the offensive and lunged forward, his blade piercing the chest of the first diamond dog. The sheer force of the strike tore the dog in half causing blood to explode everywhere. Saito saw three dogs that looked like they were moving in slow motion due to his sheer speed. He sliced them across the stomach and causing their intestines to fall to the ground. One of the other dogs tried to stab the man from behind only for the samurai to grab the dog his sword and turn it against him. Stabbing him in the stomach with his own sword, causing the dog to fall to the ground in a pool of his own blood. Ten more charged the human only for the man to charge them in return. Saito, in one single lunge impaled three of the dogs on his sword, by their heads. As the corpses hung on his blade he quickly flung them at two diamond dogs that were standing close to the edge of a drop off. As the bodies hit them they were sent falling into the cavernous pit to their deaths, screaming all the way until they hit the bottom. As five others were attacking Saito slammed the bridge of his hand into the first ones windpipe, crushing it completely as the next two tried to spear him to death. The samurai sliced straight through the first one’s spear. Slicing it from the tip all the way up the shaft. His slice continued, cutting the dog in half. The second dog held up a shield to protect its self only for it to be sliced in half, slicing its arm off in the process. As the dog bled Saito delivered an open palm strike to the next dog, rupturing its heart causing it to collapse dead on the ground with blood trailing from its mouth. Saito disappeared and reappeared behind the next two enemies and lobbed off their heads. At this point all the dogs stopped attacking in fear as they stared at him. “What’s a matter weren’t you going to kill me.” Saito said mockingly. “HOW DARE YOU SPIT ON MY OFFER I WILL-” *CRACK!* Bark Bite’s rant was interrupted as Saito closed the distance in an instance punched him so hard that he was sent flying off the timber wolf and into five of his thugs. His muzzle was covered in blood from being broken. “Down girl.” The man said sadistically. The guards ponies quickly took advantage of the situation and grabbed the weapons from the dead enemies and armed themselves. As they were about to assist the samurai in combat, held up his hand stopping them. “Don’t get involved. I’ll handle this alone.” He said coldly. “Why!? We can help you!” Strong Shield shouted. “You’ll just get in the way.” He replied. Before the mare could protest Spitfire intervened. “He’s right Strong Shield. As much as I hate to admit it, he’s right. He took down fifteen diamond dogs in one second flat. We’re nowhere near his level. We’ll just get in his way.” She said to her friend as she nodded reluctantly. “YOU SON OF A BITCH! DON’T IGNORE ME!” Bark Bite screamed in rage. “It’s ironic that your name is Bark Bite mainly due to the fact that your bark is worse than your bite.” The cop said with a smirk. “HOW DARE-” “It’s neutering time Fido.” The cop said with a sadistic grin as he took his Gatotsu stance once again, causing the dogs eyes to turn to the size of pinpricks. “D-Don’t just stand there! Kill him! Kill them all!” The leader of the diamond dogs barked to his thugs causing fifty more to show up for the battle. The man charged screaming in rage as he cut down five enemies with a flurry of slashes cutting them to pieces. Five spear wielding dogs riding timber wolves charged the man intent on killing him. As they charged he side stepped the first one and decapitated the timber wolf as he lopped off the dogs legs leaving him to screaming as he quickly bled out. As two more diamond dogs came riding at him, they both jumped off the backs of the timber wolves. Now airborne they tried to stab the samurai with a downward stab of their spears only for Saito to counter with Gatotsu Sanshiki, launching himself into the air as well he stabbed both of them in the chest making them nothing but corspes. As the two timber wolves came running at the man he sliced both of their head off. As two more diamond dogs charged at the man while riding timber wolves he positioned himself carefully in front of a drop off that lead to a nearly endless drop. As they charged at him with spears ready Saito jumped out of the way at the last minute causing the both of them to fall to their deaths. “Dumb asses.” The swordsman said. Five sword wielding diamond dogs attacked the man only for him to slash them to pieces with a flurry of stabs thanks to his Gatotsu. As they collapsed to the ground Saito lunged at five spearman and stabbed the first one with a left hand sword thrust to the heart of the first one. Pulling the katana out of the dogs chest the human slashed the next one across the stomach and the third one got his head sliced perfectly in half. Blood sprayed all over the man’s face and body only for him to move on to the fourth dog, slicing one of his arms off. For the next dog Saito slammed his fist into its throat, crushing its windpipe. At that moment ten more diamond dogs came charging at the man only for him to leap through the air and slice a cluster of stalactites, causing them to fall and impale the ten dogs with the rock spikes. As the room was flooded with blood from the battle the man just smirked at the now quivering diamond dogs. “I just slaughtered half of your men. Do you really think that you’ll win?” The samurai said as he slung the blood off of his blade. “W-W-WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU!?!?!?” Bark Bite screamed. “A man that has stared death in the face countless times, I have stared true evil in the face time and time again as it came crawling out of the pits of hell…but you are just a tiny wimp that hides behind men… I’m done playing around. I will show what real power is like.” The Shinsengumi captain said as he took up his Gatotsu stance yet again. “Aku Soku Zan.” Was all that he said before he charged into battle once more. As the samurai charged at full speed there was a loud screeching sound that echoed throughout the cave from the pure speed of the samurai. He was moving so fast that everything looked it wasn’t moving at all. As he ran towards the first group of diamond dogs he stabbed the first dog in the carotid artery causing blood to spay everywhere. As he moved on to the next dog sliced its stomach wide open causing the dogs intestines to fall out on the ground. As he moved on to the next three he unleashed a flurry of slashes which sliced them to pieces, littering the floor with bloody limps. The man charged at five more diamond dogs, due to his sheer speed it appeared as if he disappeared. The man lopped off all five dogs’ heads with a single swing of his katana. As Saito got ready for another charge two hands quickly shot out of the ground and grabbed Saito by the ankles. But before the diamond dog could pull the man down, the samurai delivered one swift stab to the ground causing a scream to emit from the ground only for it to stop instantly as he twisted his sword, killing the dog. As four more charged the man Saito sliced the first one across the throat, the second one across the stomach, the third and fourth ones were stabbed in the in the hearts. Blood sprayed from all of them as they all collapsed to the ground dead. Ten diamond dog archers took aim at the samurai and fired their arrows at him only for him to slice them all in half. The man closed the distance in an instance and sliced the first archer’s skull in half and stabbed the second archer repeatedly in a fit of rage. Another archer fired an arrow at the man’s back only for it to be caught by the samurai’s hand. The man quickly turned around and jammed the arrow into the diamond dog’s eye socket. Another dog tried to fire off an arrow only for the swordsman tackle him and get him in a head lock. The human wasted no time and without hesitation snapped the dog’s neck. As the dog’s corpse hit the ground the man grabbed the nearest dog by the throat and slowly slid the blade of his katana into the dog’s chest. “Hurts don’t it?” He said as the dog choked on his own blood and went limp. Saito quickly through the corpse at three dogs with such force that it knocked all three of them off of a ledge, sending them to their deaths. Two more tried to kill the man only have their throats sliced wide open. The man charged his enemies once again and sliced and stabbed five more enemies, adding them to the body count. Ten more dogs charge the man yet again and manage to unleash a series of rapid slashes and stabs only for him to block every single strike without breaking a sweat. He sliced the through the first dogs sword and cut the dog perfectly in half. The swordsman then sliced off the second dog’s hand that was carrying a sword. He took the sword and hurled it at a third dogs head, killing it instantly as he caved in the second dog’s skull with a series of rapid kicks. The fourth and fifth dogs raised their swords in preparation to strike only for the arms to be cut clean off. The man moved on to the next opponents as he left the two armless dogs to bleed to death. Two more enemies tried to kill the man by throwing spears at him only for him to side step one of the oncoming spears, causing it to impale a diamond dog that was behind him in the eye socket. The human caught the second spear and hurled it back at its owner, catching him in the neck. The swordsman delivered three rapid stabs to the other dog’s chest resulting in blood splattering everywhere. Two more dogs tried to draw their weapon only to have their skulls sliced in half. The ten remaining dogs all stared in terror at the man who was just standing there with blood dripping off of the blade of his katana. “W-We s-surre-AGH!” The dog screamed as the Shinsengumi gutted him and four other diamond dogs in a split second. “Screw this!” Another diamond dog said as him and the other four remaining dogs ran for their lives only to be cut down at such a speed that no one could even see the man move. (End Song) Bark Bite was filled with pure terror as he gazed at the mutilated bodies and severed limbs that littered the cave floor. At that moment the White Fang and a few members of his back came into view. “White Fang, what a pleasant surprise.” Saito said with an empty smile which creeped everyone out. “I came w-with a few members of my pack while the others are looking after the ponies to see if you needed some help…but when we arrived…y-you just decimated the diamond dogs like they were nothing.” White Fang said with an expression of pure shock and awe. “You know, I was going to gut this mutt alive, but I think you and your pack should have that honor White Fang.” Saito said with an emotionless expression on his face once again. “Thank you Saito Hajime, you honor us with this gift, we will finally make Bark Bite pay for his crimes against the innocent and our pack.” The giant bipedal wolf said as him and the three other wolves slowly started to corner the cowardly diamond dog who was now begging pathetically for his life. “This is madness! You can’t let them do this!” Heavy Hitter said in anger. “Daddy’s Little Bitch.” The man said to the stallion which caused him to fume with anger. “That mutt attacked and raped the innocent, do you really think that his life is worth sparring?” He continued. “I’ve seen his type before, they kill and rape the innocent while acting all high and mighty when committing these crimes. But when they’re caught they beg for their pathetic lives not because they’re sorry for what they did, but because they were caught.” Saito said which caused the stallion’s ears to splay back at what the man was saying. “But we can make him stand trial, there’s other ways to handle this Saito! You can’t just go around killing ponies that you think are evil.” Spitfire said in an exasperated tone. “He admitted to committing the crimes so by killing him we won’t have to waste the judges time in some long and drawn out case which will end up pretty much the same way with Bark Bite being executed.” The man said in a monotone voice. “Equestria has always outlawed capital punishment of any sort! We’ve never used such a barbaric punishment! What the hell are you even thinking!?” Strong Shield shouted in horror. “What I am thinking is this ‘If he’s guilty and killing him makes me feel better, then what the hell are we arguing about?’” Saito said which shocked and horrified all of the ponies only for them to be broken out of their shock as they heard Bark Bite screaming in anger. “YOU THINK YOU’VE WON YOU SON OF A BITCH, BUT YOU’RE WRONG! NOW FACE MY PET!” The diamond dog screamed as he pulled out a small silver whistle and blew it. As he did the wolves covered their ears in pain. All of a sudden the ground began to shake as there was a large stomping sound that echoed throughout the cave. *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* Saito readied his sword for what was coming. But to everyone’s shock the whole cave started to shake and cave in. “Everyone make a break for the cave entrance!” The man ordered as ponies, wolves, and human alike all ran for their lives as the cave tunnels began to collapse. Support beams started to splinter as they snapped and gave way. As they ran down the tunnels, taking twists and turns trying to get to the entrance. As they saw the entrance in sight with all of the ponies that were rescued along with the rest of White Fang’s pack waiting for them. “Run, the whole place is caving in!” Spitfire screamed to the others as a huge boulder landed on her ankle, breaking it. As she screamed in pain she tried to pull herself free but to no avail. The rocks above her were now shaking as they cracked and broke apart. She saw her whole life flash before her eyes. “Is this it for me?” She thought to herself. To her shock and amazement the huge boulder was thrown off of her by Saito who wordlessly picked her up and carried her over his shoulders as he ran out of the cave. As the man carried the mare over to her friends and the other ponies she could only look on in amazement at the man that saved her. As the guards did a head count they were relieved to find that everypony made it out before the cave collapsed. But that relief was short lived as they heard something that filled them with dread. *ROAR!!!* Ponies began to scream in terror as they found the source of the noise. “DRAGON!!!” The ponies screamed as they saw a giant black dragon landed in front of them with Bark Bite riding on its back. (Start Song) “I told you, you can’t wi-AGH!” Bark Bite screamed as a rock struck him in the face, hitting his already broken muzzle, causing him to fall off of the dragon’s back and hit the ground with a loud thud. The dragon unleashed a loud roar at the man which shook the ground. Everyone looked at the man as if he was insane as he handed Spitfire to White Fang and drew his sword once again and took the stance for the Gatotsu. “Saito what are you doing!? We gotta make a run for it!” Spitfire said exasperated. “White Fang, make sure all the ponies get out of here safely.” The swordsman said. “I will protect them with my life Saito.” The Alpha-wolf said as carried the injured Wonderbolt to safety. “SAITO PLEASE!!! YOU CAN’T FIGHT A DRAGON, YOU’LL DIE!!!” The Wonderbolt Captain cried only for the man to hold his ground as she was carried off by the wolf. “Have at you.” That was all he said as he charged the dragon. The dragon fired a jet stream of fire at the charging samurai only for him to roll out of the way. The dragon roared in anger as the dragon breathed another blast of fire at the man only for him to disappear with his sheer speed. The dragon was confused as to where the man had gone only for him to reappear in front of his face and slashed him across the face. Despite it only being a light cut the dragon roared in pain and rage. The fully grown dragon drew his claw back and struck the man with such speed that he didn’t have time to dodge. The strike hit the man with such force that he was sent flying backwards into a boulder, causing it to shatter from the sheer force. Saito fell to the ground in pain. “Looks like you got some fight in you.” He said as he coughed up some blood. The Shinsengumi rose to his feet and fought through the pain as he lunged at the dragon once again. This time though as the dragon struck with his claw the man managed to dodge the giant claw as it smashed into the ground and ran up the dragon’s arm. As he ran up the dragon’s arm, the reptile shot another stream of fire at the man. Saito jumped through the air and managed to avoid the worst of the blast, but the flames still managed to hit his arm causing him to scream in pain. “AGH!!!” He screamed in pain as he felt the flesh on his arm begin to blister. Saito managed to land on the dragons back despite its thrashing; this seemed to only make the dragon more enraged as it flapped its mighty wings and took off into the sky causing the swordsman to hang on for dear life. As the beast soared through the air with incredible speed, Saito began to climb while he held his sword in his mouth. As he made his way up its back he readied his sword and stabbed the blade into the dragons back causing it to scream in pain as it did a barrel roll in an attempt to throw the human off of its back. The swordsman grabbed onto one the creatures back spikes. Ponies and wolves alike could only stare in pure awe at the battle that was taking place in front of them. The guards were recording everything with their magically charmed helmets which recorded everything that the guard saw via magic which could be viewed later for evidence or intelligence. Everyone was speechless as the man fought tooth and nail against the rampaging dragon. The dragon swooped in low as it tried to shake the samurai off but to no avail. The creature decided to change its strategy as it began flying directly towards the side of a cliff with the intentions of ramming straight into. Saito saw what the beast had planned and waited for the dragon to fly low enough for him to jump. As he leaped off the dragon, he hit the ground hard causing him to tumble against the hard rocky ground. Now covered in blood, cuts, burns, and bruises, Saito still managed to force himself to stand. The dragon smashed head first into the cliff and roared in rage and pain. “Is that really the best you can do? I’m disappointed.” The human said through labored breath as the dragon circled around and flew at him. The beast blasted another breath of flame at the man. Saito ran as fast and as hard as he could, trying to dodge the intense flames as best as he could. But the effects of the battle were taking their toll on the man, causing him to slow down. As the dragon unleashed a series of fiery blasts Saito continued to dodge each blast as best as he could but every time he kept getting burnt more and more. “I have to end this fast.” He thought to himself as the dragon cornered him. As the dragon drew its head back for another blast Saito decided that he had only one chance to get out of his current situation, he took his stance for the Gatotsu. As the dragon blasted another jet stream of fire at him Saito leaped straight into the blast with every single ounce of his strength and speed. With the sheer speed of the Gatotsu Saito managed to cut straight through the fire causing it to go around him thanks to his speed. This caught the dragon off guard as the samurai made it past the flames and was now heading directly towards its face. To every ponies shock the human drove his katana straight into the dragon’s left eye, making it scream in pain as blood shot out from its now mutilated eye socket. Saito grabbed onto one of the dragons horns and kept stabbing into its eye socket over and over again. Unfortunately the dragon shot into the air again, causing the human to roll onto the dragons back. As the wind hit him with full force from the speed of the dragon’s flight Saito tried to cut the through the dragon’s scales again as he held on, unfortunately he was only able to manage minor cuts due to the dragon’s thick scales. As the dragon went into a nose dive Saito held on as best as he could until the dragon shot upwards at the last minute, sending the human flying straight into the air. As he was sent high into the sky he began to fall, as he did he saw on opening and his best and probably only chance to end this fight once and for all. As he fell he saw that the dragon’s underbelly was a lighter shade of black than the rest of the dragon, it appeared to be softer and more exposed than the rest of the dragon’s body. The dragon then opened its mouth to catch and devour the Samurai. As it looked like the dragon had won and was now going to rip the human to shreds with its teeth, the samurai managed to shift his body back just enough to avoid the dragon’s mouth. As he fell he drove his katana straight into the dragon’s underbelly that started right under its chin, the swordsman let gravity handle the rest as he slid down slicing the dragon’s body open from its chin down to its lower stomach. This allowed him to slow himself down just enough to handle the fall. As he yanked his blade out of the reptilian, he landed on the ground as the beast roared in pain as it tried to fly up higher into the air only for its intestines and organs to fall out of its stomach and chest and hit the ground with a sickening splat. The dragon gave one final roar as it fell to the earth dead with a mighty crash causing the whole ground to shake. (End Song) Every pony and wolf was speechless at what they just saw. They all stared at the man with looks of pure shock and awe on their faces as the human simply slung the blood off of his blade and sheathed his katana. But to everyone’s surprise, he took off running towards a giant boulder and delivered a punch to said boulder causing it to explode into millions of tiny little pebbles only to reveal Bark Bite hiding behind were the boulder use to be. The diamond dog tried to run but Saito quickly grabbed him by the ankle and dragged him back to everyone. Everyone ran up to him and were either congratulating him or in the mares cases swooning over him, even some of the female wolves were wondering if he had a mate or herd. “In all of my years… Never have I seen such a display of power in combat, you truly are a wolf! As far as I am concerned you are our brother Saito Hajime, the Last Wolf of Mibu” White Fang said causing all his pack to cheer as Saito handed the diamond dog over to the wolves. “Thank you White Fang.” The man said to the giant white wolf that had scars all over his body from his years of fighting. At that moment Spitfire and Strong Shield made their way up to him, Strong Shield helping Spitfire due to her broken ankle. “How did you… That was… How is that even possible!?” Spitfire screamed in frustration. “That was amazing Saito! Not even the most elite unicorn guard has been able to kill a dragon single handedly but yet you do it with nothing but a katana!” Strong Shield shouted in excitement. “I have never seen a fighting style like that, what do you call it?” Strong Shield asked with excitement in her eyes. “That technique I used was called the Gatotsu. I have multiple versions of it for any number of situations that I might run into.” He said as he lit up a cigarette with his silver lighter. “Ga-tot-su?” Both mares said as they tried to pronounce the foreign word with mixed results. “It means ‘Fang Thrust’.” Both mares gave an ‘Oh’ expression at this. “What’s with your wings?” The man asked causing Spitfire to have a confused look. “What do you mean?” She asked. “They’re standing straight up and they’re throbbing. Did you hurt them?” He answered. Spitfire’s face became red in embarrassment. “Y-Yeah! I-I pulled a muscle in them when we ran out of the cave!” She lied. “So what do we do with Bark Bite now?” One of the female guards asked. This caused the second group of guards along with ponies and wolves that was held hostage by the diamond dog to scream in rage for his death. “Calm down everyone, I just thought of something.” The human said. “What did you have in mind Saito?” White Fang asked. “If you and your pack kill him, you’ll just be honoring him with a warrior’s death. I have something else in mind.” The human said to which everyone nodded in agreement believing that the dog should suffer. “And that is?” The giant wolf asked with a raised eyebrow which caused the man to have the most sadistic smile spread across his face which frightened everyone. (Start Song) “From the looks of it, when the dragon attacked only part of the cave collapsed. Do you know where another entrance to the cave is?” He asked. “Y-Yeah, why?” The wolf asked with twinge of nervousness. “Take me to it.” He said as he and everyone went into the caverns again while dragging Bark Bite along who was kicking and screaming for mercy, but it all fell on deaf ears. As they traveled for ten minutes Saito stopped and found a room that was filled with torture devices. The ponies that he freed earlier were all clearly shaking as they saw the torture room where they were regularly abused. To everyone’s shock and horror the floor was littered with bones. “Saito, NO! This is where I draw the line! I can’t let you do this, If you torture him you’ll be no different than him!” Spitfire said with horror as she limped over to the man. “Calm down, I not going to torture him…not physically any way. But he will die, that I promise.” He said as he dragged the now screaming Bark Bite into the torture chamber and locked the diamond dog’s ankle into a shackle that was chained to the floor. “W-What are y-you g-going t-to do to m-me?” The dog asked shaking with pure fear and terror as the man towered over him. “For all of the victims that you have enslaved, tortured, raped, and murdered; I am going to give you a fate worse than death. Being left to rot.” He said as he made his way back to the door. But as the samurai began to walk towards the door, Bark Bite spotted a hack saw and quickly crawled to it as fast as he could to it. Just as his hand was a mere inch away from it Saito snatched it up looked at it for a moment before flinging it out of the room. “Paybacks a bitch isn’t.” Was all the human said before making his way out of the room again. “You can’t do this to me! YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME!!!” He screamed as the man flipped the light switch off, leaving the dog in complete and utter darkness as he slammed the door to the torture chamber shut. As he stepped back from the door he sliced the water pipes that were hanging above the door. Causing them to collapse and seal the door permanently. Inside the room the diamond dog was pulling at his chain in desperation as he screamed in insanity, crying and begging for his pathetic life. (End Song) Everyone walked out of the cave in silence. As they finally got outside they all took a deep breath of the fresh night air. “That was… That was just horrible.” Heavy Hitter said. “He deserved it! After all of the shit he put us through! That bastard deserved worse!” The mare from earlier said as she hugged her daughter tightly as she began to sob uncontrollably as the other mares and guards tried to comfort her. “I hate to say this, but I can’t find myself feeling sorry for that sick son of a bitch.” Spitfire said with shame. “I do not judge Saito for what he has done. In fact I commend him for what he has done. He has done what we were all too afraid to do.” White Fang said. “I still can’t believe you’re all still dwelling on that.” The samurai said without any emotion as everyone began to walk. “Does anyone know where the nearest town is?” The human asked out of the blue. “The nearest town is fillydelphia, it’s located to the West of here.” White Fang said. “Thanks.” Was all that the human said as he began to head west, only for the guards to run in front of him. “Saito you can’t leave!” Spitfire blurted out making her blush when she realized what she just said. “Why?” “You are a material witness to what just happened and you need to be debriefed. Not to mention the fact that you just took down a whole slaving operation single handedly along with an adult dragon. Then there’s the fact that you are an entirely new species. You have to come with us to Canterlot.” One of the male guards said with a tone of authority. “On whose authority?” he asked. “By the authority of the Princesses of Equestria.” He commanded. “And if I refuse?” Saito said with a smirk already knowing the answer. “Then you will be taken in by force.” The male guard threatened. “I just killed one-hundred enemies and one fully grown dragon. Do you really think you stand a chance against me? I can see it in your eyes that you’re a new recruit fresh out of training. You’d be gutted before you can even reach for your sword.” The man said in calm and deadly tone which unnerved the guard. “B-But you have to follow the Princess’s commands!” The stallion said nervously. “Does it look like I give a flying fuck about your Princess who probably sits on her fat ass all day and stuffs her face with cake only to get fatter?” The man said which caused all the ponies to gasp in shock. “HOW DARE Y- DON’T YOU WALK AWAY FROM ME!” The guard screamed as the man walked off, not caring what the guard had to say. “YOU GET BACK-” “Stand down guard.” Spitfire ordered. “But he-” “I said stand down guard!” The Wonderbolt Captain barked. “Y-Yes ma’am.” He said as backed off in fear. Spitfire flew over to the samurai’s side, floating next to him in an attempt to keep off of her broken ankle. “Saito wait! I understand if you don’t trust us but we’re not your enemies. I know we couldn’t stop you from going even if our lives depended on it.” She paused for a moment before she continued. “But I would just feel better if you had this with you.” She said as she handed him a cell phone. “What is it?” he said as he took the cell phone in his hand. “It’s a cell phone, you can use it to talk to others no matter how far they are, it also runs off of solar power so if it runs out of energy just set in the sun light and it will recharge itself.” She said as she began to explain how to work the phone. “Thank you Spitfire, this will be very useful to me on my journey.” He said as he began to walk of again. “W-wait! Don’t you want your jacket back?” She asked the Shinsengumi Captain. “Keep it.” That was all he said right before he took off with a burst of speed and disappeared out of sight. “Hard to believe that he’s this strong yet he’s practically a colt. He looks like he’s barely old enough to be an a adult.” Strong Shield said as she picked as her and Spitfire made their way back to the group. “Come on, we have to get to the rendezvous point and get these civilians some medical attention.” Strong Shield said as she patted her friend on the back. “Yeah.” That was all Spitfire said right before she inhaled some of the scent off of the jacket that she was wearing. “It smells just like him.” She thought to herself with her face blushing bright red. ________________________________________________________________________ *POV - Saito* Saito was running at full speed through the badlands, to any bystander he would appear to be nothing more than a blur. But as he was enjoying the crisp night air and the beautiful full moon in the sky, he was interrupted. “I see that you are enjoying your new found youth. I especially loved that bit with the dragon, I knew I made the right choice by bringing you into the fray.” Discord’s voice rang through the man’s head. “What do you want discord.” The man stated. “Oh I just wanted to congratulate you on saving those ponies. Your methods are a bit too gruesome for my tastes but eh, you got break some eggs to make an omelet.” The spirit of chaos laughed. “Get to the point.” “So serious, yet you gave you that mare your jacket. What are you going to do next, take her to the prom?” Discord chuckled. “She was cold.” Saito said as he continued to run west in the direction of fillydelphia. “So you say. Well anyway, here you go.” Discord said as he snapped his fingers giving him an exact copy of his jacket. “Don’t worry your girlfriend still has the original one, this is just an exact copy of it. Oh well see you!” Discord said before the telepathy was cut off. “…Crazy ass bastard.” Saito muttered under his breath as he made his way to made to the city that was off in the distance. Little did he know that he was being followed by a pink fluffy pony by the name of Fluffle Puff. As he disappeared off into the distance, the fluffy pony ran in the same direction of the Shinsengumi as she blew a very loud raspberry as she ran off into the distance as well. ______________________________________________________________________________ *Meanwhile in Manehatten* Sanosuke shot up in bed in a cold sweat and screamed. “NOOOO!!! OH GOD NOOOO!!! NOT HIM!!! ANYTHING BUT HIM!!!” Sanoskue screamed as he awoke in pure only to realize that he was just having a nightmare. “Just a nightmare...Just a nightmare… Get a hold of yourself Sanosuke, you’ll never have to deal with Saito again… Psychotic bastard.” He said to himself as he threw the blanket off of himself and got out of bed. He decided to head downstairs for a glass of water when he heard strange sounds moaning. Worried that the girls were in some kind of trouble he decided to check it out but as soon as he got to the top of the stairs he froze in place as his jaw hit the ground as he gazed down into the living. (Warning Clop Scene Starts Here! If you don’t like it scroll down to where it says “Clop Scene Ends Here!”) Down stairs in the living room and sitting on the couch was Cheerilee and Vinyl who were wearing nothing but their bras and skimpy panties as they were embracing each other as they locked lips. Their tongues were fighting and wrestling each other for dominance as they held each other tightly in a passionate embrace. Vinyl was clearly winning as she forced her tongue deeper into the maroon mare’s mouth causing her to elicit a low moan. Vinyl’s hand found her way to the school teacher’s mare’s shapely flank as she gave it a good squeeze causing the mare to moan loudly into the kiss as the DJ’s other hand was on the back of Cheerilee’s head, pulling her deeper into the kiss. As they made out Cheerilee could feel herself heating up as the white unicorn mare kissed her. As seconds turned to minutes the two mares finally broke the kiss with a long string of saliva connecting their lips together which broke apart as they stared into each other’s eyes. “You’ve been real tense since you’ve broken up with your ex, don’t worry Cheers, I’ll help you relax.” Vinyl said in sultry tone as she took of her sunglasses, revealing her beautiful red eyes as she gave a wink. Sanosuke couldn’t believe what he was seeing in front of him. He kept telling himself that this had to be a dream as he stared at the two beautiful mares. He was amazed at the size of Cheerilee’s double D breasts as they were ready to pop out of her lacey bra. His eyes went even wider as Vinyl began to remove the teacher’s bra for her, as the wine colored mare’s breasts were freed from their lacey restraints she did the same for her unicorn friend. The man’s face was solid red as he saw both of the mares’ bare breasts. He couldn’t move or speak; his brain was practically shut down at the scene in front of him. Cheerilee’s breasts were huge and Vinyl’s were nothing to scoff at either. Vinyl began kissing the teacher’s neck, getting a moan from the mare as she began to move her lips down her chest. “V-Vinyl its b-been a while since I’ve d-done this are y-you sure you want to-” Cheerilee was cut off as Vinyl wrapped her lips around one of her nipples and began sucking and licking her nipple making the teacher gasp loudly at the unexpected pleasure as the DJ’s hand began to massage the other one. As Cheerilee moaned in pleasure Vinyl could feel her own marehood getting wet and winking in excitement. The school teacher began to smirk to herself as she got an idea; she didn’t want to be the only one enjoying herself. She eyed the white unicorn’s horn for a few seconds until she reached for it. The effect was instant, making the unicorn moan as she felt the mare gently caressing her horn, delicately wrapping her fingers around the white appendage and she began to move her hand up and down slowly. “Y-You wanna p-play it like t-that h-huh? T-Two c-can play t-this game.” Vinyl panted as she slowly slid the maroon mare’s black thong down her thighs and pushed her onto the couch and slid it the rest of the way off and tossed it across the room to who cares where. The unicorn got on her knees and ran her hands down the mare’s thighs and to her hoofs getting a gasp from the earth pony. She put her hands on the teacher’s thighs and spread her legs and gazed at the mare’s wet and winking marehood. Vinyl licked her lips and smirked right before she took one long lick of her friend’s lower lips. To the unicorn’s surprise she tasted very sweet almost like wine. Cheerilee threw her head back and let out a cute “~Nyaa!~” as a surge of pure pleasure shot up her spine. Vinyl kept up her assault with her tongue while Cheerilee was stroking the unicorn’s horn even faster now as a few neon blue sparks started to shoot out at the end of her horn. At this point Vinyl used her magic to slide her blue G-string off that was now soaked and tossed it to the side as one of her hands snaked its way between her legs and down to her aching lower lips. Sanosuke’s member was now standing at full attention to the point that it ached as he stared at Vinyl’s luscious flanks as she wiggled it back and forth as she flicked her tale every few seconds as she was eating out her marefriend. The DJ began to rub her marehood as she flicked her tongue across Cheerilee’s clit, making her moan even louder right before she drove her tongue deep into the maroon mare’s tight pussy, the school teacher practically screamed in pleasure. At this point Vinyl was thrusting her fingers as deep into herself as she could while her inner walls were trying to milk her fingers for all their worth. Cheerilee was now pumping the unicorn’s horn for everything that it was worth as fast as she could while massaging one of her breasts with her other hand as more sparks began to fly out of the unicorn’s horn. Cheerilee felt herself getting close as the pleasure became overwhelming. Vinyl wasn’t far behind as well as her climax was quickly approaching. “Holy shit! If this keeps up I’m gonna pass out from the lack of blood flow to my brain, this has to be a dream!” The street fighter thought to himself. Sanosuke couldn’t move from the spot he was standing in even if he wanted due to the pure shock he was in. “V-Vinyl I-I’m getting close.” Cheerilee panted as her friend continued her assault with her tongue. “M-Me too.” The DJ panted as she had an idea come to mind. She was going to make sure that they both finished with a bang as her horn lit up and was now surrounded by a neon blue aura which spread to both mares, surrounding both of their bodies The effect of the spell was instant as both mares screamed as they felt their orgasms slam into them with full force. Cheerilee’s inner walls clammed down on the DJ’s tongue in an attempt to milk it as she began to face fuck Vinyl as her juices sprayed all over the DJ’s face as she greedily lapped up the sweet tasting nectar. Vinyl was in pure bliss as she climaxed all over the floor, creating a puddle underneath herself as her inner walls milked her finger for everything that they were worth as her horn sent a shower of blue sparks all over the living room as the two road out their orgasms. (Clop Scene Ends Here!) As their pleasure died down after a few minutes leaving them to bask in the afterglow they each stared lovingly into each other’s eyes before coming together for one last long kiss, allowing the teacher to taste her own juices. As they broke apart they let out a content sigh as they both laid together on the now soaked couch in each other’s arms. “I don’t know what kind of spell you used but that was amazing.” The teacher said with a smile. “It increases pleasure ten-fold. Pretty sweet huh?” Vinyl said to her lover with a smirk. “Yeah, but I’m worried that Sanouske might have heard us.” The teacher said with worry to the DJ. “Aww come on, he sleeps like a log. He’s not going to-” “Owww… my dick.” A completely red faced Sanosuke said right before passing out and falling down the stairs much to mares’ horror. “SANOSUKE!” Both mares screamed not in anger but in worry as they ran to the unconscious man’s side. “Is he okay!?” Cheerilee said as she cradled the man’s head in a worry as she gently slapped the side of his face, trying to wake him up, completely forgetting that she was completely naked as the day she was born. Sanousuke began to open his eyes slowly only to see and feel the maroon mare’s massive breasts resting on the top of his head causing him to pass out again. “Eh, he’s okay. He’s probably just overwhelmed by how hot we are.” Vinyl said with a sly smirk. “Vinyl this is serious, he might be hurt and he probably thinks we’re perverts!” Cheerilee shrieked. “Aw come on Cheery, he’s not gonna think that, besides this is the first time that you’ve had a crush on a real stallion that isn’t a jerk.” The DJ replied. “I don’t have a crush on him!” The teacher shrieked as her cheeks turned red. “Then why did I here you moan in your sleep that you want him to be your first.” The unicorn says with a smirk making the teacher's face burn red with embarrassment. “W-Well what about you? I hear you moaning Sanosuke’s name in your sleep!” She said making the DJ blush hard. “Ok so we both like him.” The DJ huffed with a blush. They both sighed as they tried to figure out what to do. “Let’s just get him back into bed and discuss this in the morning.” Cheerilee said. “Or we could let him think that this was all a dream.” Vinyl says smiling sheepishly. “Vinyl.” Cheerilee said with a stern look that she gave her students when they did something bad. “Ok, ok, ok… I was just asking geez.” Vinyl said as they both grabbed the street fighter by the arms and legs and took him to his room after making sure that he was not injured. As they both laid Sanouske down in his bed, Vinyl kissed the man on the cheek causing her friend to go wide eyed. “What? You were thinking about doing it too.” The DJ said causing her friend to try and sputter out a reply only for Vinyl to walk out of the room with a smirk, leaving Cheerilee with the man. She stared at the man as he quietly slumbered away the night; she found her gazing wandering up and down his body. She eyed his scars, many times she would ask him about them but he would always put on the tough guy act and say that they were nothing to worry about. But she saw through the act, she could tell that he lived a very hard life. As she ran her slender fingers delicately over the man’s scars she couldn’t help but feel pity for the young man. She knew nothing about him except that he was some type of fighter that got into crazy situations on a regular basis and was looking for his long lost friend. “I don’t know what type of hardships you’ve faced… but I’ll always be here to help you Sanosuke.” She said right before she bent down and kissed the man gently on the lips. She felt her face heating up as she locked lips with the human. As she broke the kiss she felt very light headed. As she walked out of the room she turned to gaze at the man one last time before heading to bed, she could see a gentle smile on the sleeping man’s face with caused her to smile in return. ______________________________________________________________________________ *Badlands - Diamond Dog Cave* Bark Bite had been pulling at the chains for hours but to no avail. He was completely and utterly alone in the pitch black room with only the sound of water dripping in the backround. The only reason why he wasn’t screaming anymore was because he screamed his voice horse. Just as he felt insanity and exhaustion about to claim his senses, something unexpected happen. He heard the sound of movement. “W-who’s there?” The diamond dog said with fear growing in his heart. “What are you willing to do to get out of here?” Said a very cold and ruthless voice that sent out a vibe of pure evil that filled the air. “Who’s there? S-Show yourself!” The dog said with fear clearly in his voice. To his shock a flash of light appeared illuminating the cave. But what shocked him more was what was standing in front of him. Standing in front of the diamond dog was a tall man with smooth pale skin that appeared as if it had never been touched. He appeared to be of average build and his eyes were as cold as ice. His brown hair was tide back tightly into a high pony tail which went down to the middle of his back. At his side was a katana while in his left hand was a torch. “My…employer.” He stopped at that word, as if working for someone else was the most sickening to him before he continued. “-Has sent me to rescue you. So I ask you again. What are you willing to do to get out of here?” The smoothed skin man asked. “Anything! I’ll do anything, just please don’t let me die here!” Bark Bite begged on his hands and knees. “Good.” The man said with no emotion in his voice or on his face what so ever. “W-Who are you?” The diamond dog asked. “My name is… Makoto Shishio.” The fully healed Shishio said with a demented grin. > Chapter 6 - Meeting Royalty > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 6 – Meeting Royalty As the rays of Celestia’s sun began to show in the dark sky as morning slowly came to the sky. Everypony was sleeping soundly on the train, everypony except for Fluttershy who stood in front of the mirror of the bathroom of the room that they were all sharing. Fluttershy hardly slept with how her wings kept throbbing as they stood at attention throughout the whole night. “Oh, they’ve been aching all night long… What do I do?” Fluttershy thought to herself as her mind began to fill with steamy thoughts of Kenshin, causing her wings to ache even more at her arousal. “Oh my. Fluttershy, you shouldn’t be thinking naughty things about Kenshin.” She scolded herself as her face burned with embarrassment. “But how am I supposed to make my wings relax?” She thought as her wings twitched and throbbed repeatedly. She couldn’t take it anymore as she reached for the waist band of her pajama bottoms and slid them off and tossed the pink pajama bottoms that had pictures of teddy bears all over them to the side. With shaky hands she slid off her now soaked panties as well. She made sure that the door was locked as she closed the toilet lid and sat down. She closed her eyes as her hand wandered down to her delicate flower petals as her thoughts drifted to the samurai. ______________________________________________________________________________ One hour later *Train to Canterlot – Dawn: POV - Kenshin* Kenshin felt the rays of morning sunlight as he slowly opened his eyes. He slowly sat up and popped his back; his whole body was sore and in immense pain from the fight with Jin-E and the shadow warriors from yesterday. He tried to get up from the bed but he found himself weighed down. As he looked around he found that he was surrounded by all of the girls. They were all lying down around him on the same bed with him. Pinkie was asleep with her arms wrapped tightly around the samurai with a huge smile on her face. “…Oro.” Kenshin said as he looked at the girls in confusion as they lay next to him, huddled against his body. Kenshin managed to slide out of Pinkie’s grip without waking her. As he stood up and limped over to the sink that was in the room to get a glass of water, due to his injuries from the battle he was limping but this was something he grew use to. He saw something that brought a warm smile to his face. He saw Spike fast asleep with a teddy bear along with the Cutie Mark Crusaders huddled around him. They must have been scared, they all must have been scared to the point that they couldn’t even sleep in their own beds. He felt bad that they were all terrified of what happened when Jin-E attacked. He couldn’t help but feel responsible for what happened. He turned the faucet on and filled his glass with water and brought it to his lips and began to drink it. As he drunk the glass of water, he couldn’t help but feel that there was something different. Something felt off but he couldn’t place his finger on it. As he set the empty cup down he noticed that his kimono was awfully loose, it felt as if it were three sizes too big. For that matter everything seemed bigger. He was quickly brought out of his thoughts as he heard the sound of what he could only describe as the cutest neighs he had ever heard. The soft neighing continued and was coming from the bathroom. The samurai gently knocked on the bathroom door. “Eep!” He heard come from the bathroom. He immediately recognized the voice as Fluttershy’s. “Fluttershy? Are you ok?” He asked with concern, he noticed that his voice sounded higher pitched but still somewhat masculine. “Y-Yes…I-I’m f-fine.” The mare said in a tone that was barely audible. “Are you sure? This one could have sworn he heard neighing.” The man said while scratching the back of his head in thought. “Y-Y-Yes.” She whimpered softly. “Ok, if you’re sure.” He said as he limped by the sink. As he did he turned and looked into the mirror. What he saw caused him to stop dead in his tracks. Kenshin stood there and stared at the mirror for fifteen minutes straight with a look of pure shock on his face, then out of nowhere *THUD* He passed out on the ground moaning one word. “Oro.” ______________________________________________________________________________ *Canterlot Castle* Canterlot Castle was abuzz with scientists, biologists, cryptozoologists, researchers, high ranking members of the Equestrian guard, and unfortunately the nobility of Canterlot. Shining Armor was going to meet the girls and the samurai at the train station when they arrived. He was very interested in meeting the samurai, but he was more worried about Twilight’s and the girl’s safety. That’s why he was bringing a large group of guards to help protect them and Kenshin. He always worried about his little Twily’s safety, but now he was a nervous wreck. He saw the whole fight on TV; he saw how that psychotic bastard Jin-E looked at his baby sister and the others. How he literally gutted the royal guards that tried to stop him like they were nothing and laughed about it the whole time, even as he fought. Shining Armor wanted to throttle Jin-E. But he was thankful that Kenshin saved their lives, he would have to thank him personally. He was barely able to see the human’s face due to the smoke from the battle that took place when the camera crew was filming. He was only able to make out that the stallion was a red head with a cross shaped scar on his left cheek, most of his face was covered in blood from his injuries. Shining Armor was extremely interested by the fact that Kenshin was both a Samurai and a Human. He was even more interested in the fighting style that the he used, if the guards had the same type of training as him then they would never have to worry about an invasion or guys like Udo Jin-E again. The guard captain grimaced as he remembered the changeling invasion as he made his way to the train station with a group of guards in tow. As they all walked through the city of Canterlot one of the guards noticed the guard Captain’s distress. “You okay their Captain?” The mare asked. “Huh? Oh yeah, I’m fine. Just a lot on my mind.” He replied. “Yeah, things have been hectic at the castle ever since word got out that a samurai appeared. Let alone a human.” The guard’s mare answered with a sympathetic smile. “Yeah, I heard that when the nobility saw the battle at Ponyville on TV they all started trying to arrange marriages with their daughters so they could try to convince him to work for them and to breed him.” The mare said with a chuckle. “I remember that, they all began fighting again. They were all screaming at each other as they beat the crap out of one another. It was hilarious, especially when Princess Luna pulled out a switch blade which caused all the nobles to go silent.” The guards began to laugh, Shining Armor included. “Aunty Luna sure does get carried away when the nobility causes problems for everypony.” A cheerful yet very familiar voice said which caused Shining Armor to smile when he saw the owner of the voice. “Cadence!” Shining Armor smiled widely as his wife landed in front of him. “Hey there sweetie. I thought I’d come with you to greet the girls and their new friend.” Cadence said with a happy smile. “Well, I’m sure Twilight will be more than happy to see you Candy.” He said as he gave his wife a quick peck on the lips causing her to smile. “Well, what are we waiting for my knight in shining armor?” She said with a laugh as she wrapped her arms around the stallion’s right arm. “Oh HA HA, very funny.” He said with mock annoyance at the bad pun. “You know you love me.” She said with a loving smile as they all made their way to the train station. ______________________________________________________________________________ *The Train* “Shhhh! I think he’s waking up.” Kenshin heard someone say as he slowly regained consciousness. He felt something soft, very soft pressed against his face. As he slowly opened his eyes his face began to burn bright red at what he saw. He was sandwiched between two sets of double D breasts that belonged to both Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. He immediately jumped back in a panic and pressed himself against a wall. “Awww, its ok little guy. We’re not going to hurt you cutie pie.” Fluttershy said in a calm soothing tone as she slowly approached the young Kenshin. “I…I…I.” The human stuttered out only to be scooped up by Fluttershy and pulled into a loving hug, squashing his face against her full and voluptuous yellow breasts. “Awww! He’s so cute!” Fluttershy squealed as she rained kisses all over the red head’s face. “Quit hogging him! I want to hold the baby human!” Pinkie said as she snatched him away and pulled him into a gigantic, pressing the boy’s face into the mare’s giant pink breasts which deprived him of oxygen. Kenshin was still in a state of shock, he couldn’t believe what was happening. When he looked into that mirror right before he passed out, he saw that he was a fourteen year old boy again. “I can’t believe it! A young human colt! This is amazing!” Twilight said as she continued. “And he’s…he’s…HE’S SO CUTE!!!” The lavender unicorn said right before she joined in and hugged the young boy who was now being hugged by all six mares, as they all smiled at him he could have sworn he heard a ‘squee’ sound. “Oro.” Was all he could say at the moment “Aww, ain’t that sweet, the little guy is shy.” Applejack said with a gentle smile as she squashed his face into her chest, causing him to blush. “Hey I wanna turn!” Rainbow Dash said as she snatched him away from the apple farmer. “You sure are cute squirt; in fact you look a lot like… Kenshin.” The rainbow maned mare said as she looked at the boy’s face as he was now gasping for air since she pulled him away from the girls, allowing him a chance to breathe. “Hey girls, didn’t Kenshin say he had a son? This colt looks just like him…even has the same scar too.” Dash asked. “You’re right darling! I think this might be Kenshin’s son! He looks exactly like him only younger.” Rarity said with a smile as she hugged Kenshin. “But this one is Kenshin.” The boy said. “Oh that’s so sweet, he wants to be just like his daddy. He’s even wearing his clothing and talking just like him.” Rarity cooed lovingly as she gave the boy a kiss on the forehead. “B-but I am Kenshin. This one can prove it too.” He said as the girls began to giggle at his cuteness, but they decided to hear him out. “Twilight you went into a panic attack yesterday that was so bad that you had to be sedated by doctor heart-throb… Also, I can do this.” Kenshin said as he fought through the pain of his injuries and disappeared from right in front of their very eyes. The boy kept disappearing and reappearing all over the room much to the mare’s amazement and shock. “K-Kenshin, is that you?” Spike said as he rubbed his eyes sleepily as he and the Cutie Mark Crusaders woke from their sleep. “Yes it is Spike.” The boy said. “Ya sort of look like a filly.” Applebloom said which caused Kenshin’s jaw to hit the floor. This was one of the two reason’s he didn’t like being fourteen years old again. The first reason was that he first became Battōsai at the age of fourteen; the second reason was that he was often mistaken for a young girl by those that didn’t know him. He was still very much a man or in this case a boy, but he decided not to say anything as he turned to the six mares that all had shocked looks on their faces as they stared at the swordsman who was now in the body of a child. (14 year old Kenshin) “K-K-K-K-Kenshin…Is t-that r-really you? Are you really a child now?” Twilight said in a real shaky voice as he nodded right before she fell to her knees. “A-And everything that happened at the hospital yesterday was not a dream, b-b-but a-actually happened for real?” Twilight said as her eyes brimmed with tears as all the girls nodded. “Oh no…nononononononono, this is bad, very bad.” Before Twilight could go on into a full blown panic attack Kenshin rushed up to and pulled her into a hug. As he wrapped his tiny arms around her he pulled out the letters that Celestia sent her yesterday in an attempt to calm her down. “Twilight calm down and read this, these are the letters that the Princess sent you yesterday when you were having your panic attack.” He said as Twilight read the letters that were from yesterday from the Princess. They said that she would never be angry or upset at her and that she loved her like a daughter and nothing would change that. Twilight managed to slow her breathing down and calm herself down as she slowly lifted her head to look at Kenshin. “This one’s body is now that of a fourteen year old boy, yes that much is true. How? This one does not know? I am just as worried and scared as you are. But we need to stay calm. We just need to stay calm and figure out how to solve this.” He said as he gently hugged her. As he let her and looked into her eyes, she seemed to be a whole lot calmer and thinking clearly now. “Y-Yeah, you’re right, sorry.” Twilight said as she was now calm again. As all the girls saw that Twilight was better, they immediately apologized to Kenshin as their faces were red with embarrassment. Kenshin could only chuckle happily and tell them that it was alright. As they all sat down, Kenshin tightened the sash around his Kimono as best as he could to make up for his decrease in size. As soon as Kenshin finished he saw that Spike and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were standing around him with smiles. “Wow, I can’t believe that you’re a colt now. Awesome! Hey look Twilight, I’m bigger than Kenshin!” Spike shouted. “Spike don’t be rude, Kenshin is having a hard enough time as it is.” Twilight said. “Oh don’t be upset at him Twilight darling, I think that it’s really cute. My little Spikey-Wikey is just happy that he’s growing into a handsome young gentle-drake.” Rarity cooed, causing spike to go gaga over the mare and begin drooling. Kenshin could easily see that Spike had a huge crush on Rarity, it was as plain as day. As Kenshin grabbed his sword and slid it into his sash, he tried to walk but tripped on his now too long pant legs. Rarity immediately saw this and ran up to Kenshin and helped him up. “Oh Kenshin darling, are you alright? Here let me fix your outfit for you.” The white unicorn said. Before Kenshin could even voice a protest Rarity began her work and adjustments on the outfit with her magic. Apparently Rarity always carried an emergency sewing kit in case of fashion emergencies as she put it. In just three minutes time the mare adjusted the samurai’s kimono to his new size. “T-thank you Rarity. That was amazing.” He said as he inspected the outfit he, amazed at how fast she made the adjustments. “Think nothing of it darling.” She said as she put the sewing kit away. At that moment the train came to a screeching halt at Canterlot train station. Everyone grabbed their things and headed for the exit. As they walked towards the exit Kenshin walked up beside Twilight. “Twilight.” The boy asked. “Yes?” She answered. “What is the Princess like?” The samurai asked. “Oh she’s amazing! She’s kind, she’s sweet, she’s always helping ponies, and she’s absolutely the best pony!” Twilight said enthusiastically. “You really look up to the Princess, don’t you?” The boy asked as they approached the door. “Heh heh, yeah sorry about that… I kind of go overboard when it comes to the Princess.” The lavender unicorn said sheepishly. “No need to apologize my friend, it’s good to have someone that you look up to.” The red head said as they stepped off the train and with the others. “…So Kenshin……What did you write in that letter to the Princess?” Twilight asked. “Oh nothing, just a letter saying hi.” The red head said. “Kenshin what did the letter say?” Twilight said, this time with an impatient tone in her voice. “N-Nothing.” Kenshin said as they were all standing outside at the train station. “Kenshin. Tell. Me. NOW!” She said in an angry tone as she walked towards the boy. Before she could even reach him, the Kenshin took off running only to run head first into a stallion in a military uniform that had was red with purple accents on it. As the human looked up at the stallion he saw that he had a snow white coat and a neon blue mane. “Twilight! Oh thank Celestia you’re safe!” He said as he helped the young boy up and ran up to his sister. “BBBFF, what are you doing here!?” Twilight said with happiness as she ran up to her brother and hugged him. “I thought it would be a good idea to escort you and your friends along with your samurai friend to the castle. Where is he by the way?” Shining Armor asked as he scratched his head only for the six mares to all point behind him. “Oh, you are just the cutest thing ever! I could just eat you up!” Cadence squealed. Everypony turned to see the fourteen year old swordsman being chased around in a circle by the Princess of Love. The pink alicorn chased Kenshin around the train station platform. “Orororororororo!” He screamed as Cadence caught him in her arms, pressing him against her chest in a tight hug. As Shining Armor looked at the boy, he thought that the girls were joking. “There is no way that this little colt could possibly be the samurai.” He said only for the young boy to flicker out of Cadence’s arms and reappear right behind Pinkie Pie, leaving Shining Armor slacked jawed at what he just saw. Cadence and the members of the royal guard could not believe what they just saw. “I-Is that colt… t-t-the samurai?” Shining Armor and Cadence both asked in unison. “Yeppers!” Pinkie said happily. The guard captain and alicorn both stood there shocked with their jaws hitting the ground. As they looked at the young boy in shock, Shining Armor decided to break the silence as he walked up to the young warrior. “Hello there, my names Shining Armor. I’m Captain of the Royal Guard and Prince of the Crystal Empire and this is my lovely wife Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, the Princess of Love.” Shining Armor said to which Kenshin got on his knees and bowed with his touching the ground. “This one’s name is Kenshin Himura, it is an honored to be in your presence Prince and Princess of the Crystal Empire.” The boy said. “Oh you don’t have to bow to us and just call me Cadence sweetie.” Cadence said with a smile. “Same here, just call me Shining Armor if you want, there’s no need to be formal with us.” Shining Armor said with a laugh as the swordsman stood up. “I have to say, I didn’t think that you would be this young. Me and my wife want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for saving my baby sister and her friends.” The stallion said with a smile. As he looked at the boy he noticed that some blood was seeping through the right shoulder of his black kimono. “Oh my Celestia! You’re bleeding!” Cadence shrieked in horror at the injured child causing the all the mares to panic. “Oh, I guess my stitches just tore lose is all. I guess Jin-E cut this one up more than I thought when he was trying to kill this one.” The boy said as if it were nothing as he pulled out a needle and thread that he always kept on him and began stitching himself up. This shocked everypony at seeing a young child sew up a wound as if it were nothing. “Y-you fought that maniac?” Cadence said in horror as the boy opened the top of his Kimono only to reveal a bunch of scars, stitches, and bruises all over his body that from both his years of fighting and from his battle with Jin-E and the Shadow Warriors. Everypony looked on in horror as they saw the boys scarred and battered body. “W-Who…Who did this to you?” Cadence asked as her eyes along with everypony’s began to tear up. “Many have tried to kill this one. Murderers, assassins, serial killers, drug lords, and the occasional power hungry psychopath..and Saito. Fighting in a war didn’t help either. ” He said absent mindedly as he was too busy paying attention to his task at hand to even pay attention to what he was saying. He finished stitching up his wound as he broke the string with his teeth and tied a knot. He moved his shoulder around to see if the stitching held, when he was satisfied with it, he put his Kimono top back on and walked back to the group. “Well we shouldn’t keep the Princess waiting.” He said as he saw the faces of his friends and the guards. Everypony either had looks of horror or were crying. Only then did Kenshin realize what he said, but before he could say anything the elements of harmony along with Cadence all hugged Kenshin as tears flowed down their faces. Unfortunately for him his face was being pressed into the mares amazing breasts. “Why me?” The boy thought to himself as he was running out of air. Little did he know that he was being watched. Two hundred feet away, deep in an alley way was a man with slick greasy black hair and a short mustache that was eyeing the red head with amusement. “Well Kenshin, it seems that you’re a hit with the ladies.” I'izuka said to himself with an evil smile as he leapt to the top of a tall bell tower where a Japanese long bow and a huge quiver of arrows waited for him. “I’m no expert with the bow, but I guess I can give it a try.” He said as he picked up the bow and nocked an arrow onto the string and waited for the perfect opportunity to strike. ______________________________________________________________________________ *Manehatten* Sanosuke woke up with the sun shining in his eye. As he stood up from the bed he felt something weird in his pants. As he reached in his pants he found something that shocked him. He found a tiny flag tied to his manhood. As he untied the flag and held it in his hand he could help but wonder how it got there. “How the hell did this get down there?” He said to himself. ______________________________________________________________________________ *Last Night – POV: Vinyl* Vinyl slowly crept into Sanosuke’s room; he was still passed out from seeing her go at it with Cheerilee. As she slowly walked over to his bed her hoofs made a light clopping sound. As she stood at the foot of the man’s bed she couldn’t help but smile at him. She didn’t know why but she couldn’t get the man out of her head. Ever since the bar fight she hasn’t been able to keep her mind off the young human. From what she could tell, he looked to be slightly younger than her. Despite his rough exterior, he was actually a pretty nice guy. He was always fun to hang out with; in fact she loved spending time with him. He would always listen to her and pal around with her. One thing confused her though; he was completely clueless with any technology. Just the concept of a TV amazed him. It was as if he was from another world or from the past or something. But the chances of that were impossible. But she did wonder where he was from; he never mentioned anything about himself except that he was looking for his best friend. “…Saito you bastard…I’ll kick your ass…” Sanosuke mumbled in his sleep. She couldn’t help but giggle quietly to herself as she saw the man talk in his sleep. She looked at the man lovingly, and stroked the side of his face with her hand as she carefully got up on the bed and straddled his waist. She was thankful that Sanosuke was a heavy sleeper. Otherwise he would have seen a white unicorn that was wearing nothing but a tank top and tiny black shorts. She slowly pressed her lips against Sanosuke’s, locking their lips together in a passionate kiss, She couldn’t help herself as she slid her tongue deep into his mouth as she moved her hand to the back of his head, pulling him deeper into the kiss, she was in pure bliss as she pulled him deeper and deeper in to the kiss. Since a pony’s tongue was longer than a human’s she kept pushing her tongue deeper and deeper into his mouth until it hit the back of his throat. Unfortunately for Vinyl this caused Sanosuke to go into a coughing fit, causing him to flip onto his side in bed, flinging Vinyl off of him and onto the floor with a loud thud. Vinyl slowly got up as she rubbed her flank from the impact. To her surprise Sanosuke was still asleep as if nothing had happened. As she stood up, she was about to walk out of the room only to stop in her tracks as she saw the street fighter pitching a huge tent in his pants. “Heh, I guess that kiss turned him on even in his sleep.” She said with a smirk as her curiosity got the better of her. “I guess a little peak wouldn’t hurt.” She said as she carefully opened the front of the man’s pants only to be rendered speechless at the man’s amazing size. “H-Holy shit… You could hang a flag on that thing.” She said as she saw a tiny sports team flag on the wall which caused her to gain a wicked grin as she got an idea. She carefully tied the tiny flag to the man’s pride. “I claim this wang in the name of Equestria.” She said while striking an epic pose as if she were an explorer finding and claiming a new land, she released a quiet laugh before she snuck out of the room. ______________________________________________________________________________ *Present – POV: Sanosuke* “…Oh well… Man that was a weird dream… A very weird and very hot dream.” He said as he went downstairs only to be greeted by Cheerilee and Vinyl who were both sitting at the table. When they saw him they instantly felt their faces turn red. As he saw the look on their faces he had the distinct feeling that there was a small chance that what happened last night was not a dream. “S-Sanosuke, good morning… Um would you mind taking a seat please? We have a lot to discuss.” Cheerilee said with a nervous smile as Sanosuke sat down nervously. Vinyl was unable to look the human in the eye. “I-Is something wrong?” He asked shakily as his face turned red. “It’s about last night.” She replied trying to stay calm, it didn’t work at all. “Last night wasn’t a dream… Was it?” He asked. “YES IT WAS!” Vinyl screamed with a huge blush. “No it wasn’t S-Sanosuke.” Cheerilee said as Vinyl groaned with embarrassment as she hid her face behind her hands. “Uhhhh…Would you look at the time I got to go fight some random thug!” He said as he tried to get up from the table out of embarrassment only to feel a strong yet gentle hand grab him by the wrist. “Sanosuke, I know you’re embarrassed, I am too but we have to talk about this… Please.” She said in a pleading tone causing him to groan in defeat as he sat down. “…Alright.” Sanosuke said as he rested his head in his hands. “H-How… How much did you see last night?” She asked nervously. “A-All of it.” They sat there in silence for a few minutes before Vinyl broke the silence. “Did you like what you saw?” The DJ asked with a huge blush. “Vinyl!” The teacher scolded only to find herself waiting for the man’s answer as well. The man sat silent for a minute before he finally caved under the two mares’ gazes. “…Yes.” He said as his face was now blazing red. This also caused the mares to blush in embarrassment, but this also caused the mares some joy as well due to the fact that the man found them attractive. “I-It was our fault, we should have k-kept it down. And we should have kept it in the bedroom as well.” Cheerilee said sympathetically, gaining a nod of agreement from Vinyl as she kept her head down. “It was my fault too! I shouldn’t have been staring at you two! I woke up from a nightmare and went down stairs to get a glass of water when I heard you girls…going at it…I’m so sorry girls, I didn’t mean for that to happen.” He said with a sigh as he ran his hands through his hair. “It’s okay Sanosuke.” The two mares said in unison. “What happened anyway? Everything went black at some point.” He asked. “You passed out right after you said ‘Ow…My dick’.” Vinyl said with a slight giggle causing the human to face palm. “W-Well Sanosuke d-do you have any q-questions about last night?” Cheerilee asked nervously. “Y-Yeah uh… What was that thing you were doing with Vinyl’s t-thing?” He asked only to make the mares look at him with confusion. “The thing sticking out of your forehead.” He said causing both of the mares to give an expression of ‘oh’. “Oh you mean my horn. What about it?” The unicorn said. “What was that thing Cheerilee did to it?” He asked causing the unicorn to go red with embarrassment at the question. “O-OH that w-was a h-horn j-job.” She stuttered, unable to keep eye contact. “Never heard of it. We don’t have that back in my world.” Sanosuke said absent mindedly as he looked out the window. As he looked back at the mares he saw that their eyes were now as wide as dinner plates, he immediately went wide eyed himself when he realized what he just said out loud. “Sanosuke… What do you mean by ‘back in your world’?” Cheerilee asked with a concerned look on her face as she along with Vinyl both gently grabbed the man’s hands, causing steam to come out of his ears. “I-Its nothing… Just a slip of the tongue is all. Heh heh.” Sanosuke said nervously with a sheepish smile as the two mares looked at him with narrowed eyes as he tried to get up from the table only for them to tighten their grips on the man’s hands to prevent him from escaping. “Sanosuke, we want answers, and we want them now.” Cheerilee said in a serious tone. “She’s right Sano, tell us the truth. Are you some kind of alien?” Vinyl said. “I…I…I.” Sanosuke stuttered nervously as beads of sweat started to form on his forehead as the two mares were now sitting to his left and right, preventing him from escaping. But to his surprise he felt the mares ease their grip on his hands as they looked at him sympathetically. “Sanosuke…You can tell us. It won’t change how we look at you.” The school teacher said as she and Vinyl gave his hands a gentle squeeze. Sanosuke couldn’t help but notice that ponies tended to use a lot of physical contact. As he saw them looking at him expectantly he sighed deeply. “I can’t lie to you girls.” He said in defeat. “So you’ll tell us?” They both asked in eagerly in unison. “Nope!” The man said right before he leapt out from between the two mares and out the open window that led to the streets. “SANOSUKE!!!!!” The two mares roared right before they gave chase. ______________________________________________________________________________ *Canterlot* Kenshin was currently gasping for air as the girls finally let go of him. “Oh you poor little colt, you are so damaged! Don’t worry, we’ll take you to the Princess and she’ll make sure that those bad ponies never hurt you again!” Cadence said in a sympathetic voice. “*HUFF* What *HUFF* the hell *HUFF*” Kenshin gasped out loud causing Fluttershy to gasp softly as she walked up to Kenshin and crouched down to talk to him at his eye level. “Little colts shouldn’t say bad words like that.” Fluttershy said with the fierceness of a baby kitten as she wagged her finger at Kenshin. “But I-” He tried to say only to be cut off by the butter yellow mare. “No!” She said in the most soft and cute voice ever heard. “But-” “No!” “I-” “No! No! No!” She said softly as she continued to wag her finger at him and looked at Kenshin seriously which only caused him to smile at how cute she was. “Fluttershy, you will make a wonderful mother someday.” He said which caused her face to blush bright red right before he started scratching behind her ear which caused her eyes to roll back into her head as one of her hooves started to lightly kick the ground, making a clopping sound as her tongue lolled out of her mouth. “Um… Not to sound rude or anything but… I think we should start heading to the castle now.” Shining Armor said politely. “Of course, please lead the way Shining Armor.” Kenshin said as he stopped scratching Fluttershy’s ear much to her disappointment. As they all began to walk towards the castle Pinkie Pie stood very close to Kenshin, not leaving his side once. As the swordsman walked through the city he couldn’t help but marvel at its beauty and size. But as he walked he heard the whispers of the crowds of ponies that saw them passing by. “Hey isn’t that the samurai that stopped that whole army single handedly!” One mare said. “I thought he would be older. But he is pretty cute.” Another mare said. “He may be young but he is perfect for breeding. Oh the things I would do to that colt behind closed doors! Mmm, come to momma and we’ll make the strongest army of baby samurai to ever exist!” A noble unicorn mare said with a sultry tone in her voice as she waved to the young samurai with a wink. “WHAT THE FUCK!!!” Kenshin thought to himself in a panic at hearing this. “I can’t wait to arrange a marriage with him and my daughters!” Another noble mare said. “HELP!!! HELP!!! STRANGER DANGER!!!” The boy screamed in his mind only to see the mane six surround him in a protective way, staring down any mare that was looking at the boy. At that moment Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy both wrapped their tails around Kenshin’s hands and arms, guiding him along. As he was guided along by the Pinkie and Fluttershy he couldn’t help but admire how much the six mares have all done for him. “That’s neat how you are able to do that with your tails.” He said as he admired how soft and silky their tails felt. “O-Oh, t-this is how mommies walk with their children sometimes. They use either their hands or tail to make sure their babies never wander off.” Fluttershy said timidly with a pink tint to her cheeks. As the boy looked around he saw that young colts and fillies were being led around by their mothers in a similar manner. Some were being led by hand while others were being guided along by their mother’s tail. Kenshin couldn’t help but find the sight very endearing and cute. “Couples also hold each other’s hands like this!” Pinkie said with a gigantic smile as they continued to walk. As they were walking, Spike and the Cutie Mark Crusaders ran up next to the young samurai. “Hey Kenshin, when did you start your training to become a samurai?” Applebloom asked with a smile. “Around the age of seven this one believes.” The boy said. “Wow, you were just a baby!” Sweetiebelle shouted. “How long have you had that sword?” Scootaloo asked cocking her head to the side. “This one has had Sakabatō for many years… It was made specifically for me by an old friend by the name of Arai Shakkū, a master blacksmith.” He said. “Cool! Do you think he’d make us some swords!” the Spike asked with excitement. “He died a long time ago.” Kenshin said solemnly. “O-Oh…Sorry.” “It’s alright, you didn’t know? Besides, this one should be apologizing for making you all miss school.” “It’s summer break so we don’t have to go to school right now.” Sweetiebelle said with a smile. “Oh okay.” He said as they continued on their way. Shining Amor and Cadence couldn’t help but watch the young boy curiously as they followed behind him. They both couldn’t help but wonder how this young child was able to take on an army of shadow warriors along with a deranged serial killer. They felt extreme sorrow and sympathy for the boy. When Cadence saw the scars and the emptiness in the boy’s eyes she almost broke down crying. Shining Armor was greatly disturbed when Kenshin said that he had fought in a war. There has never been a war in Equestria during the Princesses entire lives and rule. But this boy…this boy had the look of somepony that had stared death in the face so many times that nothing could faze him at this point, it was as if this boy had only known sorrow and death throughout his whole life. His eyes unnerved the seasoned guard captain. Those light purple eyes stared straight through his soul but… they had no malicious intent in them what so ever. “Something wrong?” The human asked without looking back. “N-No, it’s just that it’s hard to believe that you fought that maniac and his army and won.” Shining Armor said. He couldn’t help but wonder how this child was able to vanish out of his wife’s arms earlier. Was it magic? No, he would have sensed it immediately. Was it his speed? No, no pony could have speed and reflexes that fast. It was impossible he thought. At that point as the unicorn was about to speak, Kenshin heard the faint yet distinct sound a bow being pulled back as it made a creaking sound as the string was stretched. *THWAP!* *THWAP!* Both of Kenshin’s hands immediately shot out and in front of Cadence and Shining Armor’s faces and caught the two arrows in his hands just as they were an inch from their faces. Both Shining Armor and Cadence were shocked at what just happened but were quickly brought out of it when Kenshin took charge of the situation. “ASSASSIN!!! MAKE A RUN FOR THE CASTLE!!!” The samurai shouted to which the guards immediately surround everypony as they lifted their shields in a defensive stance, creating a protective dome around everypony as they all ran for the castle that was off in the distance. ______________________________________________________________________________ *POV Sanosuke* Sanosuke had managed to get a good distance away before the mares could even get out the door. As the man ran for his life he found the perfect place for hiding in. A book store. The man ducked into the store just in time. As he ran in he and duck behind a book shelf the two mares ran by screaming Sansouke’s name. As soon as he made sure that the coast was clear, he stepped out and let out a sigh. “Well, well, it seems that you are a hit with the ladies.” Said a familiar voice that the man immediately recognized as Discord. “I realized something Discord.” The man said as he faced the spirit of chaos. “What’s that?” Discord asked with curiosity. “No matter what world you’re in, women are insane!” He said as they both burst out into laughter. “You call yourself the master of chaos, that’s bull shit! Piss off a woman and you’re fucked, now that’s true chaos!” He said causing Discord to bust a gut literally as he laughed harder and harder. “It’s true! Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned!” He said as they both calmed from their bout of laughter. “So what are you doing here anyway?” The street fighter asked. “Oh I just wanted to check up on my favorite street fighter and see how he was doing.” Discord said feigning an innocent smile while batting his eyelashes. Sanosuke just looked at him with a deadpan look on his face. “You came to see me get my ass kicked by Cheerilee and Vinyl.” He said. “Bingo!” The master of chaos said as he snapped his fingers, making a brown bag appear in his hands. “Here you go my friend.” Discord said as he tossed the bag to the man. Sanosuke looked at the bag of for a few seconds before he opened it and looked at its contents. He saw that the bag was filled with white cubes. “What the hell is this?” “They’re sugar cubes. Ponies just can’t get enough of them. They are one of the most loved confectionary sweets in Equestria! I suggest that you use it to get on those mares good side.” Discord says with a chuckle as the man puts the bag in his coat. “Why is it I don’t trust you?” The man said. “You act as if I am up to something.” Discord said as he snapped his fingers, teleporting the man into the middle of the town square. “W-What the fuck just happened!” He said as he heard Discord’s laughter. “THERE HE IS!” Vinyl screamed as she and Cheerilee chased after him. “DISCORD YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!!” He said as he ran for his life. “Get back here and tell us the truth!” The teacher screamed. “Never!” He said as he darted through a market place with the mares hot on his heels. Vinyl tried to grab the man with her magic only for it to have no effect on him much to her surprise along with Cheerilee. The man rushed around vendor stands and vaulted over a railing much to everypony’s surprise. “Why are you chasing me!?” He asked. “Because you ran!” Vinyl shouted. “Funny, the police say that to me all the time!” The man said right before he darted down an alley way only to find that it was a dead end. This caused him to panic as he tried to search for a way out only to see the two mares blocking the only exit. As the two mares slowly made their way to the man, ready to tackle him to the ground. He slowly turned around and held up his hands in a pleading motion. “C-Come on ladies, w-we can talk about this?” “Oh you’re damn right we’re going to talk about this!” Cheerilee said with an angry voice. “Why are you so hell bent on me talking?” He asked as he was now slowly stepping backwards. “Because you are a troubled teen that needs help!” She shouted which caught Sanosuke off guard. “……Teacher say what?” He asked with a deadpan look that said ‘you can’t be serious’. “It’s obvious that you’ve had a hard life and a dark past. I mean look at how young you are and yet your body is covered with scars, I want to know what is going on!” The teacher said in an upset tone. “So I got some scars, big deal. Besides, it’s not like I stick out in any way.” He said as he saw that the two walls in the alley way were close giving him an idea. “You are literally a walking talking mythological creature.” Vinyl said with a deadpan look on her face. At that moment both mares lunged at the man only for him to leap high into the air, vaulting back and forth between the two walls by kicking himself off of them, making him go higher and higher until he was on the roof tops in a matter of seconds much to the two mares amazement. “Sorry girls! I’ll see you two later when you both calm down!” He said laughing as he ran across the roof tops, leaping from one roof top to the next until he found himself at the top of a very tall building. As he let out a sigh he sat down on the top of the roof. At that moment Discord decided to pop up out of nowhere. “What do you want now you bastard?” Sanosuke said in an annoyed tone without even looking in his direction. “Oh no need to be so angry my friend. You’re acting like a big baby.” Discord said as he snapped his taloned fingers causing a bunch of neon signs to appear on top of the building that read ‘Sanosuke is here!!!’. But the human was too busy trying to ignore the chaos spirit to even see the signs. “That was a dick move and you know it!” The brawler shouted to the Draconequus as he let out a sigh. “Why?” The man asked. “Why what?” The Draconequus asked mischievously. “Why did you bring me back from the dead?” Sanosuke asked with his eyes staring off into the distance as he rested his chin on his fist. Discord was silent for a few minutes as he too looked off into the distance. “That is a good question, one that I cannot answer right now… But I will tell you this… Everypony deserves a second chance.” Discord said. “SANOSUKE!!!” That was all he heard as he was tackled to the ground by the two mares. “What the hell! How did you two even get up here?” He asked as the two mares were now on top of him, holding him down to keep him from escaping. “I teleported me and Cheers up here. Now tell us what’s going on and why are you talking with Discord?” Vinyl said with a wide sly grin spreading on her face at the thought of something exciting happening. “Oh this is getting good.” Discord said as he laid back while floating in midair with a bag of popcorn appearing in his hand which he began to devour with glee. “What are you doing here Discord?” Cheerilee asked with suspicion. “Oh nothing really, just talking to the young boy about how I brought him to this world from his own world was all!” He said with a sly smile as he giggled. “WHAT!” Both mares shouted in unison. “So it is true. You are an alien. SWEET!” Vinyl said in wonder and amazement. “Discord shut up!” The man shouted as the teacher and DJ held him down as he struggled. He was amazed at how strong the teacher was, Vinyl was pretty strong as well but Cheerilee was obviously stronger out of the two. “Oh don’t worry, I mean it’s not like they’re going to find out that I brought you back from the dead. Oh wait a minute, they just did. Whoopsie!” He said with a mischievous grin as the mares looked at the man as Discord along with the neon signs that were summoned, vanished in an explosion of whoopee cushions and rubber chickens leaving them in complete silence. “Vinyl, take us back home.” The teacher said with an emotionless tone to which the unicorn did. A bright flash of light filled the air as the three were teleported back to their apartment living room. “Sanosuke, what did Discord mean when he said that he brought you back from the dead?” Cheerilee said as they were trying to get answers only for the human in question to run to the bathroom and begin vomiting into the toilet. “Sanosuke!” Cheerilee screamed she said as ran to the man to see if he was alright. “URRRGH!!!” “Relax Cheers, he just got sick from the teleportation spell was all.” Vinyl said as she along with Cheerilee both rubbed the man’s back in an attempt to comfort him. “URRRGH!!!” He vomited again. This went on for a few minutes before Sanosuke eventually stopped throwing his guts up. As the man wiped his mouth off and went to the sink to clean himself up a bit as he gargled some water and spat it into the sink. As he turned around he saw the mare’s look at him with worried eyes but those same eyes said that he had a lot of explaining to do. As he faced them he let out a sigh as the mares led him into the living room and sat down on the couch. “Sanosuke why were you talking with Discord and what did he mean by he brought you back from the dead?” Cheerilee said as she grabbed Sanosuke’s hand comfortingly trying to get the man to open up. “Yeah, you can tell us Sano, it won’t change how we look at you.” Vinyl said as she grabbed his other hand and gently squeezed it. Having both of the mares holding his hands made the man blush madly as steam came out of his ears. “Uh sure…Where do I start?” He said nervously. “The beginning is usually best.” Cheerilee said with a sly smile. Sanosuke could only laugh at her antics as he began to tell the two mares how he got to Equestria. ______________________________________________________________________________ *Canterlot* Kenshin and the girls were running as fast as they could as arrows rained down on them from above. Shining Armor along with Cadence and a few unicorn guards used their magic to create a shield. But despite how many arrows they blocked a good amount was still able to get through much to their surprise. But Kenshin was able to swat and slice apart the arrows that got through the shield as they ran. Shining Armor and Cadence were amazed to say the least as they watched the young boy draw his sword at incredible speeds and slice the arrows out of the air. But they could see that his injuries were giving him trouble as he tried to protect his friends. The guards were doing their best as they blocked the arrows with their shields as best as they could. They could all see the castle insight up ahead as Shining Armor radio the castle on their situation and told them to be prepared to open the gates. As the arrows came down Kenshin slice each of them to pieces, making them nothing more than a pile of splinters as the ran through the city streets as the city’s citizens ran screaming in terror to cover or into their houses. But at that moment the arrows stopped all together. They didn’t take the chance as they all kept running. As they got close to the castle gates they could hear the guards that stood at the gates shouting to open the gates as they saw the group coming. As it seemed that they were home free a whole flurry of arrows shot through the air as they all came down on them with deadly precision only to be slashed out of the air by Kenshin. But as more and more arrows came down, both Shining Armor and Cadence shields shattered under the relentless furry of the arrows that just kept coming and coming. As one more barrage came at them Kenshin quickly sheathed his sword and drew it at such high rate speed that his strikes were appeared as a blur. But unfortunately one arrow managed to get through much to the samurai’s horror. When Kenshin turned to see where the stray arrow was heading he was horrified at what he saw. It was heading directly for Pinkie Pie’s heart. As the pink mare saw the arrow head towards her heart her eyes turned to pin pricks as she saw her life flash before her eyes. Without even thinking Kenshin used one final burst of speed and threw himself in front of the arrows path. “AGH!!!” Kenshin screamed as the arrow ripped all the way through his left shoulder and came out on the other side causing him to collapse much to Pinkie’s horror as she rushed to the boy’s side. As he felt the mind numbing searing pain he knew he could not just sit there, he had to get up and run to the gates with the girls but due to the blood loss from the last fight with Jin-E and his Shadow Warriors, Kenshin was well past limit. But at that moment Kenshin saw where the arrows were coming from as he felt someone pick him up and throw him over his shoulder, it was Shining Armor. “We got wounded!” Shining Armor said as he carried the boy to safety. “The bell tower, the archer is in the bell tower.” Kenshin grunted in pain as he pointed at the tower in question. Cadence and the guard captain both fired a blast of magic at the tower as they all ran through the castle gates which closed behind them and into the castle. ______________________________________________________________________________ At that moment I'izuka saw two blasts of pink and blue magic headed his way causing a jolt of fear to shoot through him. “Oh shit! I’m out!” The man said as he leaped out of the tower just before it exploded. The hitokiri landed on the ground in a roll. As he took off running he laughed. “Well my work here is done. Looks like their defenses really are shit, the boss will be happy to hear this.” He said as he ran down a dark alleyway and made his escape. ______________________________________________________________________________ *Manehatten* “At that point I managed to get Kenshin passage on a ship back to Tokyo.” Sanosuke said as he finished up his story. To say that the two mares were shocked would be the understatement of the century as they both sat there with jaws hitting the table. “Y-You fought a tiger!” Vinyl said with amazement. “Yeah. I needed its liver to make a special type of medicine to help him survive the trip back to Japan.” He replied as if it were nothing. The two mares were amazed to say the least at the lengths the man would go to in order to help his friends. Sanosuke decided that it was best to only tell Cheerilee and Vinyl about how he found Kenshin and helped him get to Japan. He didn’t tell them much about his past except for a couple of adventures like how he met Kenshin and how he and Kenshin and their friends all saved Megumi. But he told them that it was mainly Kenshin that was the hero because he did most of the work. “Why did you attack Kenshin in the first place when you first met him?” Vinyl asked him. “Oh that, well I was a fight merchant hired to ‘take care’ of Kenshin by one of his enemies.” He said with a look of deep sorrowful guilt. “What do you mean by ‘take care of’?” Cheerilee asked with a look of worry. “I won’t lie…I was hired to kill him.” This shocked both of the mares as they looked at him in complete horror. “BUT he kicked the living shit out of me and helped me change my ways to make the long story short. Ever since then I have been trying to help anyone that I come across that needs it.” He said. “So you’re not a fight merchant anymore?” Cheerilee asked with concern. “Nope, I’m just trying to find my best friend and help him.” He said with a sigh causing the two mares to sigh in relief and gain small smiles. “So this guy Aoshi just knocked you out with one hit to the back of your head?” Vinyl said with a laugh. “Hey the guy is a NINJA!” He said in defense as the mares had a look of surprise. “You mean those guys in black suits that have swords on their backs?” The DJ asked with curiosity. “Actually Vinyl that’s just how they are perceived in the media, they often wore navy blue or disguises.” The teacher said as she remembered the course she took in college on Neighponese culture, she was amazed that the man took on a ninja and survived. They were also surprised that the man’s friend was a samurai. “Yeah well, I was wondering how you did that teleporting thing that brought us here.” He asked. “Oh that! I was using my magic.” Vinyl said with a smile. This surprised Sansouke considering Sanosuke was a very superstitious man. “How does that work?” He asked at which point Cheerilee went into giving a text book answer on the three races. “Oh, well that explains how you’re so strong.” He said as he remembered Cheerilee holding him down earlier. ‘Yes well, you still haven’t told us how you came to this world.” The teacher said. “Oh yeah, that well I heard that Kenshin died right after he was reunited with his wife. I died a few years later. When I died I found myself in a black void where I met Discord who told me that Kenshin was here in this world. When I arrived here I ended up outside of the bar where I met you girls. I walked into the bar and saw you girls in trouble, as for the rest I think we all know.” He said causing the girls to once again have shocked expressions on their faces, but this time they had a look of deep sorrow as well. “…” “You girls okay?” Sanosuke said with a worried look. Vinyl and Cheerilee just looked at the brawler with tears brimming in their eyes before they lunged at the man and pulled him into a bone crushing hug. “Oh you poor damaged colt! To have died at such a young age! I am so sorry, no wonder you act like such a delinquent and pick fights with criminals, it’s a cry for attention!” The teacher wailed. “Wait, what?” The man asked but was ignored. “Yeah, I’m sorry Sano. I didn’t know you had such a hard life! You just wanted to see your long lost friend!” Vinyl cried. “Um girls it’s fine, really.” After a few minutes of Sanosuke calming down the girls things were quiet once again. “Damn, I’d hate to imagine how they would react if they found out about my childhood.” He thought to himself as an idea came to his head. “Hey girls, is it okay if I ask you something?” The street fighter asked which got a nod from both mares. “What’s a horn job?” “W-What?” Vinyl stuttered with a huge blush. “Hey, I had to tell you girls something so it’s only fair that you do the same.” Sanosuke said with a laugh. The two mares could easily tell that the man was doing this to get back at them for chasing him and forcing him to talk about himeself. “W-Well it was what you saw C-Cheerilee doing to my horn yesterday. You basically rub a unicorn’s horn until they…get off… Then a weird goo comes out of the horns tip.” She said with a huge blush which caused the man to do so as well. “Had a dry spell yesterday did ya?” He said which to the surprise of the caused Cheerilee to burst out laughing to which Sanosuke and Vinyl joined in as well. “Man, this has got to be the most awkward day I have ever had in my entire life.” He said with a laugh to which the two mares joined in. “Yeah well we didn’t exactly mean for you to see us going at it.” Cheerilee said with a blush. “Sooooo……You two are together.” The brawler asked awkwardly. “Y-Yeah… Is there s-something wrong with that?” Cheerilee asked with worry. “Hell no! You love who you love, that’s all that matters. I make it a personal rule to never judge people…or ponies in this case. Anyone who gives you two any problems about your relationship will have to deal with me.” He said with a gentle smile which caused the two mares to smile. “But I have to admit that this is the first time that I have ever seen two girls together.” He said while scratching his head. “What do you mean? How are relationships done in your world?” Vinyl asked curiously. “From as far back as I can remember, it’s always been one man with one woman.” Sanosuke said absentmindedly. Both mares were surprised at the man’s answer. “Must be a lot of lonely mares in your world. Doesn’t your specious have herds?” Cheerilee says with curiosity. “What’s a herd?” Sanosuke asks while tilting his head to the side in a mixture of both curiosity and confusion. Cheerilee and Vinyl both began to explain to Sanosuke what a herd is and how over 90 percent of the population is made up of mares and how most mares are bisexual due to the lack of stallions. “W-Wow…So a stallion can have multiple wives? I have no idea what to say to that.” he said with a shocked look on his face which caused the mares to giggle. “The reason why me and Cheers are together is because we care about each other, obviously. But also so we can be part of the same herd.” The DJ said with a smile. “So friends get together in the same herd and can love each other?” He asked. “Yes they can, this works out pretty well believe it or not?” Vinyl answered. “Next you’ll be telling me that the gender roles are reversed here.” The man said with a laugh. This confused the mares greatly. “What do you mean Sanosuke? What gender is dominant in your world, male or female?” Cheerilee asked with curiosity. “Male, why?” He answered with a confused expression. “Well, I think you will be very surprised at what I am about to say Sanosuke.” The teacher said as she began before telling Sanosuke about the workings of Equestrian society. ______________________________________________________________________________ *Canterlot Castle* Kenshin was having one of the castle’s doctors heal his shoulder with magic much to his amazement. He began to wonder why he was able to be healed by magic yet things like levitation did not affect him. He thanked Shining Armor for saving him and carrying him to the castle to which the stallion told him that it was nothing and he that he was happy to help. Pinkie Pie and the girls on the other hand were panicking over the boys injuries, especially Pinkie Pie who kept holding Kenshin and crying while pressing his face against her enormous breasts. It didn’t help matters at all when it came time to remove the arrow. Much to everypony’s horror Kenshin simply broke the barbed tip off and yanked the arrow out which caused the doctors to panic. As the man’s shoulder was healed Pinkie Pie lunged at Kenshin and pulled him into a bone crushing hug. “Kenny, I’m soooo sorry! It’s all my fault that you got hurt!” Pinkie Pie wailed as she continued to hug the young samurai. “It’s alright Pinkie Pie, this one is alright my friend.” Kenshin said as he stared at the adorable pink party mare. Kenshin didn’t know why but he had a very special place in his heart for Pinkie Pie. Her innocence and childlike nature along with her friendly nature was always welcomed. “No it’s not!” She said as she cried into his shoulder which muffled her voice. Kenshin gently placed a hand under Pinkie’s chin and lifted her gaze to his to meet his. “Pinkie it is alright, this one chose to throw himself into that arrows path. I should be the one apologizing. It was my fault that you girls were put in danger. This one is very sorry.” He said to Pinkie Pie whose mane was currently deflated and straight. Pinkie’s eyes immediately went wide at the boy’s statement. “No-no-no-no-no-nopey-dopey-wopey-it-was-all-my-fault!” Pinkie Pie sobbed rapidly into Kenshin’s shoulder, the salt from her tears burning his wounds as they were being healed by the magic, this caused the boy to grunt in pain. Kenshin continued to stroke the mare’s fluffy and curly pink mane as her sobs eventually turned to soft whimpers. “Better?” He asked as the mare looked at him with tears in her eyes as she nodded slowly. “Pinkie Pie, please understand that no matter what happens, I will make sure that nothing happens to you or the others. Even if it costs this one his life, he will fight to protect you all no matter what.” He said with a gentle smile which caused Pinkie and the others to smile as the doctor finished healing the boy as best as he could with his magic. “Well, there you go young colt. You should be fine, but you need to get a lot of rest and relax. NO MORE FIGHTING! I don’t care if you’re a samurai; you are too young to be putting yourself in danger like that. Let the guards handle things like that, that’s what they’re there for. Now the Princesses are waiting for you, you shouldn’t keep them waiting little guy.” The unicorn doctor said with a smile as he ruffled the boy’s hair good naturedly. As they all left the infirmary they made their way to the down a long and wide hallway. As they walked Kenshin saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders eyeing Spike with huge blushes covering their faces. Kenshin could easily tell that the three fillies had a crush on the young dragon. Kenshin couldn’t help but chuckle to himself as he saw the young drake who was talking with said fillies, completely clueless to his situation. “How you feeling?” He heard a voice ask as he turned his head to see Shining Armor walking beside him on his left. “Much better, thank you. Also thank you for saving this one as well.” The red head said with a smile. “It’s the least I could do, especially since you saved me and my wife. By the way how did you catch those arrows like that?” The guard captain asked with amazement. “Years of practice my friend.” He said as they approached two large doors that had a symbol of a sun and a moon on them. As they all approached them, they flung open at full force and hit Kenshin square in the face and nose as he was sent flying back and into the arms of Pinkie Pie. The young boy lay in her arms, knocked out. Everypony looked up to see who had opened the doors only to see the Celestia standing there with a horrified look on her face at what she had just done as Luna came walking up behind. “Oh my gosh, I am so sorry! I didn’t know he was standing behind there, I heard that you were being attacked by an assassin and I came rushing to see if I could help!” Celestia said as she panicked at what she had just done to the young boy. Luna could only face palm. “Oro.” Pinkie said with a huge smile much to the shock of everyone, including Kenshin who was starting to wake up but passed out in shock at what he had just heard. ______________________________________________________________________________ *Manehattan* Sanosuke’s mouth was repeatedly opening and closing like a fish at what he had just heard. “Sano, you okay dude?” Vinyl asked with concern. The man was surprised to hear that mares were in charge and were the protectors and providers while stallions were basically handled hard labor or house work and things like that. Stallions were often protected by mares due to their low numbers. Sanosuke was in no way a sexist by any means, but he was having a huge case of culture shock at the moment. “Y-Yeah, just fine. Just realizing that I am officially screwed at this point in my life.” He said as his left eye twitched when he found out that gender roles were reversed in Equestria. “Sanosuke it’s okay. You have nothing to worry about, stallions have equal rights, back in ancient times they didn’t but now they do in modern day Equestria.” Cheerilee said to the man who was still in a state of shock. “I don’t know why but I have a bad feeling that I am going to end up as a house wife.” Sanosuke said as he let his head hit the table hard. “Sanosuke, you can do a great many of things here in Equestria, all you need is a basic education. It’s not like you’ve never had a basic school education or anything.” The teacher said as she rubbed the man’s back in an attempt to comfort him. “I’M FUCKED!!!” He screamed as he slammed his head against the table over and over again in rapid succession which horrified the two mares. The two mares tried to stop him. “Sanosuke don’t do that!” The mares screamed in unison. “Why are you doing that?” Cheerilee asked. “Because I have never even set foot into a school in my whole life. Believe it or not I only know how to read and write and do a little math because of my mother. She taught me when I was just a boy. That’s how most kids would learn back in my villiage.” He said as he sighed in defeat. Needless to say Cheerilee didn’t like this one bit; she always emphasized the importance of an education to her little students, it was necessary to survive and make a living. “How could that happen!? Wasn’t there a schoolhouse or a teacher to teach the children!?” She said with worry and concern. “There was one.” He said as his eyes glazed over and his tone became emotionless. “What happened to it!?” The teacher asked. “During the war it was burnt down when my village was attacked even though none of us even put up a fight and surrendered. The school house was one of the many things that burnt down that day.” He said with pure malice and hatred in his voice. As he did he noticed the looks of pure terror and horror at what they had just heard. He immediately felt bad for scaring them and his expression immediately softened as he apologized to them. “Sorry girls, just a bad memory is all, let’s change the subject. Point is I don’t have much book smarts.” He said with a gentle and warm smile, making the girls calm down. “W-well I am going to help you Sanosuke, I’d be more than happy to help teach you the things you don’t know.” Cheerilee said with a warm smile deciding not to press the man on the subject. “I don’t have a choice in this, do I?” The man asked with a deadpan look on his face. “Nope.” The teacher said with a smile, causing the man to sigh in defeat to which Vinyl laughed. “Also, you can’t be going out at night by yourself Sanosuke. It’s dangerous for a colt your age to be walking out in the city by himself; someone could easily take advantage of you!” Cheerilee said with genuine concern and worry to the former gangster. “Uh, you saw me fight at the bar remember? I think I can defend myself.” He said with a cocky grin. “I don’t care! The city is dangerous for a young stallion let alone a young colt like yourself!” “Actually, I have to agree with Cheers on this one Sano, you’re in our world now so things are probably much different than yours.” Vinyl said as she saw the man growing annoyed as he rubbed the temples of his head. “We’re just worried about you Sanosuke. We’re just trying to look out for you is all.” The DJ said with sympathy. “I know girls, its ok. I know you mean well.” Sanosuke said with a sigh. “Thanks Sanosuke.” They both said with a smile despite the fact that they knew that Sanosuke was not going to heed their warnings and still go out into the dangerous parts of the city at night but considering his skills they figured that he would be fine. As Sanosuke reached up and adjusted his headband for a few seconds he remembered the bag of sugar cubes that Discord gave him. As he reached into his coat he found the bag and pulled a hand full of the white cubes from the bag, putting the bag back into his coat without the mares seeing it. Out of curiosity, he flicked one into his mouth with his thumb to see how it tasted. He didn’t care much for it due to the fact that it was just pure sugar. As the girls talked to each other, they heard a loud crunching sound. They turned to the source to see their human friend munching on something. “What’re you eating?” The two mares asked with curiosity. “These.” He said as he held out two of the white cubes between his fingers, offering them to the two mares. “Sugar cubes!!!” They squealed as they lunged over the table and at the man as they grabbed the sweets from the man and quickly tossed the cubes into their own mouths. As they crunched the treats in their mouths with looks of pure bliss on their faces as they swallowed the sugar cubes. “Wow! You girls must really like-” Sanosuke was interrupted by the two mares as the tackled him to the ground and began searching for the more of the tasty treats. As they sniff around for more, they manage to find the bag in Sanosuke’s coat only for him to leap back with the back, keeping it out of their reach as the man held to more cubes in his hand. The girls lunged at the man again only for him to leap out of the way. “Whoa, you girls must really love these things.” Sanosuke said only for the girls to ignore him and watch the sugary cubes in his hands. They stood in front of him with hungry eyes as their tails wagged like a dog when it is expecting a treat. “Sugar cubes! Are they for us!? Are they!? Can we have them please! PLEASE!” They begged as they pressed themselves into Sanosuke eagerly. Vinyl unknowingly pressed her breasts against the man’s face as she and her marefriend tried to grab the sugar cubes. Sanosuke could see the unicorn’s neon blue nipples press through her thin white T-shirt. Sanosuke’s face was getting redder by the second causing him to front flip over the two mares. “Whoa girls, calm down and I’ll give them to you if you promise to just calm down!” The man said pleadingly as he was pressed against the wall. To his surprise the girls managed to tone down their excitement, barely. “PLEASE! PLEASE!” The two mares said in unison to which the man sighed in defeat as he threw the two cubes into the air to which the mares caught them in their mouth. The mares looked at the man expectantly to which they began to freak the man out as they inched their way closer. He pulled out two more. As they got closer he knew that he was cornered as they crept closer. Sanosuke held them both out with shaky hands as they stared at him with predatory grins as they literally ate the cubes of sugar out of the man’s hands. They man was shocked as he felt their lips on his hands as they devoured the treats yet again. Sanosuke could tell that these mares were obviously addicted to these sweets. The sugar cubes were nothing special, just cubes made of pure sugar. As the girls finished the treats yet again they stared at the man. “S-Sorry girls but I’m all out.” He lied as the girls eyes narrowed at him suspiciously. “We can smell them on you.” Vinyl said with a deadpan tone as they both lunged at the man who just barely managed to dodge the two as he ran to his room and slammed the door shut and locked it behind him. The two mares banged on the door. “Don’t hold out on us!” Cheerilee shouted through the door as the street fighter started barricading the door with furniture. When he was done he laid on his bed. “You girls have had enough! I don’t know why you girls like that stuff so much but too much sugar is bad for you.” He said as the banging on the door eventually died down. “Huh, guess they gave up.” He said as he turned over in his bed, deciding to take a nap until things blew over, only for a bright flash of neon blue light to fill the room. As he turned to see what it was, he felt a sense of dread at what he saw. “Oooooh Sanosuke.” The two mares said as they stood in front of him at the foot of his bed. He tried jump out the window only for Vinyl to close the shutters with her magic causing him to smash face first into the wooden shutters. “I am so fucked.” He said right before the two mare’s dog piled on him. ______________________________________________________________________________ *Canterlot Castle* “Pinkie Pie, please be reasonable about this. I did not mean to hurt Kenshin, just please let us take a look at him.” Celestia pleaded as Pinkie Pie was cradling the young red head with the bloody nose in her arms as she growled viciously at the Princesses and any guards that tried to approach them to check on the boy, scaring them and the Princessess much to everypony’s surprise, making them back away in fear. Cadence could sense a deep sense of love for the samurai radiating off of Pinkie Pie, as well as the other elements of harmony, but Pinkie Pie’s love was so strong that Cadence could hardly believe it. “Ugh…My head.” The young boy thought to himself as he slowly came to and saw what was happening. He saw Pinkie Pie cradling him in her arms and as he saw what was going on he realized what was happening and knew he had to intervene. “P-Pinkie it’s alright, this was all an accident. There is no need to get upset over a bloody nose that this one got.” He said which caused everypony to gasp as they saw that he was awake and getting up. As he stood up on his own Pinkie immediately checked the boy to see if he was alright by tilting his head back gently to check his nose. When she was done and saw that he only had a bloody nose she spoke. “Okie dokey loki.” She said with narrowed eyes of suspicion before her expression shifted to a gigantic smile. “Sorry Princess for getting upset.” The party mare said with an apologetic look on her face. “It’s quite alright Pinkie, you were just worried about your knew friend.” Celestia said with a motherly smile causing the pink mare to have a huge smile cross her face. Celestia then turned her attention to the young red head. As she approached the young boy, he got to his knees and bowed to both princesses by pressing his head and hands to the ground. “Please rise young colt; there is no need to bow to us. After what you have done for my little ponies, you are a friend to all of Equestria and the crown.” She said with a gentle smile to which the swordsman stood up and gazed into the Princess of the Sun’s eyes. Kenshin couldn’t help but feel as if he had known this mare at one time or another as he stared into her light violet eyes. As he looked at the mare he saw that she had both a horn and wings. She was a snow white mare wearing regally that was made of gold with a long and beautiful white dress that was made of the finest silk that fitted her body perfectly like a night gown and helped to show off her curves and her massive breasts by hugging her body. He had to look up in order to make eye contact as she towered over him with her amazing height. He saw a tattoo of a sun as her cutie mark on her shoulders, hips, and flanks. “I am Princess Celestia and this is my baby sister Princess Luna. I raise and lower the sun and Luna the moon.” She said causing Luna to blush at being called a baby by her older sister. “It is an honor your highness.” Kenshin said with a smile to both Princesses. This caused Celestia to hold a hand in front of her mouth and giggle politely. This caused Kenshin have a deep sense of déjà vu. Her actions seemed so familiar but he didn’t know why. “There is no need for such formal titles young samurai. Just call me Celestia.” She said with a warm motherly smile. “Thou may call us Luna, brave young warrior.” Luna said. Kenshin looked at the second princess and saw that she also had both a horn and wings as well. Her fur was a dark shade of midnight blue which complimented her beautiful black silk dress well, which like her sister’s also hugged her body, showing off her curves and perfect breasts. He saw that her cutie mark was that of a moon with a black splotch behind it that looked like the night sky. “This one’s name is Kenshin Himura, please call this one Kenshin.” He said with a happy smile. “WE THANK THEE FOR SAVING OUR SUBJECTS AND OUR FRIENDS, THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY! WE ARE SO SORRY YOUNG COLT THAT YOU HAD TO BATTLE SUCH AN EVIL BEING IN COMBAT!” Luna said as she accidently used her royal canterlot voice, causing the young boy to cover his ears. Luna realized what she had just done and winced. “Sorry, we- I am still stuck in the old ways of doing things young Kenshin.” She said with an apologetic look on her face. “It is alright Luna. This one is stuck in the old ways as well.” He said with a gentle smile which caused the princess of the night to smile in return. As both Princesses stood there, they stared at the young boy for a minute or two which made the boy shift awkwardly as they stared at him intently. “Uh Princess… Are you okay?” Twilight asked only for the two princesses to squeal at the top of their lungs as they lunged at the man and pulled him into the tightest hug he had ever felt as they squashed him between both of their breasts. As he struggled to get free the two mares could only go on and on about how cute he was and how adorable he looked. “I need an adult!” Kenshin said in desperation and nervousness as he managed to pull his head out of their breasts. “I am an adult.” They both cooed lovingly which made Kenshin even more nervous and afraid. After ten minutes of the Princesses hugging Kenshin, they managed to calm down and gain their composure. “Ahem, sorry about that.” Celestia and Luna said with a blush crossing their face. “It’s okay, no harm done.” He said with a smile as he tried to catch his breathe. “Well anyway, we have called you here because of the incident in Ponyville with Udo Jin-E and the battle that took place. Not to mention that Discord is involved. Let us discuss this in the throne room and-” “WHAT IS THIS DISGUSTING CREATURE AND WHY ARE THERE PEASANTS IN THE CASTLE AUNTY!?” An extremely annoying voice interrupted the princess of the sun. The voice was so annoying that Kenshin felt as if his ears were being assaulted by the sounds of cats gargling a bunch of razor blades… With their balls being crushed in a vice. Kenshin turned to see a white stallion with a blonde mane that appeared to be overly kept and he had overly extravagant clothing. “Blueblood, how dare you speak to our honored guests that way!” Celestia said with anger in her voice. “I only see peasants and an ugly hairless monkey in my presence. What are they doing here?” Blueblood demanded. “These ‘peasants’ as you call them, are the Elements of Harmony and have saved Equestria time and time again. As for the ‘hairless monkey’ as you so put it, is the human samurai known as Kenshin Himura who saved the Elements of Harmony and Ponyville. I suggest you show them respect nephew or face the consequences.” Celestia threatened to which he scoffed at her, as for Kenshin he could only wonder what the Elements of Harmony were. Blueblood turned his attention to the swordsman and eyed him up and down with a glare. “Well at least my property has arrived. Your fighting style now belongs to me and me alone samurai. You will work for me from now and do my bidding.” The arrogant prince said which caused everypony to gasp at how disrespectful he was being to their human friend. Kenshin didn’t take to kindly to the prince’s words. “You brute! How dare you refer to Kenshin that way! He is not an object so do not refer to him as such!” Rarity shouted at the arrogant prince causing him to fume once he saw her. “YOU!!! HOW DARE YOU BE IN MY PRESENCE LET ALONE EVEN THINK YOU CAN SPEAK TO ME AFTER WHAT YOU DID AT THE GALA!!!” Blueblood screamed. “ME! YOU WERE THE ONE WHO USED ME AS A SHIELD TO STOP A FLYING CAKE FROM HITTING YOU JUST SO YOU WOULDN’T GET YOUR MANE DIRTY!” Rarity retorted as the Princesses were about to intervene only for the prince to raise his fist in preparation to strike Rarity. This caused the mare to clench her eyes shut in fear. *CRACK!!!* The sound of the punch echoed throughout the palace halls as everypony stared wide eyed at what just happened. Rarity slowly opened her eyes wondering why she was not in pain only to see Kenshin standing in front of her with Blueblood’s fist still in the boy’s face. Everything was silent as the boy broke the silence. “You call yourself a prince yet you try to strike a woman. I’ve seen your type before; you think you can get everything that you want just because of your position, yet you bitch and moan when you don’t get what you want. You disgust me.” Kenshin said with a deadly glare that made Blueblood back away in fear as he stared at the boy who was now sporting a black eye. “H-How dare-” “SHUT UP!!!!!!” Kenshin screamed at the prince so loud that it made the royal Canterlot voice sound like a whisper thanks to his furry. The girls were shocked at Kenshin’s anger. “I don’t know who you are and I don’t care to be honest. But if you ever try to harm miss Rarity of any of my friends again, there will be no place for you to hide from me. Do I make myself clear, Prince Blueblood. Oh and one more thing before I forget, I will never work for you and you will never get my fighting style.” Kenshin said with deadly seriousness in his voice. Everypony was shocked at how Kenshin was standing up to the pompous prince. Blueblood was shocked at what had just happen as he stood there slacked jaw. But after a few seconds his face grew red with pure rage. “HOW DARE YOU! YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS PEASANT! I WILL-” “SILENCE!!!” Celestia shouted in her royal canterlot voice which caused Blueblood to quickly to shut his mouth in fear. As everyone in the palace hall were now completely quiet, Celestia spoke. “You will do nothing to this human or the Elements of Harmony, nephew!” Celestia said with anger in her voice. “What! But I have done nothing wrong!” Blueblood whined as Celestia was about to speak again only for Rarity to cut her off before she could even speak. “Nothing! You struck a wounded child and gave him a black eye!” The unicorn mare shouted which made both Celestia and Luna go wide eyed at what they had just heard. “Wounded? What does thou mean by wounded fare Rarity?” Luna asked with great concern. “When that awful pony started firing arrows at us, they fired one directly at Pinkie Pie’s heart. But Kenshin valiantly jumped in front of the arrow just in the nick of time to protect her as it ripped through his left shoulder.” Rarity said dramatically which caused the two princesses to gasp at what they had just heard. At hearing this Celestia and Luna immediately ran up to the samurai boy. “Kenshin please remove your shirt.” Celestia said in a very gentle voice to the young boy to which he hesitated at first before he removed his shirt. As he did he heard a loud gasp coming from Luna and the palace guards as Shining Armor began to tell them what Kenshin told them about how he got most of his scars in war. Celestia on the other hand looked at the samurai with pure sorrow, sorrow and familiarity as she knelt down and began to gently trace the scars of his body with her fingers until she eventually found the arrow wound which was still healing despite the doctor’s attempts. What caught Kenshin’s attention the most was that she had a look of familiarity as she gazed at his scars. Almost as if she had seen them before. As she finished checking the scars on his boy she silently stood up and cupped his chin gently and gazed at the boy’s black eye. His right eye was beginning to swell from the punch that it had received. “Even now, Kenshin still throws his own safety and well being to the wind in order to protect those that can’t protect themselves. It’s been over a thousand years and he still hasn’t changed a bit… But why is he in the body of a child?” Celestia thought to herself as she looked at the swordsman as he began to put his kimono top back on. “Blueblood, you have attempted to assault one of my subjects and in the process attacked an innocent child who just so happens to be the hero that saved the Elements of Harmony and my honored guest. Do you have anything to say for yourself?” Celestia commanded while glaring at the prince. Kenshin on the other hand couldn’t help but wonder what the princess of the sun meant by when she said ‘The Elements of Harmony’. “B-But a-aunty, he was defending that mare even after what she did to me on the night of the gala!” Blueblood said pathetically as the princess of the sun eyes began to harden as she gave the pompous prince a death glare that made him cower in fear as his blood ran cold. “If I recall you were behaving in a manner that was unbecoming of a prince and treated miss Rarity badly, you have no pony to blame but yourself for what happened at the gala that night. As for assaulting Mr. Himura you will be denied your allowance for the next two months, which will be given to Kenshin Himura as compensation for his injuries that you inflicted upon him.” Celestia said with authority. “But Auuunty!” Blueblood whined. “And you will not be allowed to leave the castle grounds for the next two months!” She added which caused the prince’s jaw to drop as he turned to Kenshin. He was about to scream an insult at the young swordsman only for him to give Blueblood a death glare so strong that it made him faint and collapse on the ground a loud thud. “Oh how unfortunate, Prince Blueballs- I mean Blueblood has passed out from exhaustion. Maybe it is best for the guards to take him to his room to get some sleep.” Kenshin said with an innocent smile on his face as he looked up to the Princess as the six mares were giggling as the guards took the passed out Blueblood back to his room. “I apologize for my behavior Princess.” The samurai said. “It’s alright Kenshin, you did nothing wrong. In fact I commend you for your bravery.” The Princess of the sun said as Rarity quickly ran up to the boy and hugged him. “Oh darling that was amazing! Thank your for standing up to that brute for me! You truly are my knight in shining armor!” Rarity squealed as she pressed the boy’s face into her breasts. “Lucky…” Spike muttered to himself with a hint of jealousy as he saw the samurai get the mare of his dreams affection. “Ahem. Luna, maybe it would be best for me to take Kenshin to the infirmary to get his wounds and eye checked while you all head to the dining room for some lunch and to relax.” Celestia said causing the everypony to nod in agreement. As they all made their way to the dining room as she saw Pinkie Pie staying behind and staring intently at Kenshin with worry. Celestia walked up to Pinkie and whispered into her ear. “Don’t worry Pinkie; I’m not going to take him from you.” She said as she winked at the mare who blushed. “Y-You better not, Kenny’s mine.” Pinkie said with a massive blush on her face as she whispered those words. “Indeed he is. He needs you girls, you most of all, my little pony.” Celestia said with a warm smile which caused Pinkie to tilt her head sideways in confusion. “Kenshin has lived a very hard life of death and bloodshed. He has forgotten how to be happy. To have lived one day of his life would drive any pony to insanity with grief and sorrow and anguish.” She said to the pink party pony which caused her ears to splay back against her head in sympathy for the samurai. “Well as the number one party planner in all of Ponyville and the element of laughter, I will make sure to make Kenshin happy no matter what! I Pinkie promise! Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” Pinkie said while going through the movements with a giant smile as the princess ruffled her mane with her hand. “Good because I want you to help Kenshin personally and help watch over him.” She said with a gentle smile. “R-Really?” Pinkie said as her smile got bigger. “Mmhm. I sense a deep connection between the two. I think you would make an excellent lead mare for Kenshin.” She said which caught Pinkie off guard as she blushed hard. “W-W-What do you mean?” Pinkie stuttered. “I sense your feelings for Kenshin, and even though he doesn’t know it yet, he has feelings for you. Though they are still young and must be nurtured before they can come to frutation.” Celestia said which caused the young mare to smile brightly. “You really think that I would be a great lead mare?” She asked with a shy smile. “I know you will Pinkie Pie. Now if you’ll excuse me, I must take our new friend to the infirmary.” She said with a gentle smile to which Pinkie just smiled back and saluted before she began to bounce off happily into the royal dining room. But all of a sudden she stopped in mid bounce and was floating in midair. “Heeeeey, wait a minute! How do you know so much about my Kenny hmmm!?” Pinkie asked with great suspicion towards the princess of the sun. “All will be explained in the dining room my little pony. But I will tell you this; a very long time ago…Kenshin saved my life. But that’s all I will say for now.” The princess said with a gentle smile. “Okie Doki Loki!” Pinkie said with a giant grin and continued to bounce off to the dining room. “I will never understand how she does that.” Celestia said to herself. Celestia turned her attention to Kenshin who was off in his own little world as he viewed the paintings that lined the hall. Completely oblivious to the conversation that just took place. She walked up to him and gently grabbed his hand which made the samurai’s face flush pink. “Come little one; let’s get those injuries taken care of.” She said as she led Kenshin to the castle infirmary. ______________________________________________________________________________ *Fillydelphia* Derpy had just finished a delivery that had brought her all the way to Fillydelphia. The trip was long but thankfully it was over and done with as she entered one of her favorite muffin shops that she would always visit whenever her mail mare duties brought her out to the city. There were three things that Derpy loved more than life itself. First was her foals Dinky and Sparkler whom she loved more than life itself and would do anything for them. Second was being a mail mare, and last but definitely not least was MUFFINS! She told the baker her order to which she was told that her order would take a few mintues. The wall-eyed mare decided to sit down at one of the tables while she waited for her order. As she waited for her order she saw a strange looking stallion sitting at one of the tables that was across from her. He had no fur on but he had a brownish-black mane that was slicked back with only a few strands of hair dangling in front of his face, he wore navy blue uniform pants along with a navy blue uniform jacket that was open to reveal a tight fitting black T-shirt which showed of his well-toned muscles. As he ran one of his hands through his mane Derpy saw that he was wearing white uniform gloves. But what caught Derpy by surprise the most was the fact that he had a sword sitting next to him at the table. He didn’t look like a guard but the sword seemed to fit his persona for some reason, like it was a part of his very being, part of his very soul. He sat there with a steaming hot cup of coffee which he drunk silently as he watched the TV that was set up in the shop. He was watching intently as the screen showed a news mare talking about the battle that took place in Ponyville as film footage played on the screen. The man simply looked at the screen with a stern look, his expression never changing for a second. Derpy could easily see that he had some burn marks on his body along with a few scorch marks. “Are you okay?” She asked with worry in her voice causing the man to turn his attention to the gray Pegasus mare. His face still held the same stern yet emotionless look for a few seconds before it turned into a smile. Not a smile that was real but a smile that was meant to be polite. “Yes I am, thank you for your concern ma’am.” he said still maintaining his polite yet somewhat creepy smile. “I’m Derpy Whooves but you can call me Derpy, what’s your name?” She asked with a happy smile. “Saito Hajime but you can call me Saito, pleasure to meet you Derpy.” He said as he shook her hand. “You look like you got into a fight with a dragon.” Derpy said absent mindedly causing the man to flash a wolfish grin. “You’d be surprised.” He said as he finished off his coffee. “You’re carrying a neat sword. Are you a guard?” She asked with curiosity. “No, but I was a police officer at one time or another.” He said as he looked into her eyes, he noticed that her eyes were going off into two different directions. He didn’t think any different of the mare. In fact he thought that it made her unique. “Oh, do you catch and fight bad guys?” Derpy said as she began to throw punches in the air as she pretended to be fighting a criminal. Saito flashed an amused smirk at the mare’s childlike innocence ditzy nature. “Sometimes, but I have my own personal method of handling big time offenders.” Saito said as he went back to showing no emotion. “Miss, your order is ready.” A waitress said as she handed Derpy a bag filled full with steaming hot muffins. “Thank you.” She said as she paid the waitress for her order. “Well it was nice talking to you Mister Saito!” She said as she waved to the stoic man who managed to crack a somewhat less creepy smile as he waved a gloved hand to the departing mare. “You too Derpy. Be safe.” He said as she walked out of the shop. As Derpy walked out of the shop she walked down the streets for a few minutes. As she continued to walk down the street she couldn’t help herself as she could smell the scent from the bag of muffins. As she drooled over the tasty treats she opened the bag and pulled out a muffin. As she brought the tasty treat to her lips, she was quickly pulled into a dark alleyway and slammed her against the alleyway wall. “Scream and you’re dead!” A gruff and low voice ordered harshly as a knife was held to the mailmare’s throat. Derpy was terrified as the unicorn stallion that held the razor sharp blade just inches from her throat smiled sinisterly as four other stallions came out of the shadows laughing evilly to themselves. “P-P-Please don’t hurt me, I have foals.” Derpy pleaded as the stallions surrounded her with. “Give us your money, NOW!” The unicorn barked to the now terrified mare. “I-I-I don’t h-have any m-money. I-I used the last of it on this.” She said while trembling as she held up the bag of muffins only for her attacker to knock it out of her hand in anger and crush it under his hoof. “You bitch, you think you can hold out on me!” He screamed at the terrified mare that was now beginning to tear up as she searched her pockets in desperation only to find nothing. “I have n-nothing, p-please just let me go! I wanna go home! I wanna go home!” She sobbed as she began to panic. “Well I’m not leaving here empty handed, bitch.” He said as he began to undo the belt to her jeans as the others held her down while one of the stallions stood on look out. As the mare began to sob even harder she heard the stallion that was standing as a lookout scream as he was sent flying into the brick wall with a loud sickening crack. As his lifeless body fell to the ground, the unicorn stallion turned to see something that filled him with pure terror right before a gloved fist smashed into his face. *CRACK!!!* “AAAHHH, FUCK!!!” He screamed as he grabbed his broken muzzle and rolled on the ground in pain. “S-Saito.” Derpy said in surprise. As one of the stallions fired a bolt of magic at the human, Saito quickly grabbed one of the other stallions and used him as a meat shield as the bolt of magic pierced his heart. Saito threw the mugger’s corpse to the ground. The unicorn kept firing blasts of magic at the man who simply dodged them. As Saito closed the distance he delivered an uppercut to the stallion’s jaw, knocking him out. Before he could even hit the ground, the samurai grabbed the unconscious stallion’s hoof and flung him straight into the Pegasus stallion that was flying at him, knocking the Pegasus out as well. “DON’T MOVE OR I’LL KILL HER!!!” The unicorn with the bloody muzzle screamed as the man turned his attention to the unicorn who now held Derpy hostage with a knife to her throat and his horn charged for an attack. “You get one chance. Let her go NOW!” Saito ordered with rage as he walked towards the stallion. “I SAID GET BACK!!!” The unicorn screamed. “You had your chance.” Saito said as he closed the distance between the two of them at such a high speed that to Saito it appeared as if time had stopped. Saito grabbed the knife from the stallion’s hand and smashed his fist into his already bloodied face sending him straight into a brick wall. Derpy couldn’t believe what she just saw. But what she saw next terrified her. Saito slowly drew his sword as he walked towards the downed stallion who tried to run only to find that he was stuck in a dead end. As he stood in front of the unicorn stallion, he readied his katana to kill the criminal that stood in front of him. But before he could strike, something stopped him. “Saito stop!” She shouted with tears in her eyes. “You saw what he was going to do to you, yet you want to let him go?” He asked with no emotion in his voice at all. “P-Please Saito… I just wanna go home.” She pleaded with tears in her eyes. Saito looked at her for a few seconds before he finally let out a sigh. “Fine.” He said as he sheathed his sword. “Thank you. I-I’ll go get a guard.” She said with a smile as she took off to find a guard. Now that she was gone Saito turned his attention towards the unicorn stallion and glared at him. “Now that she’s gone, I’m going to teach you a lesson.” Saito said. “W-What are you going to do to me?” The stallion asked with terror. “I’m going to do what your parents should have done; I’m going to give you the ass whoopin’ of a life time.” Saito said as he pulled off his belt and began to beat the ever loving shit out of him with it. The stallion screamed and wailed in pain as he was being beaten mercilessly by belt, punches, and kicks. His pleads for mercy fell on deaf ears. “You ever pull this shit again; I’ll kill you.” Saito said as he stopped beating the stallion and began to walk away. “You freakin’ psychopath, I hate to imagine how you raise your kids. They must be fucked up in the head!” The stallion said through the pain mockingly. Saito stopped in mid step and stood stock still for ten seconds before turning around and saying. “Aw hell no.” Saito was pissed off as he attacked the stallion again; he had always prided himself on being a good father and husband. He would never ever raise a hand towards his wife or kids. Sure he was strict at times with his kids. But he would never abuse them. To have someone question how he raised his kids and insult them pissed him off royally. A few minutes later Derpy arrived with a few royal guards. As they arrived they all found Saito leaning against a wall while he smoked a cigarette. “What in Tartarus happened here!” The royal guard shrieked. “These guys tried to rape this young mare.” He said causing Derpy to blush deeply at being called young. “I-It’s true, but Mr. Saito stopped them!” Derpy stated as the guards took the three remaining stallions into custody while they took the two dead ones to the morgue. “Dear Celestia! Did you have to kill them!?” A guard’s mare asked. “They were about to rape and kill an innocent mare. I did what I had to protect her. Besides, I only killed two of them.” He stated with a cold tone. “Mr. Saito used to be a police officer!” Derpy said as she started to get back to her cheerful self. “You were law enforcement? But you look like you’re barely old enough to be an adult!” The guard stated in shock. “Thank you.” Saito replied. As they guards finished up their report they said that Derpy would be given an escort home to ensure her safety. But before she left she walked over to the crushed bag of muffins. As she picked up the remains of her treats she began to sniffle. “Here, you can have mine.” A voice said behind her causing her to turn around. What she saw surprised her. Saito was standing in front of her and handing a bag filled to the brim with freshly baked muffins. She teared up at this kind gesture. Not only did he save her but he was also giving her muffins. “He is such a good person… He must be a super hero!” Derpy thought to herself as she quickly hugged the man in front of her. “Thank you Saito. Not many ponies would have done what you done… A lot of ponies treat me differently because of my eyes.” She said with a sad look on her face. “Then they are idiots for judging you because of something that you can’t control. Besides I think that they make you unique.” The man said causing the mail mare to blush. “Really?” “Yes.” At that moment one of the guards that was supposed to escort her home came up to her and told her that it was time for them to take her home. “’W-Well um… See ya Saito, thank you for saving me.” Derpy said as her face turned a deep shade of pink. “You’re welcome, see you later Derpy.” Saito said as he turned and walked off. As Derpy flew home, she couldn’t help but think about the man that had saved her life. ________________________________________________________________________ *Castle Infirmary* As Celestia led Kenshin into the castle infirmary Kenshin couldn’t help but notice that the room was completely empty, they were completely alone. As they approached the examining table Celestia tried to lift him up onto the table with her magic only for it not to work. She tried it a few more times only to have the same results as before. “Hm, that’s strange.” She said to herself as she lifted Kenshin up under the arms with her hands and set him on the table. “T-Thank you.” He said politely. “You’re quite welcome.” The princess said happily. “Now I need you to remove your shirt and lie down so I can heal you.” She said to which he did. He set his sword down right next to him with his fingers brushing the scabbard as he lay on the table. “Still don’t trust me?” Celestia giggled as her magic began to flow into her horn and hands and into Kenshin’s chest wounds. “This one is just being cautious Princess.” “Please, call me Celestia and I understand your caution. I wasn’t being perfectly honest with you when it came to that letter and for that I am truly sorry.” She said as she stitched up one of the wounds that was caused by Jin-E with her magic. “To be honest I thought that you would be older.” Celestia said giggling. “I-I am. I just woke up in the body of a child this morning, that I did. This one does not know why though.” Kenshin said with a blush of embarrassment that crossed his face. “That is truly perplexing.” She said as she continued healing him. Kenshin laid there in silence for five minutes as the Princess of the Sun continued to heal him. He could feel his body getting stronger and feeling much better. At this point she move her hands to his left shoulder. As her hands were surrounded by a golden aura she held them over the samurai’s injured shoulder. “This brings back memories.” Celestia said with a nostalgic smile spreading across her lips. “What do you mean Celestia?” He asked. “Over a thousand years ago, I wound up in your world. To this day I do not know how or why it happened.” She said much to Kenshin’s surprise. “Over a thousand years! How old is she!” Kenshin thought. “Before you ask, I am over three thousand years old.” She said which caused the young samurai to go wide eyed. “But anyway, as I was saying.” She said as she finished healing Kenshin’s shoulder completely. She then moved on to his black eye that was now swollen. “At the time my sister and I were checking out a huge magic fluctuation that had occurred in the mountains near the border of the Gryphon Empire. There we found a strange portal to which we had no idea where it came from or where it led. But as I approached it, I was sucked into the portal by a powerful force.” She said as she continued to heal Kenshin’s eye. Kenshin was silent, waiting for her to continue. “Luna tried to pull me to safety but unfortunately it was for not. The pull of the force was to strong and sent me hurdling into a world that I never knew existed, a world filled with strange creatures that I had never seen before…Humans. When I passed through the portal it had a strange effect on my magic, causing me to actually turn into a young human child myself.” She said as she paused for a few seconds. “Unfortunately the moment I went through the portal it sealed behind me... To make matters worse, since I was turned into a human I could not fly. When I came out the other side of the portal I fell head first from twenty feet and hit my head on a rock.” She said with a sigh. “When I hit my head against the rock, I lost all of my memories of who I really was. By all means I should have been dead from the impact. But I was lucky, very lucky. Luckily I was found by a kind family of doctors who took me in and nursed me back to health and raised me as their own. Needless to say they were very surprised when they found a naked seven year old girl wandering around in the woods with a bad head wound.” She said with a giggle at the end. “How did you find your way back to this world?” Kenshin asked completely entranced by her story. “I eventually regained my memories many years later, and when I did I also regained my magic as well. I was able to open to reopen the portal and make my way back, but by doing so the portal closed behind me forever.” She answered. “I’m really sorry that you went through all that, that I am.” Kenshin said with sympathy. “It’s alright; I had a lot of good times as well, believe it or not. I became a very skilled doctor. Unfortunately an up and coming drug dealer forced me to make drugs for him against my will. But luckily a young brave samurai stormed the drug lord’s mansion with his friends. He even fought off a clan of deadly ninja and defeated them just to save me.” She said while smiling at Kenshin. Kenshin couldn’t help but feel that this story was very familiar. “Who was the samurai?” He asked curiously “You.” She said. Immediately memories came flooding back to Kenshin’s mind. His eyes widened in disbelief. “I-It couldn’t be!” He thought to himself. “Even to this day, I still have to heal your wounds, Kenshin” She said giggling as she finished healing his body. “M-Miss Megumi?” Kenshin said in a pure state of shock. “It’s good to see you again after all these years Kenshin.” She said as she pulled the human into the tightest hug he had ever felt. > A Glimspe of the Future > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Glimpse of the Future Kenshin stood with sakabato in hand and wearing full body armor that Celestia and Luna both created with their own magic along with the help of their finest blacksmiths, it bore both the of the Princesses cutie marks as well as his herd mates cutie marks. He was in the place that had haunted his memories for years, the battle field. As he stood at the frontlines he saw thousands upon thousands of shadow warriors had lined the battlefield off in the distance. He turned to face the army that stood behind him, he saw the fresh young faces of the royal guards that would be helping him in this battle. Equestria had gone to war with Morte Aeterna and his armies, a being who was literally death himself. Off to the left side he saw Saito wearing his traditional Shinsengumi uniform with a bunch of ponies that stood behind him wearing the same exact uniform, they were the newly reformed Shinsengumi. To his right was Sanosuke who was wearing body and shoulder armor of his own, still wearing his cocky grin as he slammed his fist into the palm of his hand right before he picked up his zanbatō. “So, where’s ninja boy?” Sanosuke asked. “Working on a distraction to help us win this battle. He said that his distraction will be the signal for us to charge.” Kenshin answered “What’s the distraction?” The street fighter asked. “Don’t know, but he said we would know when we saw it.” Kenshin replied. Kenshin and his friends stood there silently as he thought about his herd, the love that they had for him and each other. He loved them with every fiber of his being. Pulled a picture out of his armor and stared at it intently. It was a picture of his herd on one of the happiest days of his life. The picture was of his lead mare Pinkie Pie lying in a hospital bed holding two sleeping foals in her arms as she wore a huge smile on her face. She had just given birth to a pair of healthy twins, a colt and a filly. She appeared to be very tired and exhausted if her disheveled hair was anything to go by. They were the most beautiful things he had ever seen. Surrounding her was the rest of his herd, the other elements of harmony surrounded her along with the Princess of the day and the Princess of the night. They were all part of his herd as well as his heart. In the picture Celestia’s stomach was noticeably bigger due to her current pregnancy. She was giddy with excitement at the fact that she was going to have Kenshin’s child. It was hard to believe that Celestia was actually Megumi, when she found out that she was with child she fainted. She had wanted to make Kenshin a prince but Kenshin turned her down. But Celestia said that he had no say in the matter as she signed the document for it to be official. Because of this, anypony that was a part of his herd was automatically considered royalty. At least he would be able to provide a comfortable lifestyle for the girls. His second mare Fluttershy, was also pregnant with his child along with Applejack. The rest of his herd was eagerly waiting to have children with him as well, he was more than happy to oblige. Kenshin remembered how excited the girls were when they found out about Fluttershy’s pregnancy. Pinkie ran up to the shy mare and pulled her into a deep and intimate kiss that took the breath not just out of her but of Kenshin as well when he saw it happen. Fluttershy passed out as a result from the kiss, when she finally woke up her only response was “I need new undies.” All the girls were intimate not only with him, but with each other as well. To Kenshin this was a huge shock, a huge and pleasurable shock that he welcomed happily and with open arms. He gave the picture a kiss and slid it back into his armor as a royal guard came running up to him. “Your highness, the changeling army has come to aid us as planned.” The guard said to which the red head nodded. “Also, one of the enemy commanders has entered the battlefield as well.” He continued as Kenshin saw Udo Jin-E off in distance. “Thank you soldier, as you were.” Kenshin said as the guard saluted and walk off. “Never thought that you would be a Prince, Kenshin. Of course I never thought that I would end up with a hot school teacher that’s a pony along with a cute DJ.” Sano said to which Kenshin chuckled. “I still can’t believe that you are still going to stick to that ‘I will never kill again’ oath even in the middle of a war.” Saito said with annoyance to which Sanosuke growled at the man. “This one will keep his vow no matter what.” Kenshin said. “Hmph, your funeral.” The Shinsengumi huffed. “Even now, you are a complete jackass you son of a bitch.” Sano huffed. “You know what, your right.” Saito said to the surprise of the street fighter. ‘H-Huh?” Sano said in confusion. “Before we charge into battle, I think I should tell you this Sanosuke. Even though I have given you a hard time and have tried to kill you on a regular basis, there is one thing about you that has never changed.” Saito said genuinely as a soft smile spread across his lips.. “W-What’s that?” Sanosuke stuttered. “You have been, and always will be my bitch.” Saito said with a sadistic smirk that caused the street fighter to lose his temper. “YOU SON OF B-” *BOOM!!!* The explosion shook the ground as a huge portion of the enemy army was blown away by a huge blast. “There’s the signal! CHARGE!” One of the guards screamed as everyone ran into battle, ready to lay down their lives for Equestria and their loved ones. As Kenshin ran into battle, he couldn’t help but feel that this was the beginning as he charged the oncoming army of shadow warriors. > Chapter 6.5 - The Shadow and the Archeologist > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 6.5 – The Shadow and the Archeologist *The Void* A man dressed in a dark navy blue sleeveless shozoku stood in the middle of a black and endless void. As he looked around he saw that he was not alone. Twenty feet away from him was a female draconequus who was standing in front of him with a smile. “My, my, you sure are cuter than what I thought.” She said with a grin as she floated in front of the man who had an expressionless stare leveled at the draconequus. “Who are you and where am I?” He asked, not taking his eyes off of the chaotic creature in front of him. “Where we are is not important, it’s where you’re going to be. As for who I am, I’m Eris. I am a draconequus, a being of pure chaos and the daughter of Discord!” She said as she floated in front of him. “Why am I here?” He asked while looking around. “Well usually my dad handles bringing you guys back from the dead like he did the last three times. But this time he brought you back but he’s too busy to handle the introduction so I’m filling in for him.” She said as she snapped her fingers, causing a chair made completely out of whoopee cushions, as she plopped down into the chair it made a loud fart sound for ten seconds straight. “Comfy!” She giggled as she got comfy in the chair as the man approached her. “What do you mean by ‘the last three’?” He asked in calm and smooth voice as Eris smiled. “Well, your old friends Kenshin Himura, Sansosuke Sagara, and Saito Hajime have been brought to this world just as you have.” She said as the man standing in front of her remained calm but she could tell that she caught his attention. “For what purpose?” He asked. “Something about needing you guys to help us against an ancient enemy; you know the usual cliché scenario.” Eris said to the human to which he tilted his head in confusion at the last part, but before he could say anything the chaotic offspring held a talloned finger. “Before you say anything, no I do not know the details. Dad didn’t tell me much of anything… I think he just wants to keep all the chaos for himself… Bastard.” She said with a pout. “So why do you need me here?” He asked. “Well we have two samurai and a street fighter. We need a ninja! That’s where you come in by cute hunky friend!” She laughed. “What makes you think I’m a ninja?” The man asked with a calm and calculating voice. “I know more about you than you think and you are definitely a ninja. Besides, don’t you want to reunite with your friends?” She said in a deadpan tone. “Yes I do wish to be reunited with them but I still want answers.” He said in a serious tone. Eris floated up to the man, mere inches from his face as she gave him a mischievous grin. “Well to get those answers you’ll either have to go to my dad or your friends. I would find your friends if I were you… My dad can be a dick when it comes to giving answers; in fact he makes everything difficult. But that’s just my opinion cutie.” She said with a wink. “Where do I find them?” He asked. “You can find Kenshin in Ponyville, the others are making their way there now so you can meet up with them there.” She said to which the man nodded. “Oh by the way here’s two gifts my dad told me to give you. The first one will hurt…a lot.” She said as she snapped her fingers, causing the man to fall to one knee, grunting in pain. As the pain subsided the man stood up. “What did you do to me?” He huffed in anger. “I made you younger, you are now eighteen years old. Oh and here, this is the second gift.” She said as she snapped her fingers making a bag of bits appear in his hands along with a what appeared to be a katana. “Those are bits, the local currency. There is enough there to last you six months.” She said to which the man put the bag into his coat. “Thanks.” He said. “No problem… Oh one more thing. Don’t tell anypony about me, only my father and you know of my existence and I wanna be the one to surprise everypony.” She said to which he nodded. “Good, seeya!” She said as she snapped her fingers, causing the man to disappear in a flash of light. “For a guy that is all about order, he sure knows how to cause chaos if his past is anything to go by.” She said with a blush. Eris sat back into her chair as a newspaper appeared in front of her which read. “IN RECENT NEWS, THE CRIME RATE IN FILLYDELFPHIA HAS DROPPED BY NEARLY 90% IN ONE DAY!” ______________________________________________________________________________ The man was falling through the bright morning air at a high rate of speed. As he was falling through the sky he saw that he was falling over a jungle filled tropical island that had a gigantic temple that was hidden away deep within. If it wasn’t for him being directly above the jungle then he wouldn’t have seen it. He was falling faster and faster with the wind rushing past him. As he came closer to the ground he saw that there was a giant opening in the top of the temple. The shinobi steered his body towards the opening in the roof and flew straight through it. He quickly readied his shuko and ashiko climbing claws and slammed them into the side of the temple walls, carving the spikes into them and slowing his decent down to a complete. (Shuko, hand spikes for climbing) (Ashiko, foot spikes for climbing) “That could have gone much worse.” He thought to himself Unfortunately it did when he heard the sound of fingers snapping, the rock from the wall crumbled, causing him to lose his grip and fall from wall. As he fell he heard another loud snap which caused a stone coffin inside of the temple to open up and become filled with pillows and feathers. As he safely fell inside of the coffin he heard a third snap which caused the coffin to close on him. “……Damn.” He said to himself. “Sorry, I just couldn’t resist!” He heard Eris’s voice echo in his head. _________________________________________________________________________ *Ancient temple* Daring Doo was exploring the ancient temple for any clues as to the where abouts of the ninja. She looked at the ancient temple that once housed an ancient and powerful clan of shinobi, but their name was lost to the sands of time. She saw that the temple was old and in a state of ruin. She walked into what appeared to be an armory with weapons that were hanging on racks and the walls. As she examined the weapons she noticed that most of them were in near mint condition, they must have had a preservation spell on them to protect them from the elements. She saw kasurigamas, ninjatos, katanas, spears, shuriken; along with hundreds of other exotic weapons that lined the walls. “These things must have been here for over ten thousand years… It’s almost as if everypony just up and left, leaving everything behind. What could have caused this?” She said as she walked into what appeared to be a library filled with thousands upon thousands of ancient scrolls and books. She walked up to them and began to peruse and check each one. She began to read some of them, when she saw that they were battle techniques and teachings of the shinobi, she knew that this was the find of the century as she filled her backpack as much as she could with the ancient scrolls. She pulled out her map and marked it on the map so that she could return with an archeological team to retrieve the artifacts and scrolls. As she put the map away she turned around only to see Ahuizotl and a bunch of pirates that were obviously working for him. Before she could say anything she was struck across the head with a lead pipe by one of the pirates, knocking her out. As she faded out of consciousness she saw Ahuizotl laughing to himself as he picked up one of the scrolls and laughed. “Finally, with the knowledge of the ninja I shall rule all of Equestria, then the world!” He bellowed as the mare finally faded into unconsciousness. ______________________________________________________________________________ The young man was quietly lying in wait inside of the stone coffin as he weighed his options. As he was about to exit the coffin he heard the sound of multiple voices talking and rummaging around the temple. He listened carefully as he was thinking of his next plan of action until he heard the voice of Eris. “Oh yeah I forgot to tell you, there’s a Pegasus mare that needs your help. Her name is Daring Do and she’s in trouble also she knows how to get to Ponyville and she’s the only way off the island. A group of pirates captured her. Ironic isn’t it?” Eris said with a chuckle. “Don’t say it.” The ninja said in an emotionless tone. “Ninja vs pirate! Who will be the strongest warrior!” She said telepathically to which the ninja sighed in annoyance as he heard the sounds of hoofsteps clopping against the ground, growing closer and closer. “Looks like it’s your time to shine Mare-ruto !” Eris giggled. “Who?” “A young mare with a blonde mane that dresses in an orange jump suit and calls herself a ninja, she always shouts ‘Believe it!’ when she rushes head first into every fight.” Eris explained. “Whoever this Mare-ruto is I can easily tell you that she is in no way a real shinobi.” The man said with no emotion in his voice what so ever. “Well, why don’t you show me how a real ninja gets his shit done, home boy!” Eris laughed. “……As you wish.” He said as the hoofsteps stopped right next to the coffin. He slowly opened the coffin just enough to see a pony that was standing just in front of the coffin with his back facing the coffin, the human could see that the pony was armed with a giant cutlass. Without wasting a second the man reached out and pulled the pirate into the coffin while locking him in a head lock. As the stallion struggled the ninja simply tightened his grip and held the pirate until he passed out. The man released the stallion and laid him down right next to him in the coffin. The human opened the coffin slightly again to check if there were more enemies, when he saw none he quickly but silently exited the stone coffin and silently took off into the deep dark depths of the temple. As he ran down an old stone hallway, the human came upon two earth pony pirates that were holding cutlasses in hand along with tiny hand crossbows. The ponies were too busy with their conversation that they didn’t notice the shinobi that hid in the shadows, ease dropping on their conversation. “Do you actually think that what the boss said is true?” The first pirate asked. “I don’t know, it sounds kinda of far-fetched if you ask me. I mean using that necklace to bring back some ancient ninja master. Seems like bullshit to me.” The second pirate said. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I heard the boss caught Daring Do. That bitch sure has one hot flank. I can’t wait to bend her over and have some fun with her, she’s one hot piece of flank.” The first pirate said as he turned to see that his comrade was gone. Before he could say anything else he immediately felt a vice like grip wrap around his throat and slam him against the wall. What he saw terrified him. Standing in front of him and choking him to death was an actual living breathing ninja. His was dressed in a black and navy blue sleeveless shozoku that covered his body along with a midnight black long sleeved shirt that he wore underneath. In addition he wore a mask that covered his face and head, only showing his eyes which were an icy cold blue that stared straight through the pirate’s soul. “……I’m so fucked.” The stallion said. “Yes… Yes you are.” The ninja said as he knocked the weapons out of the stallion’s hand while still maintaining the choke hold on his enemy. “Tell me where this Daring Do is.” The human ordered the pirate in a calm and cool voice that held a very deadly edge to it. “I don’t know what you’re talking abou-AGH!” The Pirate tried to lie but only felt an extreme surge of pain shoot through his hand as the ninja broke one of his fingers. “Don’t lie to me, I heard you talking to your friend about how you were going to rape her. Where is she?” He asked with no emotion in his voice. Just a cold icy tone which sent chills of fear down the stallion’s spine. “If I told you then my boss would kill me.” “What makes you think I won’t?” The shinobi said as he tightened his grip on the stallion’s windpipe causing him to gag. “A-Alright!*Cough* Alright! She’s in the holding cell in the burial chambers.” He gasped in pain. “Where are the burial chambers?” He demanded. “It’s in the center of the temple, you can’t miss it, it has four marked graves.” The stallion said rabidly in fear. “What is your boss Ahuizotl planning?” The ninja pressed on the stallion’s windpipe more. “I-I don’t kno- *CRACK!* AGH!” The pirate screamed as the shinobi broke another one of his fingers. “What is your boss planning? If you lie again I’m just going to kill you and interrogate another one of your friends. Got it?” The man stated with no emotion whatsoever. “H-He had us break into this ninja temple so he could get some scrolls or something that could teach him ninjutsu or something. He plans on raising some anienct ninja grand master from the dead so it can train an army for him. That’s all I know, I swear.” The pirate begged as a second pirate was slowly trying to sneak up on the human from behind. At that moment the hidden assailant lunged at the man with his sword drawn only for him to sidestep the attack causing the stallion’s sword to run his friend through. Before the stallion could even react to what was happening the ninja through an open palm strike the stallion’s chest which caused his heart to rupture and exploded. “Pathetic.” Was all the man said as he turned his attention to down the stone hall for a few seconds before taking off into a dead run. (Start Song) (This is a fast paced scene) The ninja was now a man on a mission. He dashed down the hallway as silent as death itself. As he was coming upon the end of the hallway he saw two pirates who were standing guard. They never heard him coming as he pulled out a kunai knife and stabbed it into the first pirate’s carotid artery causing blood to splurt out everywhere in time with his heartbeats. Before the second pirate could even scream for help, the tall man disappeared from in front of the pirate and reappeared behind him. The man’s left hand was placed on the back of the stallion’s head while his right hand was placed just under the stallion’s chin, gripping it tightly. With little effort he jerked the pirates head to the right, snapping it like as it made a dull ‘CLICK!’ sound. He quickly dragged both of the bodies into the shadows and took off again. As he tried to make his way to the center of the temple he saw that he was coming upon a tall wall that once had a stair well which had crumbled away to time. This was of no concern to the ninja however as he leaped through the air and used his shuko and ashiko to climb the fifty foot wall like a spider as if it were nothing as he made it to the top. The man made it to the top of the wall in a matter of seconds. But as he was hanging from the ledge he saw another pirate that was a unicorn who was standing at the ledge. The pirate never noticed the silent assassin who reached up and grabbed his ankle and yanked him off the ledged and letting him fall to his death as he screamed for a few seconds as he fell to his death only for it to be cut off as he hit the ground with a sickening crunch. The ninja knew that the pony’s scream would attract more enemies. He pulled himself up and leaped up into the rafters of the old temple and hid as two Pegasus flew to where they heard the scream. “What are these creatures?” The man thought to himself as he noted their features. He was intrigued to see that this particular type of enemy could fly. He pulled out a shuriken and hurled it at the flying pirates. The shuriken found their marks in the Pegasus’s necks. Blood shot from their now severed jugular veins as they fell to the ground; they died before they ever hit the ground. The shinobi then continued to move on as he leaped through the rafters silently and found his way into an old armory. He saw two unicorn soldiers that were different than the other enemies that he was fighting. As he stared at the two he could definitely tell that they were different than the pirates that he encountered, these guys had specialized armor that was a metallic black that covered the shoulders, chest, legs, shins, and they had masks that covered their faces, they each wore a knight’s sword at their sides. Just by looking at these two he could tell that they were trained, very well trained… But not trained enough. At that moment one of them was bending backwards slightly in an attempt to stretch his back. When the unicorn did his gaze turned upwards and he spotted the lone ninja up in the rafters. “HOLY SHIT!!!” The unicorn shouted as the ninja dove out of the rafters and slammed a flying kick into his windpipe, crushing it as if it were nothing. At that moment the second armored unicorn realized what was happening lunged at the man and threw two rapid punches followed by a kick. The shinobi was able dodge the strikes easily before he threw a roundhouse kick to the unicorns head, sending him stumbling backwards in pain. “You’ll never win but you are more than welcome to try.” The ninja said mockingly. At that moment the stallion drew his sword as his horn glowed with magic. This caused the human’s eyes to go wide as the unicorn fired a bolt of magic at the man. At that moment the man dodged the attack out of pure reflex by flipping sideways and out of the way of the blast. The man could not believe what he just saw. At that moment he found himself covered in a red aura only for it to disappear. The unicorn was confused by the fact that he could not grab the man with his telekinesis. But he quickly shrugged it off as he lunged at the man with his sword, slashing and cutting at him only for him to vanish and appear behind him or o his side whenever he dodged the attacks. This pissed of the stallion. “Why aren’t you drawing your sword?” The stallion growled as he noticed the Japanese long sword strapped to the man’s back. “There’s no reason for me to use it against a weakling like you.” The human said while smirking under his mask. This caused the stallion to scream in rage as he lunged at the ninja only for him to grab him by the wrist and flip him onto his back, turning the stallion’s sword against him as he stabbed it into the unicorn’s skull. As the unicorn died more pirates and ponies wearing the black armored suits came rushing into the armory with weapons drawn while others grabbed some of the ninja weapons off of the walls, thinking that it would even the odds and give them a fighting chance. The man simply grabbed a bow staff from the wall and took a stance. Everything was silent as everyone stared at each other. As the sun shined through the hole that was in the roof of the armory as he stood there. Then all at once, everypony attacked the man. The first two lunged at the man and slashed at him only for their attacks to blocked or parried by the bow staff. The man simply stabbed the end of the bow staff into the first pirate’s throat with so much force that it not only crushed his windpipe but snapped his neck as well, killing him instantly. He then swung the bow staff and slammed it into second stallion’s skull, caving it in as if it were nothing. But before he follow up with another attack the bow staff was yanked out of his grasp by the magic of one of the unicorns who had a smirk on their face. At that moment one of the pirates who had managed to grab a Kasurigama, hurled the weighted end of the chain at the man. The chained weight was thrown so sloppily that it was easy for the ninja to avoid the weight and catch the chain. Once he had the chain in his grasp he yanked it, pulling the pirate towards him and snatched the chain sickle from his hand. Before he could even react the man slashed the pirate’s throat with the sickle of his newly acquired Kasurigama. As blood spurted everywhere he began to spin the weight that was connected to the end of the chain with his left hand as he held the sickle with his right hand. One of the armored ponies lunged at the man with his sword drawn only for the shinobi to throw the chained weight at the stallion. The chain wrapped around the sword and before the stallion could even react it was yanked from his grasp and sent flying through the air and straight into another armored pony’s skull. As the body hit the ground, the man lunged at the now disarmed pony and stabbed the sickle straight into the chest and into his heart. As he yanked the sickle out of the stallion’s chest and let the body slump to the ground, he turned to see that there were twenty five enemies left. “You’re outnumbered! Just give up!” One of the pirates shouted. “And you are out matched.” The masked shinobi said causing his enemies to seethe with rage. “You must be an idiot to think you can defeat us!” One of the pirates shouted only for the chained weight to slam into his skull with such force that it cracked the stallion’s skull and killed him. Another armored stallion lunged at the man with a pair of sais only for the man to hurl the weight at his legs, causing it to wrap around one of his legs and pull him to the ground, the ninja leaped through the air and landed on the armored stallion’s chest, crushing his chest and ending his life. He then hurled the sickle at another stallion which found it’s mark in his forehead, adding another corpse to the body count. The shinobi then grabbed the two sai off of the dead pirate and readied himself as seven pirates charged at him. The first one slashed at the human only for him to catch the blade with the one of the sais and stabbed him with the second on the heart. As he yanked the sai out of the stallion’s chest as the second one came at him. The pirate unleashed a flurry of strikes on the man who simply blocked every strike with the Sais. The pirate then slashed at the shinobi’s throat only for the blade to be caught by the sai. The man twisted the sai, causing the blade to be flung out of the pirate’s hand and clatter to the ground. The man then stabbed one of the sais straight into pirates brain. As a third one tried to strike the man with his sword he caught the blade with one sai and twisted it causing it to snap the sword while he hurled the other sai into the skull of another enemy. He then quickly snapped the neck of the pirate with the broken sword right before he hurled a flurry of kunai at the three other charging ponies, filling them with knives as the hit the ground dead. (End Song) At that moment a few of the pirates ran to the wall and grabbed some of the weapons. What caught the eye of the ninja was that a few of them managed to grab a short looking sword. “Hm, you do not even know how to use that weapon, do you?” The human asked in a calm and monotone voice as he walked towards one of the pirates who was now shaking. “W-What the fuck does it matter, it’s just a weapon and I’m gonna slit your throat with it!” The stallion screamed. “It’s a called a Kodachi and in the hands of a master it’s possibilities are endless.” The ninja said as he tore off his outfit along with his mask only to reveal a man with raven black hair and piercing blue eyes that was wearing a white trench coat that had a gold trimmed collar. Underneath was a navy blue shozoku along with black leather boots. Everyone was shocked at what they saw. The man then raised his sword in front of him with one hand firmly gripping the end of the saya while his other hand gripped the handle firmly. “I don’t know what the fuck you are, but there is no way you’ll be able to draw that long sword fast enough to stop all fifteen of us!” The pirate screamed as he and the fourteen other pirates all lunged at the man. “When you get to hell, tell them that Aoshi Shinomori sent you and then apologize on my behalf for the inconvenience.” Aoshi said as he drew two kodachi’s from the same scabbard and slaughtered all fifteen pirates in one strike. ______________________________________________________________________________ *POV: Daring Do - 3 Hours Later* The young adventurer slowly came to as she slowly woke up. She put a hand to her forehead , she winced in pain as she felt the lump on the side of her head from the blow she took earlier. “Well, it seems that you are finally awake Miss Do.” A familiar voice said as she went wide eyed when she saw the owner of the voice. “AHUIZOTL!!!” Daring Do screamed in anger as she saw her number one enemy. “You bastard, what the hell are you doing here?” She demanded. “Ah yes, well I’ve been following you for quite some time. I knew you were searching for this very temple. All I needed to do was follow you to the treasure and with you out of the way it’s all mine.” Ahuizotl said. “Treasure? What treasure?” The tan Pegasus asked with confusion until it dawned on her. “The scrolls!” She shrieked. “Correct miss do, I have been searching for these scrolls for quite some time.” He said as he stared at one of the scrolls that he held in his hands that he grabbed from the many others that were hidden away in the temple. “These scrolls carry the ancient knowledge of the ninja of the past. Within these scrolls are ancient battle tactics that are far more superior to even the most elite of combat training that is available to this day. With this knowledge I could easily amass and train a deadly army to take over all of Equestria and then the world.” He said with a demented grin. “You bastard, those belong in a museum for the whole world to see and learn from!” Daring shouted as she gave her arch enemy a murderous glare. “Oh you poor naïve child, you have no idea what the knowledge that these scrolls and books hold. These tomes on the art of ninjutsu were written by the greatest ninja clan to ever exist! The Poniwabanshu!” He stated, his grin getting disturbingly wider. “The ninja could easily take down any opponent, no matter who they were. When royalty would call on them for their services they would quiver in fear and for good reason. Ninja made the rules, not royalty. Imagine it, the power to make even the Princesses bow before you in fear. That power is mine now!” He laughed as Daring Do gave him a death glare. “It’ll never work, just because you have the books doesn’t mean that it’ll work. It’s not the same as having an actual ninja train you.” She declared in defiance. “Ah, you see that’s where you are wrong my dear.” He said as he pulled out a talisman that was on a silver chain which had a pendant that held beautiful ice blue sapphire on it. Deep inside the sapphire was a faint glowing light. “According to the scrolls, the leader of the Poniwabanshu can be summoned back from the dead with this talisman and will do the bidding of the one that wields it and that just so happens to be me.” He said with a smirk. “You’re insane! Do you have any idea what you’re unleashing!?” She shouted causing Ahuizotl to laugh mockingly. “When I bring back the ninja, my first order for him will be to gut you alive.” Ahuizotl said as he busted out in laughter as he walked off, leaving the mare by herself in the cold and dark cell. “Dammit, I can’t believe that I got caught… Ok, think Daring. You can do this, just gotta figure out how to escape and stop Ahuizotl.” She said as she went up to the cell’s bars and took a look around to see how many guards there were. She saw many pirates that were standing guard or patrolling around the area. As she surveyed the area she saw that it was a burial chamber that was filled with many graves that belonged to the ninja that once lived and ran the temple. But four graves stood out as they sat in the middle of the burial chamber. They were in a circle as they surrounded what appeared to be an altar of sorts. As she looked around some more she saw a pirate that was too busy getting drunk to even do his job. She figured she might be able use this to advantage to escape but before she could, she saw a pale hand come out of the shadows and clamp over the pirates mouth and dragged him into the shadows without a trace. Then after a few seconds of what happened Daring Do saw something that sent chills of fear down her spine. In the darkness she could just barely make out a tall thin figure in the shadows. It had raven black hair and pale white skin; it appeared to be a primate of some sort. It was obviously a male judging by its appearance it, he wore a pale white/grey trench coat and in his hands were what appeared to be two short swords. She identified them as Kodachi’s thanks to her endless hours of research on Neighponies culture. As she saw the ninja weapons in his hands and saw his stealth skills it dawned on her. This stallion was a ninja. He had to be! The way he moved and carried himself screamed that he had power and skill that was far beyond anypony’s comprehension. What terrified her most were its cold and piercing blue eyes that felt as if they were peering directly into her soul and through it. The creature then simply brought a finger to his lips in Sh gesture, signaling her to remain quiet as he stepped back into the shadows and disappeared without a trace. Daring Do could not believe what she had just seen. She was both terrified and excited. Was he helping her? She didn’t know but she could only hope that he was. But as she looked around the whole entire room she saw that the pirates that were standing guard were all starting to disappear. “Does he have a whole team of ninja with him? Yes, that has to be it! There’s no way he can be taking them down all by himself!” Daring Do thought to herself as the last of the guards disappeared into the shadows by the hands of the ninja. As the room was now practically empty Ahuitzotl took no notice as he stood at the altar that was surrounded by the four grave stones that read: Scorched Shadow – The burnt shinobi Scarred Strength – The muscle stallion Venom Strike – The poison master Dragon Breathe – The stallion who breathes fire Ahuitzotl simply shrugged it off as he stood at the altar and laid the sapphire necklace/talisman on the pedestal, he took a knife and sliced the palm of his hand just enough to draw blood and let it poor on the sapphire, causing it to glow. As it glowed he pulled out a scroll and began to read its contents out loud to which the gem glowed more and more. The chanting was in another language to which not even Daring Do could understand. In the meantime, while Ahuitzotl was busy with his ceremony, Daring Do was busy trying to pick the lock to her cell with a set of lock picks. As she tried to unlock the door to her cell she felt a hand cover her mouth and pull her into the shadows. She tried to scream but it was useless, her screams were rendered silent by the hand covering her mouth. As she began to panic she heard the voice of the owner of the hand. “Shhhhh.” He said gently. “It’s okay; I’m not going to hurt you. I’m here to rescue you. Now I’m going to let go of you but I need you to stay calm. You can’t scream under any circumstance. Do you understand?” He said in a calm but ice cold voice. Daring Do nodded as she let out a muffled ‘Mhm’. “Good.” He said as he removed his hand from the mares mouth to which she quickly turned around to see who was behind her. When she did her eyes became as wide as saucers. “W-What are you?” She gasped in surprise as she saw the man standing in front of her. “Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing?” He replied calmly. “I-I’m a pony, a Pegasus to be exact. My name is Daring Do… What about you?” She stuttered nervously as she looked into his ice blue eyes. She didn’t know why but his eyes may have been as cold as ice but they were making her face heat up as she blushed. “That would explain a lot… I’m a human by the way.” He said. “I-I can’t believe it… I’m standing in front of not only a human, but a human that is a ninja… This…This is the discovery of a life time! No! The discovery of a millennium!” She said with a look of adventure and glee in her eyes. The shinobi could only raise an eyebrow at the tomboyish mare’s antics. “What are you talking about?” Aoshi asked with a sigh. “You! You’re a ninja, you guys have been gone for over ten-thousand years! Where did the ninja go? What are they doing now? Who do you work for? Where’s your team? Who are you? What clan are you from? Why did-” She was silenced as Aoshi put his hand over the mares mouth to silence her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about on some of those questions. Also, I don’t have a team with me.” He replied. “What do you mean you don’t have a team? Are you expecting me to believe that you took down all those pirates by yourself?” She questioned him in disbelief. “Belief what you want. But it does not change the current situation that you need to be rescued.” He stated coldly. “Who are you ninja?” She questioned as she pointed a finger at him. “I am Aoshi Shinomori.” He stated. “Alright Aoshi, how do I know that you’re not really working for Ahuizotl and this is some kind of trick, huh.” She said as her eyes narrowed with suspicion. “I do not work for this ‘Ahuitzotl’ nor do I know him. Besides, why would your enemies try to trick you once they have already caught you and have you at their mercy?” He answered. “Oh, uh heh heh… you have a point there.” She said as she nervously scratched the back of her head as a blush crossed her face. “We need to get out of here before they notice the missing guards.” He said as he approached the door, but before he could attempt to open it Daring stepped in front of him and smiled a cocky grin. “Don’t worry, I got this. Let the mare handle this.” She said with a wink as she tried to pick the lock again. As she tried to open the old cell door she found it more difficult than she first thought it would be as the lock refused to corporate with her and open as she fumbled with the lock picks. “Need some help?” Aoshi asked. “No, no. I got this. This is a job for a mare.” She said which confused Aoshi as he wondered what she meant by that but he decided to give her two more minutes tops. The mare kept trying to get the lock open until the man finally lost his patience and walked up to the door. “What are you-” Daring Do was cut off as the man simply punched the cell doors rusty lock, causing it to shatter into dust. “Now that that is out of the way let’s go.” Aoshi said to the awestruck mare as he quietly pushed the cell door open. “H-How did you do that!?” Daring Do demanded. “Years of training.” He simply said with no emotion what so ever in his voice. “Wow, you’re much different than the ninja’s that are portrayed in the media.” She said. “Really? How are we portrayed?” He asked with a raised eyebrow. “Well mostly as action heroes like in Mare-ruto. But sometimes like this.” She said as she pulled out her cell phone and showed the man a video. The man was silent as he just stood there with no emotion on his face what so ever. His emotionless expression began to creep the mare out as he continued to stand there like a statue. “Aoshi?… You okay?” The mare said as she put the phone away. “What…The hell…Was that?” He said as he his eye twitched slightly in annoyance at what he just saw. “That was just some random video. Why?” She said in confusion only for Aoshi to run a hand down his face he turned to face her. “Why did you come here to this shinobi temple?” Aoshi asked Daring Do. “Well I’m an adventurer, archeologist, a book writer, and I sometimes fill the role of a college professor from time to time when I’m bored. I came here trying to find out some information on the ancient ninja clan that lived in this temple thousands of years ago. The clan’s name was thought to have been lost to time but Ahuizotl said the clan’s name was the Poniwabanshu. My goal was to see if I could find any artifacts that could help me and my colleges find out more about the history of the ninja. But I found something even better. You!” She said the last part with excitement in her voice as she latched onto the man’s arm. The man looked at the mare with a raised eyebrow which caused her face to turn red with embarrassment when she realized what she was doing. She immediately let go with a blush on her face. “What did you say the name of the clan was again?” He asked with seriousness. “The Poniwabanshu, why?” Daring asked while tilting her head to the side in confusion. “No reason, the name is just very similar to another name that is of great importance to me. But I will be sure to stop this Ahuizotl for you though.” He said. Daring Do decided to let the subject drop when she saw the look on the man’s face. “We got to move and get out of here while we still can.” He said to which Daring nodded. “Okay but once we get out of here you going to tell me everything you about yourself and ninja culture.” Daring said with a determined look on her face as she faced the man who was much to her surprise smirking. “Oh really? What makes you think I’ll tell you anything?” He said with a quirked eyebrow while still maintaining his smirk. “Y-You have to tell me! You’re the find of a lifetime; you’re possibly the only ninja alive! Your knowledge is the treasure that everypony around the world will seek! It needs to be shared with the world! You are probably literally the last of a dying breed; we need to get you some students so you can keep your way of life alive, you’ll probably be classified as a protected and endangered specious!” The mare said with determination in both her voice and eyes as approached the man. “Think carefully about what you have just said child, you are asking a shinobi to step out of the shadows and reveal himself to the world when a shinobi’s life revolves around staying hidden and in the shadows.” Aoshi explained to the young mare who reminded him of his old student Misao. “W-What!? I am not a foal! Do these look like the flanks of a foal to you!” Daring Do said as she turned around with her back side facing Aoshi and gave her flanks a nice smack with her hand which caused them to jiggle quite nicely in her green safari shorts. “Despite how lovely and voluptuous they are, we need to get going.” He said emotionlessly to the mare. “Okay fine- Wait what!?” The mare’s eyes widen as a blush spread across her face while she was walking to the cell door, her hooves clopping loudly against the stone floor. This caused Aoshi to turn towards her. “Your hooves make too much noise.” He said to the mare. “What?” Daring looked at the man angrily. “Your hooves make a clopping sound whenever you walk around.” Aoshi explained. “Well I can’t help it!” She said as the man pulled out two pieces of cloth. “What are you doing?” She asked with surprise when the man knelt down and grabbed one of her hooves and began wrapping the cloth around and then did the same to the other hoof. “There, your hooves won’t make a sound now.” Aoshi said as he got up. “Alright let’s do this.” Daring said as she faced the man and said something that caught him off guard. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you Aoshi.” Daring Do said to Aoshi with a sense of bravado. “…What?” “I said I’ll protect you. You are a stallion after all and it’s my job as a mare to protect you and take down all of the bad guys and pirates.” Daring explained to the man. “…I believe I am missing something here. I’m not a sexist in anyway or form but I have to ask but why would a mare protect a stallion.” Aoshi asked curiously causing Daring to look at him as if he grew a second head. “Why? Mares outnumber stallions ten to one, due to the lack of stallions! Due to the lack of stallions, mares have to protect the stallions. Mares have always been the dominant gender in Equestria, we mares have always been the protectors, the providers, and the leaders due to the small population of stallions.” She said to the man who just stared at her. “It’s the other way around were I’m from believe it or not.” Aoshi told the mare who looked shock at what he had just said. “Where are you from? Another world?” She asked while ti. “If only you knew.” Aoshi thought to himself. “We’ll I’m still going to protect-” She was cut off as she saw one of Ahuizotl’s elite mercenaries who was dressed from head to hoof in black armor with a raised sword already coming down on Aoshi’s head as he stood directly behind the man. Before the mare could scream a warning to the man, he disappeared only to reappear behind the mercenary and snap his neck as if it were nothing. Aoshi simply threw the body into a shadowy corner and simply turned to the mare that was now staring wide eyed at the man with fear and shock. But what disturbed her most was that his expression never changed, he just remained emotionless. “I-It looks like you can t-take care of y-yourself.” Daring Do said with a shaky voice. “Keep to the shadows and stay quiet, only talk if you really need to, okay.” Aoshi explained to which Daring Do nodded as they darted out of the cell and off into the shadows. Both with the same goal of stopping Ahuizotl in mind. ______________________________________________________________________________ *The Burial Grounds* Ahuizotl had just finished chanting the words that were written on the scroll and laid the sapphire gem necklace on the little slot on the altar. He looked around to see if anything would happen. He made sure to add his blood to the ritual just like the scroll had said so that the ninja would recognize and obey only him. Yet nothing happened. “Dammit, why the hell is the talisman not working! This thing was supposed to summon the leader of a great ninja clan, where the hell is he!” Ahuizotl said with anger while the pirates he hired stood guard. He couldn’t help but get the feeling that there were now a lot less pirates than before. “I’m right here.” Said a voice directly behind Ahuizotl that came from the shadows, Ahuizotl felt a razor sharp blade being pressed against his throat. But before anything else could be said the hand at the end of Ahuizotl’s tail shot forth and swung at the owner of the voice with a knife that was hidden only for the unknown assailant to dodge the knife with a backflip. Ahuizotl quickly turned around and faced the man that was standing behind him. “Who are you?” Ahuizotl asked with both curiosity and anger. “You asked for a ninja, well you got one.” Aoshi said with a cold stare. “Ah, so the ritual did work.” Ahuizotl said with a sadistic smile as he looked the man up and down while walking on top of the four graves which caught Aoshi’s eye to which he paid no mind to what the dog like creature was even saying at this point as he stared at the names and the epitaphs on the graves. Scorched Shadow – The burnt shinobi Scarred Strength – The muscle stallion Venom Strike – The poison master Dragon Breathe – The stallion who breathes fire Those four names reminded him so much of his four dead friends, Han’nya, Shikijō, Beshimi, and Hyottoko. “Hey! Are you listening to me? I am your new master now!” Ahuizotl ordered the man who simply ignored him as he began to approach the dog like creature. “You’re standing on the graves of fallen shinobi… Move.” Was all that Aoshi said as a few pirates got ready to attack the man only for Daring Do to come bolting out of nowhere and perform a flying tackle on the three pirates, sending them to the ground, knocked out. Compared to most Pegasus Daring Do was very strong thanks to all of her time adventuring and treasure hunting. “Take that you cowards!” Daring shouted in triumph. “How dare you talk to me like that I am-” Ahuizotl never got the chance to finish as he received a hard kick to the stomach. Both knocking the wind out of him and sending him flying back into a stone wall behind him. Ahuizotl was coughing for ten seconds before he slowly forced himself back up. “If that’s how you want to be then I will teach you some discipline.” Ahuizotl growled before he whistled out loud which caused two cheetah men like creatures walking out of the shadows. As he stared at them they charged at him at blinding speeds which horrified Daring. “Aoshi watch out! Those guys are his fastest and most elite-” Before the mare could even finish her sentence the man was already behind the two cheetah creatures with his two kodachi’s in hand. A second later blood was spraying from the two cheetahs throats as they both fell to the ground dead. “-dead bodyguards.” She finished in shock and awe. “Where the hell are my minions!” Ahuizotl bellowed in anger. “Dead.” Aoshi stated. “I-Impossible! Dammit ninja you will do as I command!” Ahuizotl screamed in anger to which the whole temple began to shake as the necklace began to glow and floated over off of the altar and flashed a bright blue light that temporary blinded everyone in the room. When the blue light faded everyone was surprised at what they saw. Standing in front Ahuizotl was a tall Pegasus stallion that wore a trench coat that was very similar to Aoshi’s. The stallion had a raven black mane and a grey coat of fur. But two things stood out the most about the stallion, the first was piercing blue eyes. The second was that he looked like a walking corpse. His mane looked like it had lost its luster and sheen while his eyes looked like they were glazed over while his fur looked like its fur’s color had faded. His wings were missing a few feathers as well. But what disturbed Daring Do the most was that the stallion looked like a pony version of Aoshi. “I am Lifeless Gaze and I am the leader of the Poniwabanshu.” He said to the evil treasure hunter whose eyes lit up with evil glee as he stared at the ninja in front of him. “I am your new master now, understand?” The Ahuizotl said. “Yes master.” Lifeless Gaze said with no emotion in his voice whatsoever. (Start Song) “Good, now kill that ninja and Daring Do.” Ahuizotl commanded to which the ninja nodded and leapt into action. The ninja pony lunged at the man, seeing him as the bigger threat of the two. The undead pony pulled out two kodachi’s from his trench coat and unleashed a flurry of slashes on the man. But thanks to Aoshi’s speed he was able to block every single attack. At that moment Lifeless Gaze spread his wings widely and shot into the air as he unleashed a flurry of shuriken at Aoshi. The human dodged the barrage with multiple backwards handsprings as the shuriken struck the ground. Aoshi then leapt into the air at the undead Pegasus as he himself unleashed a flurry of strikes with his kodachi all of which were blocked. They both landed back on the ground and leapt away from each other and put some distance between themselves. Daring Do could only watch in awe as her jaw hit the ground but she soon shook her head and snapped herself out of her awe and was about to fly over to Aoshi’s side only for him to stop her. “That would not be a wise decision.” Aoshi warned. “What are you talking about? I can help you Aoshi!” Daring explained as she hovered in the air. “You would only get in my way, this stallion is a trained killer and he would not hesitate to kill you.” Aoshi stated when in just that moment the stallion disappeared and reappeared in front of Daring Do causing the mare’s eyes to widen in surprise and fear but before he could strike the mare, Aoshi managed to jump in front of the mare and block the stallion’s kodachi and slam a kick into the stallions chest sending him flying back. “See what I mean.” Aoshi stated plainly. Daring could not believe it. A split second later and she would have been dead. Cut to pieces. She couldn’t stop shaking at the fact that she was so close to death. “DARING!” Daring was snapped out of her trance by the human. “Stay focused and go after Ahuizotl.” The man said to the mare as she nodded and flew after her arch enemy who was trying to escape. In that moment Lifeless Gaze took advantage of Aoshi be distracted and managed to deliver bone crushing punch to the man’s stomach knocking the wind out of him. Luckily the shinobi managed to recover and slash the stallion across the chest. The stallion examined his wounded chest. “Interesting… Your speed is quite remarkable but it will take much more than that to kill me.” Lifeless Gaze said with no emotion. “Funny, I was about to say the same thing.” Aoshi replied. Fighting this stallion made him feel like he was fighting himself. They both lunged at each other again. Lifeless Gaze delivered three swift slashes to Aoshi to which he dodged all of them. Aoshi ducked under one of the stallion’s wings that had a wing blade attached to it. Aoshi found the hidden weapon intriguing but remained focused on the fight as he slammed a bone crushing punch into the stallion’s chest followed by two rapid kicks to the chest along with a slash aimed at the Lifeless Gaze’s throat. But before the blade could slice the stallion’s jugular, Lifeless Gaze blocked the attack with his kodachi and delivered a flurry of slashes to the man. Aoshi tried to block all of them but unfortunately was overpowered by the sheer strength of the strike and screamed in pain as he was caught in a whirl wind of slashes that hit him all over his body. “Aoshi!” Daring Do screamed as she saw the man fall to the ground covered in blood. But just at that moment Ahuizotl threw a punch at her that she barely dodged in her shock and horror. She managed to deliver a flying tackle to her opponent. Meanwhile Aoshi managed to fling his body up and spin on his head while keeping his legs in a split. While he was spinning his feet were slamming over and over again into Lifeless Gaze’s face sending him flying backwards. The whole thing looked as if Aoshi were performing a deadly breaking dancing move. “Don’t worry about me, focus on your fight.” Aoshi said to Daring Do who nodded at the man before delivering a right hook to Ahuizotl’s jaw. The undead ninja stallion managed to right himself in midair and launch himself at Aoshi with his wing blades at the ready. Luckily, Aoshi ducked just in time for the wing blades to pass over his head and slice a few strands of his hair. As the Pegasus stallion was directly above the man, Aoshi drove his fist directly into the stallion’s stomach right before unleashing a flurry of rabid punches into the undead shinobi’s stomach. Aoshi followed up on his barrage with a hard kick to the stallions chin, sending him flipping backwards through the air. As the stallion righted him himself in the air once again, he heard a low hissing sound going through the air. What he saw made his eyes go wide as dinner plates. Directly in front of his face was a black ball like object that had a fuse that was sticking out of it that was lit. It was a bomb. *BOOM!!!!!!! (End Song) The blast shook Daring Do and the immediate area as she turned to see what was going on as she finished tying up Ahuizotl. Her eyes went wide at what she saw as smoke covered most of the area. “DAAAAAAAAAMN, AOSHI!!!! DID YOU HAVE TO BLOW HIM UP!?!?!? ONLY TEN PERCENT OF THE POPULATION IS MADE UP OF STALLIONS!!!! YOU GUYS ARE RARE!!!!” Daring Do shouted at the top of her lungs. “Considering how many stallions I’ve killed today that number has dropped by a lot.” Aoshi stated apathetically. “WHAT!!!” The mare shrieked at the top of her lungs. At that moment the two were brought out of their argument by a familiar voice. “SHINOBI!!! BY MY SIDE!!!” Lifeless Gaze shouted at the top of his lungs as Daring and Aoshi saw him standing relativity intact in the middle of the burial chamber as the smoke cleared. Daring was shocked by the fact that he was still alive while Aoshi knew that the stallion simply used his speed to avoid the brunt of the blast. At that moment the ground around the four graves began to shake and rumble as the whole temple began to quake. Ahuizotl began to smile dementedly at what he was seeing. At that moment the four graves that Aoshi saw earlier began to glow brightly with a bright cobalt blue light. They began to hear the loud groaning and moaning sounds that sounded like they came out of a zombie movie. At that moment the graves opened with a loud explosion as four undead ponies leapt out of their coffins. What Aoshi saw chilled him to the core as both happy and horrible memories of his past began to flood his minds. “I am Scorched Shadow, martial arts expert of the Poniwabanshu!” A heavily burnt zebra stallion said in a deep voice as he took a battle stance. Covering his heavily burnt body was a navy blue, sleeveless Shozoku that had a black trim on it while his arms had a black and white stripes on his arms. On his face was a Japanese styled demon mask. Aoshi’s eyes were wide as he stared at what looked like a pony version of Han’nya. “I am Scarred Strength, the strongest of the Poniwabanshu when it comes to physical strength!” A monster of an earth pony stallion shouted. He was an earth pony stallion with a sandy blonde coat with a dark brown mane that towered over Aoshi. His body was made of pure muscle while it was covered from head to hoof in scars. He wore only a pair of black pants. Aoshi couldn’t help but think of Shikijō as he stared at the stallion. “I am Venom Strike, master of poisons and potions for the Poniwabanshu!” A short thin gangly unicorn stallion with a black spikey mane and grey fur laughed dementedly. He wore a dark purple, loose fitting kimino. When he saw the unicorn in front of him he saw an image of Beshimi flash in his mind. “I am Dragon Breathe, fire breather of the Poniwabanshu!” An enormous Pegasus stallion with a blazing red coat of fur and a brown mane said with a huge belly that shook as he spoke. He had two bucked teeth on his top jaw along with two bucked teeth on his bottom jaw. The stallion looked almost exactly like Hyottoko if he were a pony. Aoshi was speechless at what he saw. These guys were basically like the pony versions of his best friends of the Oniwabanshu and it shook him to the core. He felt a huge wave of guilt hit him like a ton of bricks as he remembered how his friends sacrificed their lives for him. As Aoshi gripped his two Kodachi’s, he did something that he had never done before. He hesitated, and it did not go unnoticed. The four ponies lunged at the man. Scorched Shadow lunged at Aoshi first with such amazing speed that Aoshi could barely register the first strike before it hit him in the chin. The stripes on the Zebra’s arms made it look as though he had shorter arms than what he actually had. Aoshi was very familiar with this technique. It was Han’nya’s favorite technique. Aoshi tried to block the attack but he was still getting hit by every other strike. He received a hard kick to the stomach that sent him skidding backwards disoriented from the blood loss that he was suffering from the slashes that Lifeless Gaze gave him earlier and the punches he just received didn’t help either. At that moment Scarred Strength lunged at the bloodied and disoriented man. He slammed two bone crushing punches into the man’s chest and face. The punches sent Aoshi flying through the air as he felt explosions of pain all over his body as he hit the ground. “Dammit, I can’t stop seeing them when I look at these ponies!” Aoshi berated himself as he kept seeing his dead comrades every time he looked at the four ponies. Out of nowhere Venom Strike took advantage of the situation and fired a blast of purple magic blasts at the man. Each one of the blasts looked like darts that were made out of purple light and each one of them were poisonous. Aoshi managed to fight through the pain and dizziness that he was suffering from blood loss and injury as he blocked, sliced, and dodged each shot that was fired at him. As Aoshi dodged the last of the magic bolts he threw a few shuriken at the stallion only for him to teleport out of the way. Flying directly above the man was Dragon Breathe who took a deep breath and unleashed a huge blast of fire on the man who spun his kodachi in a circle at such a high rate of speed in order to block the fire based attack. Aoshi heard before that Kenshin used a similar technique in order to block Hyottoko’s breath. Unfortunately he due to the short length of his kodachi he was not able to block all of the fire, only the brunt of it. He felt his arms and shoulders get burnt and scorched as he grunted in pain. After a few seconds the fire attack stopped only for Venom Strike to launch another blast of magic at the human. Aoshi slashed the magic bolt only for Dragon Breathe to go wide eyed and dart away from him. As Aoshi’s blade sliced through the magic bolt it exploded into a giant purple cloud of poisonous gas which sent Aoshi into a coughing fit as he unfortunately inhaled the poisonous gas. “AOSHI!!!” Daring screamed as she was about to fly to the man’s aid only for him to stop her. “Stay *COUGH* back! *COUGH* This stuff is pure *COUGH* poison! *COUGH*” He said as he coughed his lungs out. “They look so much like them and they use the same techniques as them. I’ve never been in a situation like this before. It’s like I’m fighting the Oniwabanshu. For the first time in my life and I can’t believe I’m saying this but… This is just too much even for me.” Aoshi thought to himself as he was coughing, his lungs felt as if they were on fire as his muscles ached and burned. He tried to stand up but found he couldn’t even budge from the spot as Lifeless Gaze was walking towards him. “Don’t bother trying to move, Venom Strike’s poison attacks the central nervous system. You’re lucky to even be breathing. Without an antidote you’ll be dead within the hour. You would literally have to be a master of poisons in order to have a chance of even making an antidote.” Lifeless Gaze said as he came closer to the man and raised his sword in preparation to strike. “I can’t believe I failed you guys. For all I know those ponies are probably your ghosts in disguise seeking vengeance on me for failing to protect you my comrades. I am sorry my old friends, I have dishonored your memory… I wish I could see you all one last time.” Aoshi said mentally. But what Aoshi and everypony didn’t see was the light blue lights glowing above them. Lifeless Gaze brought down his kodachi causing Daring Do to scream. “AOSHI!!!” She screamed as the sword came down on the ninja but before the blade could even slice into Aoshi’s skull, four bright bursts of bright blue light shot down from the day time sky and landed with an explosion, sending the five undead ponies flying backwards from the sheer force of the blast and causing rubble to fall on them and burry them. When the smoke cleared Daring went wide eyed at what she saw. Aoshi could barely see at this point as his vision became blurry from the poison coursing through his body. He felt someone grab his right arm and stabbed something in it as if they were giving him a shot. Due to the poison’s effect he couldn’t even stop whoever it was from doing it. “Here you go leader, this should help cure the poison instantly.” A very familiar voice said to Aoshi. As the antidote hit his system he instantly felt much better as his vision began to return to normal. What he saw nearly made his heart stop. He saw Beshimi kneeling in front of him with his signature toothy grin. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Aoshi’s attention was turned to another very familiar voice. “It is good to see you again leader and it appears that you need some help.” A deep voice said to the man. Aoshi’s eyes were the size of saucers now at what he saw. It was Han’nya wearing his signature demon mask and standing with him was Shikijō and Hyottoko. “B-But you’re all dead.” Aoshi said in disbelief as he stared at his dead friends. He noticed that they were all glowing a light pale blue. “Indeed we are.” Han’nya answered. “Then how are you here? I saw you all die that day at the mansion.” Aoshi asks his ghostly comrades. “We’re ghosts, that’s about the just of it.” Han’nya answered. “This is probably not the best time for this but I have a question leader… I understand you were grieving and all when we died. but...WHAT THE HELL MAN! WHAT WAS WITH THE WHOLE DECAPATING OUR DEAD BODIES AND RUNNING OFF INTO THE NIGHT WITH OUR SEVERED HEADS!?!?!?” Beshimi shouted at Aoshi. “I…will admit… I was probably not in the right state of mind when I did that.” Aoshi said reluctantly to which all four ghost ninja stared at the man with a deadpan look. “Uh huh.” They all said sarcastically. At that moment Daring Do flew to Aoshi and landed in front of the man as he stood up to his full height. “Aoshi! You’re okay, thank Celestia you didn’t die!” She said excitedly until she saw the four ghostly shinobi. “And who might you be?” Shikijō asked the mare politely with a raised eyebrow. “I’m Daring Do, who are you? Are you here to hurt Aoshi? I won’t let you!” Daring said as she stood in front of Aoshi ready to protect him. The four shinobi could only stare at the young Pegasus mare standing in front of them that was taking a Karate stance. They all stared at her with perplexed looks on their faces before they all busted out into laughter causing the mare to get angry and flushed with embarrassment. “She’s like a pony of Misao, a cute little pony version of Misao.” Hyottoko said with a good hearted laugh. “Who the hay is Misao?” She asked. “She was a student of mine, she is now a legendary shinobi.” He answered the mare who was surprised. As he turned to the four ghosts in front of him. “So what are you-……What?” Aoshi couldn’t help but feel that these guys were up to something as he saw the four ghost men snickering and biting their lips to prevent themselves from going into full blown laughter. “Nothing.” Hyottoko said barely able to contain his laughter. “Soooo… gender roles are reversed here?” Shikijō snickered as well. “…From what Miss Daring Do has told me…Yes…Why do you ask?” The man asked with suspicion. “Nothing, nothing at all leader……We were just imagining you as a house wife wearing a cooking apron was all.” Han’nya said as he and the rest of his group all busted out into laughter. They all laughed even harder when they saw Daring drooling at the image in her head. Aoshi face palmed at this while Daring was off in her own little world. ______________________________________________________________________________ *Meanwhile in Daring Do’s mind* “Honey, I’m home!” Daring Do said as she walked into her and her husband’s home. She closed the door behind herself as she walked into the living room as Aoshi came from the kitchen wearing a pair of black pants and a black long sleeved shirt, covering his clothing was a light pink cooking apron with hearts on it and in his hand was a soup ladle. “Welcome home honey. How was your day sweetie?” Aoshi asked with a loving smile as he kissed his wife on the lips as he blushed. “Oh you know same as usual. Dodging traps, finding treasure, and defeating Ahuizotl at his own game!” Daring said with a smile on her face as she returned the kiss. “Oh that’s good, you’re always so brave honey.” Aoshi said with a gentle smile on his face. “How was your day my lovely ninja?” Daring asked with a warm smile. “Oh you know, a stallion’s work is never done. The rest of our herd is still at work and the foals are taking a nap. So I took the time to make dinner for the two of us…Unless of course you want to do something else.” Aoshi said in a very soft and gentle voice as a huge blush spread across his face. “Oh I can think of something.” Daring said with a wiggle of her eyebrows as she picked a blushing Aoshi up and carried him to their bedroom. ______________________________________________________________________________ *Back in reality* Daring was standing there drooling at her own fantasy as her wings stood up as stiff as a board as they throbbed in arousal. What she didn’t know was that she was thinking out loud the whole entire time. When she came out of her fantasy she saw everyone staring at her intently, especially Aoshi. Han’nya, Shikijō, Hyottoko, and Beshimi all busted out into full blown nonstop laughter. Aoshi was just standing there completely silent and stock still as he was trying to process what he had just saw. “I……Have no idea how to respond to that.” Was all Aoshi said as his left eye began to twitch while he somehow managed to maintain his stoic expression. Meanwhile the four Oniwabanshu members were still laughing. Aoshi just gave them the glare of death to which they tried to stop laughing but they were failing miserably at it. “S-So who are you guys?” Daring Do said trying to change the subject as she saw the four Oniwabanshu staring at her. “The steroid junky with the scars is Shikijō, the short one with the creepy face who is wearing the kimono is Beshimi, the one with the giant belly that would make Santa Claus look anorexic is Hyottoko, and the guy wearing the Demon mask with the candy cane arms is Han’nya.” Aoshi said. “Hey, what’s the deal leader? This face is awesome!” Beshimi said angrily as he pointed at his own face. “You laughed at my expense, so I’ll laugh at yours.” Aoshi said calmly without any emotion in his voice whatsoever. “Why are you here?” Aoshi asked. “We saw that you needed help.” Hyottoko explained with a smile that all the others held as well. “Besides, we didn’t want you to have all the fun for yourself. These wannabe ninja are pathetic, how could you let them get the better of you like that leader?” Han’nya said to Aoshi which brought a smile to his face, but only for a second before he went back to his usual stoic expression. This caused Daring’s face to flush at the site of his smile, no matter how short it was. “It’s good to see you guys again.” Aoshi said with a smirk. At that moment the rubble began to shake and break apart as the four undead pony ninja emerged from the broken pile of ruins. (Start Song) “Took you long enough. Now… let’s get down to business.” Han’nya said as his claw blades came out of the knuckles of his gloves while Shikijō readied a giant ball and chain that was his weapon. Beshimi readied his poison darts while Hyottoko readied his fire breath. “What do we have here?” Lifeless Gaze said as he readied himself for a fight. Aoshi stepped forward and readied his blades. “I am Aoshi Shinomori and I am the leader and Grandmaster of the Oniwabanshu! We are the Oniwabanshu and you will die!!!” Aoshi screamed as he and his comrades attacked. Strangely enough, Daring Do could have sworn that she saw a smile on Aoshi’s face. When the two groups clashed the whole temple shook. Daring could only stare in shock at the battle that was taking place before her. Dragon Breathe unleashed a Jetstream of fire at Hyottoko. Hyottoko matched the blast fire with an even bigger blast of fire that knocked the pony back with extreme force. Dragon Breathe flew at Hyottoko and unleashed a blast of fire at him only for Hyottoko to slam a gut wrenching punch into the undead pony’s stomach, knocking the wind out of him. As Dragon Breathe fell to the ground in pain he saw Hyottoko take in a deep breath and unleash a torrent of fire that burnt him to nothing but a pile of ashes in one mighty blast. “Huh, that was pathetic!” Hyottoko said while wiping his mouth with a smile. Shikijō was tackled by Scarred Strength, when the undead pony’s body collided with the man’s, it felt as if he had just rammed himself into an unbreakable wall. He was sent sprawling to the ground. “You need to work out more… Also, stop copying me… It’s just creepy.” Shikijō said with a smirk as Scarred Strength started to slam strike after strike into him. Shikijō was taking punch after punch as if they were nothing. Shikijō began to spin the wrecking ball in his hand by the chain. He spun it so fast that it was making a ‘whirling’ sound. He slammed a kick into Scarred Strength’s chest sending him flying backwards; he managed to land on his feet only to get a giant wrecking ball to the face. Before the stallion could even scream in pain he felt another bone crushing blow and another over and over again as the wrecking ball hit him over and over again. Before the stallion could even recover from the onslaught, Shikijō threw the ball and chain to the ground as he wrapped his hands his opponent’s head and head-butted him with such force that it split Scarred Strength’s skull wide open causing blood and brain matter to splatter everywhere. “Huh, that was a joke!” Shikijō said with a smirk. Beshimi was dodging magical blasts left and right as Venom Strike kept up the barrage of poison magic darts. “Jeez, I thought that you would at least have some good aim. Guess I was wrong!” Beshimi said mockingly as he leaped back and forth from the sealing to the ground and between the stone pillars. “Don’t get cocky you son of a bitch!” Venom Strike growled as he launched another flurry of blasts each one exploding into dark purple clouds of smoke that engulfed Oniwabanshu member. “You may have been able to save your friend but you won’t be able to save yourself! This batch of poison is my strongest, it’s made purely from my blood! THAT’S RIGHT MY BLOOD IS PURE POISON!!!” Venom Strike bellowed only to feel multiple darts stab into his back. “What the-” Venom Strike began only to start coughing as his body felt as if it was on fire. “I’m a ghost if you haven’t noticed. I can’t be poisoned.” Beshimi answered with a demented grin spreading across his face that showed all of his teeth. “How did you poison me you bastard, I’m immune to all poisons!” Venom Strike demanded in between his coughs and pants of excruciating pain. “Simple really, since your blood is pure poison I just gave you the antidote to every poison known to man…and several known to monkeys!” Beshimi explained with a demented smile. “WHAT!!!” Venom strike shrieked. “Not to mention the shit load of sulfuric acid that I dumped into the batch for good measure.” Beshimi said to the undead pony whose eyes went wide as he began to scream in excruciating pain as he melted to nothing but a green slimy pile of goo. “Ew... That’s just nasty.” Beshimi said with a look of disgust as he stared at the remains of what used to be Venom Strike. Han’nya was ducking, dodging, and blocking every strike that Scorched Shadow was throwing at him. “In all my years I have never seen such sloppy fighting; I bet your mother wishes she swallowed you!” Han’nya said with a laugh as he caught the undead zebra’s fist with his hand and slammed a punch into his stomach followed by a roundhouse kick to the head which sent the zebra stallion stumbling backwards. “I am far stronger than you could ever hope to be!” Scorched Shadow bellowed in pure anger and rage as he made metal claws extend from his gloves and lunged at the man. This caused Han’nya to simply laugh at the stallion’s antics as he side stepped the strikes. “Why can’t I hit you!” The stallion screamed between strikes. “I already know the trick that you’re using kid, I invented it myself. The stripes on your arms as well as mine makes them appear shorter than what they are which lulls the opponent into a false sense of security allowing the user to take advantage of the opening and strike, making it appear as if they are over extending their arms.” Han’nya said as he made his claw blades from the knuckles of his gloves. Han’nya did a backflip kick to Scorched Shadow which struck him in the chin. Before he could recover Han’nya lunged at the zebra stallion so fast that he disappeared from right in front of him only to reappear behind him. They both stood there stalk still only for the blade claws on Scorched Shadow to fall apart from being sliced. Scorched Shadow’s body fell apart a few seconds later into a bloody pile of limps and guts. “It appears that they’ll anyone a ninja these days. How sad.” Han’nya said as steam came out of the mouth and sides of his mask. Han’nya and the rest of the Oniwabanshu turned to see Aoshi giving his fight against Lifeless Gaze everything he’s got. They knew better than to intervene. At that moment Daring Do tried to fly to Aoshi’s aid only for Han’nya and the others to stop her. “What are you doing!? Aren’t you going to help him!?” Daring shrieked. “He would only get upset if we got involved, this is his fight…Besides, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this happy before.” Han’nya explained to the young mare that only looked at the man with a confused look. “What do you mean happy! He’s always scowling!” She said as she saw Aoshi parrying and dodging Lifeless Gaze’s swords and wing blades with a grace and elegance that she had never before seen in her entire life. Even though he showed no emotion at all, he was fighting with new vigor and determination that he had not had for years. Aoshi felt happy that he was reunited with his friends. He felt…complete. He knew that his friends would probably have to go back to the afterlife very soon, but he would enjoy his time with them while it lasted. Aoshi ducked under a wing blade that passed over his head only to receive a barrage of rabid kicks from the undead Pegasus ninja. As each kick land a hit on Aoshi, a loud and sickening *POP!* and *SNAP!* could be heard which caused Daring to gasp in horror at seeing some of Aoshi’s limbs sticking slightly out of place. “Ha, Aoshi became a master of ninjutsu at the age of thirteen and the leader and grandmaster of the Oniwabanshu at fifteen. If you think that Aoshi’s in trouble then watch this.” Han’nya said as he pointed to Aoshi to which Daring Do kept her eyes glued on. What she saw next amazed her to no end. Aoshi simply forced himself to stand in an upright position as he straightened out his limbs which in turn forced his limbs to pop back into place with loud sickening cracks and pops. “Pathetic.” That was all Aoshi said as Lifeless Gaze’s wings fell to the ground in a bloody mess. The stallion was screaming in pain. Daring could only cringe at what she just saw. “H-How did you-” The stallion started only to be cut off. “I’m just too fast for you to even see.” Aoshi said as he decided to end the fight with a one of his favorite techniques. He lunged at the stallion and swung his sword at the pony but at a much slower rate than what he was doing before. Lifeless Gaze blocked it easily but when he did Aoshi vanished before his very eyes. Before Lifeless Gaze could do anything Aoshi began to disappear and reappear everywhere. It appeared as if Lifeless Gaze was surrounded by multiple Aoshi’s. “W-What is this?” Lifeless Gaze stuttered. “Kaiten Kenbu, it is a type of sword dance. Only one man ever survived this attack and you’re not him.” That was all Aoshi said as he struck. The effects were instant as blood shot out of three deep cuts that were in Lifeless Gaze’s chest causing the stallion to cough up blood as fell to the ground but before the stallion could say or do anything he heard a series of very familiar low hisses of bombs that were surrounding him. Aoshi felt that it was better to be safe than sorry. *BOOM!!!* The blast created by the bombs was huge as it shook and weakened the foundation of the whole entire temple. Out of the blast flew a scroll that looked surprisingly intact as it landed at the shinobi’s feet. Aoshi leaned down and picked it up, he carefully opened it. When he saw what was inside the scroll he carefully rolled it back up and put it in his jacket and walked back to his friends. (End Song) They all stood there staring at each other silently with the exception of Daring Do who just stood there with her jaw hitting the ground at what she had just seen. Aoshi eyeing the ghost’s with a look of melancholy that was hidden well from those who could not see it, but the four ghosts could see it clear as day. They stood there silently as Aoshi finally broke the silence. “…I’m sorry.” Aoshi said. “Aoshi, our deaths were not your fault. We choose to sacrifice our lives in order to save you.” Shikijō said with a gentle smile to which the others nodded in agreement as well. “But I-” “Every man is responsible for the path that he walks in life. Now it’s your turn to walk yours.” Han’nya said calmly. “What do you mean?” Aoshi asked with confusion. “You’ll just have to find that out on your own boss.” Hyottoko said with a smile a bright light started to appear from the sky above the four ghost ninja. “We’ll meet again one day leader. But until then, we’ll be watching over you… oh and your mother says hi.” Shikijō said with a gentle smile which caused Aoshi to nod. Aoshi couldn’t help but remember the woman that raised him and trained him in the art of ninjutsu, he missed her dearly but she trained him to be strong. Aoshi then bowed deeply to his fallen comrades as they in turned bowed to their leader. Surprisingly Daring Do joined in as well and bowed to the four Oniwabanshu members. “Until we meet again.” They all said as Aoshi saw as his friends faded away in front of him in a glowing blue light with smiles on their face. “Until we meet again.” Aoshi said as he turned around to face Daring Do. But at that moment they heard one last thing echo through the temple. “We still remember you as that same little boy that gave each of us a second chance at life.” The four ghosts said. This caused Daring to stare at the young man. “What the hell did they mean by that?” The mare asked while tilting her head. “It is a very long story.” The man said with a sigh. “Soooo…” Daring asked. “No.” Aoshi said. “Oh come on, there is definitely an amazing backstory here! Tell me!” She complained. “No.” He said as he walked over to the altar and picked up the sappire necklace. Ironically enough there was a few weapons such as a kasurigama, a pair of Sais, and a Wakasashi. Aoshi decided that he might as well take them with him as mementos even though he knew that he was probably never going to use them. “Please tell me!” She said as Aoshi held up a finger that signaled for the young mare to be quiet. “Where’s Ahuizotl?” Aoshi asked suspiciously. “He’s tied up over there…Aw shit!” Daring said as she saw that Ahuizotl was gone and had escaped. “You may have thwarted me this time Daring Do but you and that monkey will never make it out of here alive!!!” Ahuizotl shouted as he ran out of the burial chamber. As he ran, his tail hand tossed a magic bomb at one of the foundation pillars. “If I can’t have the knowledge of the ninja than nopony can!!!” Ahuizotl screamed in anger as the bomb went off and destroyed the pillar which caused the whole temple to start shaking as it began to fall apart. “Ahuizotl you bastard!” Daring shouted. “Forget him, this place is coming down fast!” Aoshi shouted over the sound of the temple collapsing. “But the scrolls!” Daring shrieked. “They’re not worth your life!” Aoshi shouted as Daring nodded reluctantly. They both took off running towards the exit just as the pillar fell in front of the exit. But at that moment a giant ball of light blue fire came out of nowhere and blasted the pillar into pieces. “Like we said, we’ll be watching over you.” The voices of his fallen comrades echoed in his head. As they ran through the tunnels they both kept ducking and swerving their ways past falling debris. As they kept running they saw daylight at the end of the tunnel. Aoshi quickly picked up Daring Do and carried her bridal style as he picked up his pace and ran at full speed. Aoshi managed to leap through the temple exit and out of the temple right as the whole temple collapsed in on itself and became nothing but a pile of rubble. “NOOOOO! Ahuizotl got away! All the scrolls are gone! The ninja arts are lost forever!” Daring complained with groan. “Here.” Aoshi said as he handed the mare the scroll and sapphire necklace that he picked up earlier. The Pegasus quickly snatched them from the man’s hand as she opened the scroll and looked at its contents. “Thanks Aoshi but this is just one scroll out of thousands.” Daring said as she sighed in disappointment. “Those were fakes.” Aoshi replied. “What?” “Most shinobi keep all of the knowledge and arts inside one giant scroll or book. But to protect that scroll we leave thousands of beginner’s level tomes in a fake library to draw attention away from it. Besides, if anything important was in those scrolls it’ll definitely be this.” Aoshi explained to the mare who’s eyes lit up. “That’s…GENIUS!!!” She said to the man who was now walking off. “H-Hey! Where are you going!?” Daring demanded as she chased after the man. “To Ponyville to find a man by the name of Kenshin Himura.” He said while still continuing to walk away. “You can’t leave, you’re a walking treasure trove of knowledge and experience! You are literally the last ninja in existence! Besides my blimp is the only way off of this island.” She said which caused the man to stop in his tracks. “I’m heading that way anyway but I might have to make a few stops along the way. After how you saved my life, the least I can do is give you a ride… Besides I’m not letting you get away.” She said while putting her hands in her pockets. “Very well, thank you. Besides, I have the strangest feeling that no matter how far off the grid that I would go or hide, you would somehow find me.” Aoshi replied with a sigh to which the mare who could only giggle. “Yeah I would.” She said with a cutesy smile as she led the man to her blimp that was docked at the islands shore. Aoshi was genuinely impressed when he saw the sheer size of the air ship. As they stepped onto the ship, Aoshi saw that there was a crew of mares aboard the ship. “Who’s the cute stallion boss?” One of the crew mares asked in a seductive tone. “You won’t believe it but he’s an actual ninja! Here, see for yourself!” Daring said as she pulled out her phone and showed the mares a video of the fight. All the mares were speechless at what they just saw. Needless to say the mares took a shining interest in the man. As the ship took off into the sunlit sky, Daring held the sapphire necklace in her hand and stared at its beauty. She couldn’t help but blush, especially due to the fact that Aoshi gave her the necklace. It was so beautiful that she put it on right then and there. She couldn’t help but stare at the man with a huge blush. “He is pretty cute and he did save my life. The fact that he’s a stallion that can fight makes him extremely exotic… Not to mention that sweet ass… Would he even be interested in a mare like me?” Daring Do thought to herself. Meanwhile Aoshi was leaning on the decks railing as he stared out into the bright blue sky as the sun reached the middle of the sky as the ship sailed through the sky. “It was so good to see you again my friends…my family…Rest in peace my comrades.” Aoshi said softly as all the memories of him and his friends came rushing back to him. One of the mares on the ship turned a radio on which began to play a song that seemed to be very fitting as he was reminiscing about his friends as the ship soared through the sky to its next destination as Aoshi bobbed his head to the music. > Chapter 7 - A Warrior's Past > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 7 – Medical Exams and a Warrior’s Past After their heart felt reunion, both Kenshin and Celestia were walking to the ‘Royal Dining room’ as Celestia called it. She couldn’t help but look at the young boy as they walked down the hallway to rejoin their friends and loved ones. “I think we have been gone for around thirty-minutes, I hope they’re not mad at us.” Celestia said with a gentle smile as she held Kenshin’s hand. “Must you hold this one’s hand the whole time.” The boy asked. “Yes, I have to because you’re a minor and I am an adult and therefore I am responsible for your safety. Besides, I can’t help myself. This is just too much fun.” She said giddily “You’re really happy aren’t you?” “Well it’s not every day that I get to see an old friend that has comeback from the dead! Oh we have so much to talk about!” She said with a huge and eager smile as two guards opened the door to the dining room as they both walked into the room that was filled with the Elements of Harmony, Luna, Shining Armor, Cadance, Spike, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Unfortunately Prince Blueblood was sitting at the table as well since he woke up while the two were in the infirmary. Blue Blood gave a scowl as he saw the boy that humiliated him. As the boy walked past the arrogant prince, Blueblood opened his mouth to say something only for the back legs of his chair to be mysteriously sliced off, sending the arrogant stallion sprawling to the ground to which everypony including the guards began to laugh. “Aunty did you see what that little monkey just did to me! He made my chair fall!” Blueblood screamed. “Blueblood, Sir Kenshin did not make your chair fall in anyway.” Celestia said with a sigh as Kenshin sat down in between Pinkie Pie and Rarity while Fluttershy sat across from him at the table. “You saw it!” Whined Blueblood as he pointed at Luna. “We saw nothing, Sir Kenshin simply walked by you and you fell. We believe that thou should exercise more and as the kids say today ‘quit being a little bitch.’” Luna said in annoyance. “I know you did it!” Blueblood growled at Kenshin who simply sat there with an innocent look on his face. “This one can neither deny nor confirm your accusation.” Kenshin said with a smirk. “Why you-” “Enough nephew! In order for this young colt to have done such a thing he would have to have moved so fast that nopony could have seen him while he drew his sword and sliced the legs off of your chair. Does this sweet little colt look like he would do such a thing?” Celestia said as she sat down beside her sister. She gave Kenshin a knowing smile that said ‘I know you did it’. Everypony at the table gave the human a thumbs up when Blueblood looked the other way. Blueblood could only growl in anger. Kenshin simply shrugged at Celestia’s stare. “You all must be famished, let’s eat!” Celestia said with smile as the dining room doors opened up as a dozen waiters came out with platters of food that made Kenshin drool at the sight. But what got Kenshin the most was when Celestia levitated the lid off one of the platters which revealed at least ten pounds of meat. Kenshin could have sworn that he saw a bright light shining down from the heavens on the plate of assorted meats as he heard angels sing. “Kenshin dear…Why are you crying?” Rarity asked with concern. “It’s just… too beautiful for words.” Kenshin said while wiping his tears away only to stop himself from eating the meat. “Something wrong?” Celestia asked with a raised eyebrow. “Well. This one appreciates your kindness but it would be disrespectful to everyone if I were to eat meat in front of you.” Kenshin said with nervousness as all the girls looked at him sympathetically. Pinkie broke the silence. “it’s ok Kenny, we understand that you eat meat. Like we said before, we will never judge you!” She said as she hugged him tightly as the others nodded in agreement. “Thank you girls.” Kenshin said with a gentle smile. He still felt about eating meat until he an idea popped into his head. It was something that Saito would always do to Sanosuke. “*GASP!* BLUEBLOOD, QUICK! THEIR GOES YOUR DIGNATY!” Kenshin shouted as he pointed behind the stallion, causing everyone to quickly turn around and look. “WHERE!” The prince shouted only to realize that he fell for the oldest trick in the book as everypony giggled. “You filthy peasant.” Blueblood seethed. All the girls turned around to see that all of the meat was gone as Kenshin politely wiped his mouth clean with a napkin. He saw the girls looking at him with surprise at how fast he ate his meal. “This thing is disgusting, not only does he defend these mares but he is a meat eater too!” Blueblood shouted in anger and disgust. “Blueblood that is enough! You are acting like a foal! You were forbidden from harassing Kenshin and the Elements!” Celestia said to the arrogant prince. “There is one thing that I can do.” He said as he walked around the table and pulled out a white glove and smacked the boy across the face with it causing all the mares to gasp. “I challenge you to a duel on the night of the Grand Galloping Galla, colt!” He said to which Kenshin simply turned to the guardsmare that was standing next to him and asked if he could borrow her steel plated glove to which she agreed with slight hesitation. Kenshin walked up to the prince and slammed it across his face. *HWANG!!!* The sound of metal against fur and bone echoed throughout the dining hall as the prince was sent sprawling to the ground. “I accept.” Was all Kenshin said. The boy then walked up to the now stunned guardsmare and handed the metal glove back to her and thanked her politely with a warm smile. Celestia walked up to Blueblood and pulled out her cellphone and showed him the video of Kenshin’s fight in Ponyville. Blueblood’s eyes turned to pinpricks at what he saw. He realized the mistake that he had just made. “Blueblood, your mother would be very disappointed if she saw you right now.” Celestia said. “Mommy!” Blueblood wailed at the top of his lungs as he began to suck on his thumb as he grabbed his ear with his other hand. This caused everypony and Kenshin to look at the stallion in confusion. “He has some mommy issues. This always happens whenever his mother is mentioned.” Celestia explained as the prince darted out of the room crying. Everyone just nodded, figuring that it was best not to ask as they all went back to their meals. Once they were all finished, Pinkie Pie jumped up with a grin. “Princess, you said you would tell us how you knew Kenshin so much about Kenny, now tell us pleeeese!” Pinkie said with huge puppy dog eyes as she batted her long beautiful eyelashes. Everypony was surprised at hearing that Celestia knew Kenshin prior to their current meeting. As far as they knew the two were meeting for the first time in their lives. “Whatever do you mean Pinkie dear?” Rarity asked with great curiosity. “Kenny and Princess Celestia are old friends!” The pink party mare said with a gigantic smile. All the ponies at the table were stunned speechless with wide eyes. “H-How! That’s impossible! Kenshin’s from another worlds!” Twilight gasped with astonishment. “That my dear Twilight is a very interesting believe it or not.” Celestia said as she dismissed the guards in the room and began explaining the events that caused her to be stranded in the human world. “Wait a minute! You’re telling us that you ended up stranded in Kenshin’s world and got turned into a human filly with amnesia?” Rainbow Dash asked while tilting her head to the side. “Yes Rainbow Dash, I was wandering around naked and covered in my blood before a family of doctors found me and took me in. They were some of the kindest people you could ever meet. They treated and nursed my wounds, clothed me, they adopted and raised me, and they loved me unconditionally.” Celestia said with a happy sigh as she remembered all of the good times she had with her human family. “I later on became a doctor myself. Unfortunately I…” Celestia hesitated. “It is okay Miss Megumi, they will understand.” Kenshin said with a gentle smile to which Celestia calmed down and returned the boys smile. Everypony at the table seemed confused at why the young boy called Celestia ‘Miss Megumi’. “I went by the name of Megumi Takani back in those days. I was kidnapped and forced by a local drug lord to make opium for him, which he would sell illegally for profit.” Celestia said with sadness as she hung her head in shame as tears welled up in her eyes. Everypony gasped at hearing this. “Sister… You were forced to work for a drug lord!” Luna asked with great sadness in her eyes. “Y-Yes. He forced me to make his drugs for him…H-he was going to kill me if I didn’t… I’m so sorry.” Celestia began crying. Everyone hugged her in an attempt to comfort her. “Who did this to you sister! We will make them pay dearly!” Luna said with anger in her voice. “It’s alright Luna. Kenshin already took care of the one responsible… Maybe I should start from the beginning… or better yet why don’t I show you.” Celestia said as she calmed down slightly as her horn began to glow with a golden aura as she used her magic to show everyone how she looked as a human. “This is what I looked like back on earth.” Celestia said as her magic showed an image of a beautiful Japanese woman with raven colored hair with pale white skin wearing a light blue kimono. The ponies could only stare in amazement at her beauty and this revelation. “My word Princess, you’re gorgeous as a human.” Rarity said in amazement. “You’re very pretty Princess.” Fluttershy said quietly with a blush as she stared at the image of the woman. “Wowey Princess! You look hot!” Pinkie Pie giggled cutely. While the other mares were rendered speechless. “Thank you girls… Now let me show you how Kenshin and I met.” She said as her magic expanded everywhere in the room. As it did the room began to look like the area of Tokyo where Sanosuke would frequent when he would go visit the gambling den which Kenshin would accompany Sanosuke to quite often. It brought back many memories to Kenshin. A young raven haired woman was seen running down the street in panic as a couple of burley looking men came chasing after her. The woman quickly ducked into the gambling den where two men stood. The girls immediately recognized one of them as Kenshin while they had no idea who the other guy was. They saw that the second guy who stood next to Kenshin was tall and skinny, he wore what looked like a white martial arts outfit with bandages wrapped around his stomach while he wore a red headband. Kenshin could only smile at seeing his old friend Sanosuke, even if it was just an illusion. “Who’s that guy?” Rainbow Dash asked as she pointed to Sanosuke to which Celestia answered as she paused the memory. “That is Sanosuke Sagara. Kenshin’s best friend and most trusted ally when it came to anything in life. Though he is hot headed and quite stubborn, he is a very loyal and pure friend who would quite literally do anything for a friend.” She said as she continued the memory. The ponies marveled at everything that they saw as the events unfolded in front. They saw how Kenshin and Sanosuke defended Megumi. They saw Megumi and Kaoru become friends despite their rivalry. As they saw the rest of the events of where Yahiko was poisoned to which Megumi saved him. They even saw Takeda Kanryu threaten to kill the two little girls that Megumi played with if she didn’t go back to working for him. They watched as she ended up back in the clutches of Kanryu. But what they saw next was something that they would never forget. The next scene was Kenshin and his friends charging the evil drug lords mansion as they fought long and hard to rescue the pony Princess turned human. Everypony was amazed at how Kenshin and Sanosuke both fought off the Oniwabanshu. But what caught their attention the most was Kenshin’s fight with Aoshi Shinomori. Shining Armor and Luna in particular were impressed at Kenshin’s cleverness in battle and his sheer skill and power as he defeated the deadly ninja in mortal combat. But everypony turned green when they saw the members of the Oniwabanshu get gunned downed by Takeda Kanryu’s gattling gun. After Kenshin disabled the gattling gun, they saw Sanosuke stop Megumi from killing herself. This caused all of the ponies to tightly grip their leader in a hug as they watched the evil drug lord being led away by the Tokyo police in chains for his crimes. But what they saw next disturbed everypony greatly as they saw the police screaming at the top of their lungs for the other officers to stop Aoshi who ran past all of them with the severed heads of his fallen comrades in hand. As he stood at the top of the mansion’s courtyard wall, he turned and glared at Kenshin and vowed that he would get his revenge on Kenshin. The last scene was of Kenshin and everyone walking back to the dojo, happy that the fighting was over. The spell soon faded away as the room went back to normal. “That…Was…Awesome!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “I don’t know what to say Princess… How could somepony be so evil as to force others who are innocent to do such evil things?” Twilight said as she hugged her mentor tightly. “I think that bastard got off too easily for his crimes!” Luna said in anger. “That was quite brave of you Kenshin dear how you and your friends saved the Princess!” Rarity said with happiness. “But I must say that was quite disturbing how that Aoshi fellow *URP* d-did what he did to his fallen comrades.” Rarity said as her face turned a pale green as she barely managed to keep her lunch down. “He’s scary.” Fluttershy whispered while hiding behind her mane. “This was in the past, Aoshi is a changed man and he is now a friend… This one must admit that brought back a lot of memories.” Kenshin said with a smile. “Wait a minute, was that guy the ninja that you said was your friend!?” Twilight asked to which Kenshin nodded. “But he tried to kill you, he’s obviously dangerous and mentally unstable after what he did to his dead friends!” Twilight shrieked. “True, he was technically evil back then, but he was a grieving stallion that was suffering over the loss of his best friends. This led to him becoming mentally unstable. But can you really blame him my little ponies for his insanity?” Celestia explained to which all of the ponies in the room ears splayed back in sympathy. Despite everything that he did, they could not even imagine the pain that he suffered at seeing his loved ones being murdered right in front of him while he was unable to do a single thing to stop it from happening. “But Aoshi Shinomori changed his ways and became a changed man that was one of Kenshin’s greatest allies and friends.” Celestia continued. “So… He became a good guy?” Fluttershy asked shyly. “Yes he did Fluttershy.” Celestia answered the shy Pegasus with a warm smile. “Was that lady with the wooden sword your wife Kaoru?” Pinkie Pie asked with a sweet smile. “Yes, that was Kaoru.” Kenshin said with a smile. This caused both Shining Armor and Cadance to look shocked at the boy’s statement. “You were married!? But you’re just a colt!” Cadance shrieked. As the grouped talked about what they saw Fluttershy asked a question that would shake both Kenshin and Celestia to the core. “Um…Why did Mr. Aoshi call you Battosai?” Fluttershy asked Kenshin shyly. “This one… I used to be a different person during the war…” Kenshin said sadly as he hung his head in shame. “Kenshin has done things that he is not proud of… But despite this he is still the same kind hearted man that we all know and love.” Celestia said to which all of the ponies nodded in agreement. “I have done many things that would make a monster appear as innocent as a child. Things that if you girls knew about you would hate me for… But I will not lie to you…But first I need to tell who Hitokiri Battosai was.” Kenshin said with both a serious and sad tone as he began to tell the girls of his past. ______________________________________________________________________________ *Manehattan* Sanosuke was lying flat on the ground with two mares sitting on his back while he simply drummed his fingers against the wood floor in annoyance. “Oh these are soooo good!” Vinyl said as she munched on the sugar cubes with her lover Cheerilee. “Don’t hog them all Vinyl!” Cheerilee said as she devoured some of the sugar cubes herself. “This is has got to be the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me…” Sanosuke grumbled. “Ahhh, don’t you like feeling our hot flanks grinding against you, Sano?” Vinyl teased as she ground her shapely tush against his back, making Sanosuke’s face burn bright red in embarrassment. “You know, we have a friend who would love to meet you. In fact I think you two would get along very well.” Cheerilee said with a smile. “Really, who?” The man asked as he tried to get out from underneath the two mares. Only to be failing miserably at. “Her name is Lyra. Believe it or not, Lyra is a Still Way Grandmaster. The youngest one actually.” Both mares explained. “What’s a ‘Still Way’?” Sanosuke asked with confusion. “It’s a unicorn martial art that focuses on using magic. It’s very deadly. But she would never kill or do any permanent damage to anypony. She’s too nice for that.” Vinyl said with a smile as she popped another sugar cube into her mouth and passed the bag to Cheerilee who happily took it. “I think you two would get along considering both of you are both martial artists. But she does have a teensy weensy little obsession with humans, it’s nothing to worry about though.” Vinyl said with a giggle. “Cool, she sounds nice… I’ve been meaning to ask you girls something.” He said. “What?” Both mares asked with curious expressions. “Ummm…… Are you girls in any herds?” He asked shyly as the two mares continued to sit on his back. “I’ve never been part of a herd. The only real relationship I’ve ever been in is with this hot teacher right here!” Vinyl giggled, making her marefriend blush. “I just got out of a…really bad relationship.” Cheerilee said in a sad tone as her ears pressed against her skull in shame and sadness. “I’m really sorry to hear that… What happened?” He asked sympathetically. “His name was Iron Anvil and he was just a big mistake to begin with. We dated for three years. He would always berate me and make fun of me on a regular basis. In the beginning he was really sweet and kind… I thought he was a good stallion… but he started becoming abusive-” She explained until she was cut off by Sanosuke. “He hit you! Oh I’m gonna fucking kill him!” Sanosuke said as he managed to flip onto his back and tried to get up only for Cheerilee to pin him to the ground. “Oh no you don’t, I’m not letting you get into any trouble Sano.” Cheerilee said as she straddled the man as she was now nose to nose with the man. “Besides, he only verbally abused me.” She said as she stared into the streetfighter’s eyes. “Still, I’m gonna kick the shit out of him when I find him… and when I find him I’m gonna put my foot so far up his ass that he’ll taste the gum on the bottom of my shoe and when I’m holding his severed testicles in my hand I’m gonna-” “SANOSUKE!” Cheerilee cut the man off. “RIGHT ON SANOSUKE!” Vinyl cheered. “Sanosuke…You’re a sweet colt and I don’t want to see anything bad happen to you because of something like petty revenge…Especially for somepony like me who is worthless.” The teacher said with a sigh. “Don’t say that! Don’t ever say that! You’re not worthless!” Sanosuke growled in anger as he flipped the teacher over onto her back. “…Sanosuke.” Cheerilee said in surprise. “You’re a beautiful mare with amazing morals that puts her heart and soul into everything that she does! You’re a wonderful teacher that helps the children of the world achieve their hopes and dreams no matter how hard or farfetched they could be! You never stop until they reach those girls! Do you know how much I would love to have had a loving teacher like you when I was a kid! Let alone a smoking hot one like you! You derserve some” Sanosuke said causing the mare to blush at his words. “You really think I’m h-hot?” She asked shyly. “Hell yeah!’ I’m surprised every guy in the country isn’t after you! Same goes for you Vinyl!” He said without thinking. His compliment making both mares blush madly. “it’s me who’s worthless, I’m just a random street punk that died. Damn, when I died no one cared. The only friends I had were miles and miles away in another country… I died cold and alone… I’m nothing but worthless ex-gangster-WOAH!” Sanosuke was cut off as he was flipped over onto his back with Cheerilee straddling him once again. But this time she had an expression of pure rage as tears welled up in her eyes. “YOU ARE NOT WORTHLESS SANOSUKE! SO YOU HAD A COUPLE OF RUN IN’S IN WITH THE LAW! BIG DEAL! YOU’RE STILL AN AMAZING GUY!” Cheerilee shouted. “…10,735.” Sanosuke said. “W-What?” Cheerilee said in confusion. “That’s how many times I’ve had a ‘run in’ with the law.” He explained to the maroon earth pony causing her jaw to drop only for her to shake her head and regain her composure. “Still! You’re still an amazing guy!” Cheerilee said to which Vinyl nodded in agreement. This shocked Sanosuke at what he had just heard. They both stared into each others eyes. They felt their faces heat up as they realized the position they were in. Cheerilee looked down to see that she was on top of Sanosuke and straddling his crotch. Her face was so red with embarrassment that when she realized what was happening she jumped back with a cute 'eep!'. Sanosuke simply stared at the ceiling of the room. His face was blazing red with steam coming off of it from the sheer embarrassment that he was feeling at that moment. “... Sanosuke?” Cheerilee asked the man with worry in her eyes. “...” Sanosuke remained silent. “Sano? You okay bro?” Vinyl said as she walked up to the downed Sanosuke and knelt down beside him. “...That was the first time I've ever had a woman on top of me like that... Let alone have one touch me like that.” Sanosuke said in a shocked tone. Vinyl and Cheerilee both stared at the man with stunned expressions. “Really?” Vinyl asked as she gained a mischievous grin. “Y-Yeah, w-why?” he said with embarrassment. “Well... usually most stallions have had at least some experience with mares.” Vinyl said as her smirk grew bigger. “What do you mean?” He asked. “Well due to the lack of stallions mares usually nab up stallions as fast as the can.” The teacher explained to the man. The man stared at the two mares for ten seconds with a clueless expression on his face. “I don't get it.” The man said completely clueless. Both mares face palmed. “What she's saying is most stallions have at least dated a mare or two, especially when they're your age. Are you seriously that clueless that you haven't seen the mares checking you out whenever you walk outside!? I mean damn those mares were tailing you the whole time at the market, they were drooling!” Vinyl said with a laugh as the man thought back to the time they were talking about. ______________________________________________________________________________ *Flashack Start* (Three Days Ago) Sanosuke was walking through the market place as he went grocery shopping for the girls. They kept telling him that he didn't need to do the shopping for them but he kept insisting that it was alright. Sanosuke didn't tell them that the main reason why he was doing this was mainly due to the fact that he was getting extremely stir crazy from being stuck inside. The girls said that the market place had some of the vendors were some of the most skilled hagglers in Manehattan as well Equestria. Sanosuke had know idea how the bit system worked yet he managed to get ten bushels of apples and seven bunches of carrots for two bits thanks to his skills as a former gangster. Needless to say the vendor was very pissed at being outsmarted. Despite his anger the vendor said that he would deliver the apples to the apartment. As Sanosuke went from stall to stall checking out the vendors wares, he felt like he was being watched. To his surprise he saw that there was hardly any stallions in the market palce and most of the law enforcement was comprised of mares. In fact he was the only male that was in the immediate area and it did not go unnoticed as he walked by a fruit stall. A whole gaggle of mares were looking at him from a distance. As Sanosuke was checking to see how fresh the fruit was, the owner of the stall saw Sanosuke and greeted him. “Hey there, how's it going?” A green pegasus mare greeted the man. “I'm good. You?” Sanosuke said politely as he examined a melon to see if it was ripe. “Oh, good... Helping your wife shop?” She said as she began to look at the man's muscles. “Nah, I'm single. I'm just helping out a couple of friends by doing the grocery shopping.” He said without thinking. The fruit vendor along with every mare within earshot had the same thought. “Oh fuck the hell yes!” As Sanosuke set the melon down he felt a pair of slender arms wrap around his arm as a pair of soft breasts pressed against it. “Why bother with those melons when you can have these big soft melons.” The mare said in a sultry tone as she gave a throaty moan from the contact. As this happened more mares began to crowed around the street fighter, causing him to panic. Sanosuke's face turned bright red as he leaped back in a panic only to back into a guardsmare. As he turned around and saw the female guard he felt his adrenaline begin to trickle into his bloodstream as he was about to take off at speeds unheard of, but before he could something that confused him to know end happened. “Oh he is just so cute! I could just eat him up!” The guardsmare said as the man began to panic even more. “Oh you look so tense, maybe I can help relieve you of some of that stress.” The guardsmare said in a seductive tone as she walked up to the man while swaying her hip as she approached the man. “Oh shit.” Sanosuke said as he took off as all the mares gave chase. It took him an hour to lose those mares, especially that particular guardsmare. Sanosuke had the distinct feeling that he would be seeing her very soon. *Flashback End* ______________________________________________________________________________ “Ok... Now that whole entire day finally makes sense to me... Hey wait a minute! How do you know about that day?” The man asked suspiciously. “Shot Glass was in the market place to, hetold us about the whole thing.” Cheerilee said with a deadpan look. “That makes sense.” Sanosuke said as he remembered the old bartender stallion from the bar that quickly became his friend. “Soooo, I guess since you've never been with a mare... Then that means...” Vinyl said as a gigantic smirk spread across her face as she started laughing hysterically, this only confused the man. “Sanosuke's a virgin!” She busted out laughing as she rolled on the ground in hysteric giggles, causing the man's face to burn bright red in embarrassment. “Vinyl!” Cheerilee scolded the DJ. Sanosuke couldn't help but feel like he was a child standing in front of a crowd of people. His embarrassment caused him to turn his head away from the mares. “Geez... you don't have to laugh at me.” Sanosuke said under his breathe as he kicked at an imaginary pebble on the ground. “I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'm not making fun of you Sanosuke, seriously I'm not!” Vinyl explained as she slowly came down from her laughter. She lifted up her glasses and wiped a tear from her beautiful red eyes. “It's actually a good thing in most mares eyes believe it or not.” Vinyl said. “W-What do you mean?” The man asked shyly. “Well, it means no mare has ever laid claim to you and that you're pure, therefore making you more desirable.” Cheerilee explained while Vinyl gave the man a teasing wink, causing his face to heat up again. “Damn, no wonder you get into so many fights! Your balls must be packed to the brim with cum!” Vinyl laughed. “Vinyl!” Cheerilee gasped. “No wonder you're so pent up, you need to get laid and bad!” Vinyl said she continued to laugh. “Vinyl, stop giving Sanosuke a hard time!” The teacher scolded. “I bet if you blew your load into Cheerilee and me, you would be as sweet and timid as a teddy bear.” Vinyl said as she said in a seductive tone. *THUD* “You had to make him pass out didn't you?” Cheerilee sighed. “Yeah I did, but I wasn't joking Cheer's. C'mon, you know you would love for him to be plowing you all night long while you're screaming and wailing in pure ecstasy and pleasure as he just hammers into you and blows his hot load in your womb and pussy while you dig your nails into his back.” Vinyl said while wiggling her eyebrows. *THUD* Cheerilee laid on the ground passed out with a huge blush on her face as a Vinyl laughed at her two best friends. “Damn. I can't wait for Lyra to meet you... And I can't wait for Cheerilee and me to show you just how much we care about you.” Vinyl said as she gave Sanosuke a peck on the lips. “You're gonna make a great lead mare Cheerilee.” Vinyl said as she kissed Cheerilee as she stuck her tongue down her marefriend's throat. As she broke the kiss after a couple minutes she gasped for air. She smiled as she teleported them both to the same bed. “Sleep tight my loves.” She said with a smile as she went into the living room and decided to watch TV. ______________________________________________________________________________ As Kenshin finished telling the story of who Battosai was the girls could only stare in horror at what they just heard. Kenshin didn’t tell the girls that he was Battosai yet, he wanted to see how they would react to what he had just told them. “So this Battosai was a legendary a-assassin?” Twilight asked with a shaky voice. “Yes Twilight, he was a legendary warrior who used his skills to find and kill those who were evil during his days in the Meiji Restoration. I had to live through those times, they were some of the most horrific things I could ever experience. The country was in total war and mayhem. Thousands died and that was just in the area I was in. If anything… Battosai is a hero for ending the war.” Celestia said to which the girls looked at her with shock. Kenshin watched intently at their reactions. “What do you mean Princess?” Twilight asked. “Think of it this way Twilight. If you saw your friends and family suffering due to a war, wouldn’t you do anything in your power to end said war?” Celestia asked. “Y-yes but… If it came to taking another’s life, I don’t think that I could do such a thing.” Twilight said. “Yes, I understand what you’re saying Twilight. I don’t think I could ever take another beings life even if my life depended on it… Besides he was only fourteen years old when he became an assassin.” She said with a sorrowful expression as she turned her gaze to Kenshin. (Start Song) “Well I don’t think we should judge Mister Battosai!” Pinkie shouted which caught everyone off guard. Especially Kenshin. “We don’t know what he had to go through, he did what he did to save to end a war! We don’t know anything about war let alone what was happening in to him. Maybe all of these meanies that he was going after were like that big ol’ meanie face Jin-E! I think Mister…Don’t get me wrong no pony should ever kill another pony but I still don’t think we should judge him.” She said sympathetically. “She’s right darling, we cannot judge a stallion for something like the cards that life dealt him. We weren’t there, so we have no idea what the circumstances were.” Rarity said to which all of the girls nodded in agreement as they turned to Kenshin. “But that still doesn’t explain why Jin-E called…you…” Pinkie stopped as she and the rest of the girls finally understood who Kenshin really was. As they all stared at him they began to have tears well up in their eyes. Kenshin could only hang his head in shame, but what happened next he will never forget for the rest of his life. They all lunged at him and pulled him into a very tight and very loving hug as they cried. “We’re so sorry Kenshin, we didn’t know you had such a hard life.” Pinkie Pie cried as she hugged the boy tighter as she weaped. “Oh darling you have been suffering for so long and right under our noses and we have done nothing to help ease your pain!” Rarity wailed dramatically. “I-I’m so sorry K-Kenshin.” Fluttershy whimpered as she hugged the boy tightly. “That’s s-so not c-cool how you h-had t-to become an a-assassin j-just to save your p-people.” Rainbow Dash said as she tried to hold back her sobs only to fail miserably as she broke down into tears as she herself tightened her hug on the boy. “I-it’s not y-your fault sugarcube…You only did what you thought was right.” Applejack sobbed as she tightened her hug on the human. “I am so s-sorry Kenshin, I had no idea you were in so much pain.” Twilight sobbed as she hugged Kenshin tighter. Shining Armor and Cadance as well as Celestia and Luna joined in on the hug. “I am so proud of you my little ponies.” Celestia said, proud that her little ponies were so accepting as she saw Kenshin who had tears streaming down his face at the love he was being shown and given. > Chapter 8 – Medical Exams and the Nobles see Kenshin’s Power! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 8 – Medical Exams and the Nobles see Kenshin’s Power! *One Day Later* Cheerilee laid in bed hugging a pillow as she slept. As she slept, she had her arms and legs wrapped around what she thought was a pillow. She felt really calm and relaxed. She felt safe, she didn’t know why. As she slowly woke up she felt a pair of arms wrapped around her. She slowly opened her eyes. What she saw made her heart nearly stop. She was sleeping in the same bed as Sanosuke. His strong arms were wrapped around her in a gentle hug as she was pressed against his chest. She breathed in his scent which made her dizzy. It was intoxicating. She looked down and saw that her arms wrapped around him while her legs were wrapped around his waist. Her face was flushed as she stared into the sleeping face of her best friend, she couldn’t help but think about how cute he looked when he was asleep. She felt herself getting wetter by the second. She looked around the room and saw that it was only her and Sanosuke in the room as she looked at the young man in bed with her. “Oh my.” She said as she looked down and saw that the man was shirtless. She looked down at herself and saw that she was completely naked except for her bra that barely held her breasts and covered her nipples and her G-string that fit her figure beautifully. “Dammit, Vinyl! I know you’re behind this! Just wait until I get my hands on you!” Cheerilee thought to herself mentally. She couldn’t help but watch the teenager in front of her as he slept gently. She found herself staring at his lips. She gulped in nervousness as she found herself moving towards the man, her face flushed as she pressed her lips against his. She closed her eyes as she began to moan into the kiss as her tongue explored the cavern. After a full minute she finally broke the kiss. She opened her eyes with a dreamy stare. Her eyes became pinpricks at what she saw. Sanosuke’s eyes were wide open in pure shock as he stared at her with a dumbfounded look. “HOLY…SHIT…” He said in pure shock. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Kenshin and the girls along with everypony walked into a room filled with medical equipment along with some of the best professors, doctors, and scientists from all over Equestria. “Ok Kenshin, just relax and don’t worry. These doctors are going to give you a full medical exam and document their findings.” Celestia said as she tried to try calm the young boy who grew nervous around the medical staff and equipment. Kenshin nodded as Twilight began jumping around happily. Her hooves clopping against the ground and her hands clapping together as she giggled giddily. “Oh yes, yes, yes, yes! I can’t wait to see that beautiful data!” Twilight said as Pinkie Pie giggled. “Don’t worry Kenny, the doctors are only here to help you!” Pinkie Pie giggled. “Ok Pinkie Pie, I trust you.” Kenshin said with a smile that made Pinkie Pie’s heart flutter. “Oh before we begin Kenshin, let me just do one thing real quick.” Celestia said as her horn lit up. A golden aura surrounded Kenshin’s body as he felt his body begin to change and shift. In a matter of minutes Kenshin was back to his normal adult self. He was once again 21 years old, his cloths adjusting to his new body. Everpony gasped at what they saw. “How did you-” Kenshin began to ask in shock only to be cut off by Celestia. “I found out that you were being afflicted by poison joke. It’s a blue flower that causes those that come into to contact with it to be suffer afflictions that resemble those of a cruel joke.” She said with a smile. “Normally one would need to bathe in a special mixture of herbs and potions to be cured of the effects. But I created a spell that reversed the effects.” She explained. “How did you find out that this one was suffering from this ‘poison joke’?” Kenshin asked while tilting his head to the side. “I…Might have snuck into your room while you were sleeping. But only to do a magical scan on you!” Celestia said as her face flushed red. “What!” The girls gasped. “I-I just wanted to make sure that Kenshin was alright!” Celestia said as her blush intensified. “Suuuure you did sister. Next you’ll be saying that you don’t have a problem with cake.” Luna said with a smirk. Celestia blushed hard as she glared at Luna who could only laugh at her sister’s reaction. “Sir, we’re ready for you.” One of the doctors said to the samurai. “Come on Kenshin! We need that data!” Twilight said as she grabbed the wide eyed human by the arm and dragged him into the examining room. _____________________________________________________________________________________ *Daring Do’s Ship* Aoshi was sitting on the top deck of the ship with his arms crossed and his eyes closed as he was meditating. Aoshi didn’t know why people always thought that meditating required a person sitting with cross legged and going ‘ohm’. It made no sense to him. Some people did that. But in actuality all you had to do is get into a comfortable position and clear your mind and relax. Although at the moment it was very hard for him to relax all things considered. “So where you from?” One of the mares on board asked the ninja. “Japan.” Aoshi answered the sailor without even bothering to open his eyes. “Ooooh, so exotic! How long have you been a ninja?” Another mare asked. “All my life.” He answered with a sigh. “Do you have a marefriend?” Another mare asked. “…No.” Aoshi answered cautiously while maintaining his stoic expression, not liking where this conversation was going. “REALLY!!!” The mares squealed causing the man to immediately regret his answer. “Would you like one, two, or ten!” The mare asked with extreme eagerness that put the man on edge. “Geez, you mares act like you’ve never seen a stallion before in your life!” A voice laughs causing everyone to turn to see who it was that was laughing. Aoshi saw that it was a light grey mare that eyed him intently. “But just look at him! He’s a hunk!” One of the mares said. “And a trained assassin.” The bat mare stated with a deadpan look. “Soooo… That just makes him even more exotic!” Another mare said. “Besides, I don’t think you can tame him” She said as she turned to the man only to see that he was gone. “I can change him!” One mare shouted. “Oh I can convince him to change, once he gets a taste of me he’ll be addicted.” Another mare said in a seductive tone. Meanwhile Aoshi was sitting in the shade with his eyes closed, hidden away from the rest of the crew. That is until he heard the sound of wings flapping and the sounds of hooves landing on the round firmly. He opened his eyes and saw that the bat pony was standing in front of him. “…What do you want?” He asked. While he looked at the mare. “Just wanted to say hi.” She said smirk. The man simply stared at her blankly as she approached him. “Names Midnight Blossom, I’m with Princess Luna’s Lunar Guard.” The threstral said. “Aoshi. Aoshi Shinomori.” The ninja said introducing himself to the mare. “So who are you exactly?” Midnight asked. “What’s it to you?” He asked with suspicion in his eyes. “As a member of the Lunar Guard it is my job to investigate any new and potential threats. And a thank you would be very much appreciated for me helping you out.” She said with a smirk. “Ninja’s haven’t been around for thousands of years. The fact that you appeared out of nowhere yesterday is very interesting let alone the fact that you’re a human, wouldn’t you say, hm?” She said with her smirk growing by the second. “Your point is?” The man said with no emotion in his voice whatsoever. “Oh nothing really I’m just curious is all.” She said seductively as she walked around the man with her hands behind her back and a playful grin on her face. “I guess it is.” He said in a monotone voice. “Oh don’t be like that.” She says with an annoyed sigh. “I have no idea who you are. Why are you even following me?” He questioned. “Because I want to get to know you. Don’t worry I just want to talk.” She answered to which Aoshi thought for a moment before they heard one of the deck hands shout for the bat pony. “Hey Midnight! We need you on deck!” “Crap, we can talk some other time. I got to go back on duty.” Midnight Blossom said with a look of regret at the fact that she didn’t get a chance to talk to the ninja. As she walked off, Aoshi couldn’t help but wonder why she was acting trying to act so friendly towards him. It just perplexed him. “Why are all of these mares so fascinated with me? Oh well, they’re pretty much harmless. Besides it’s not like I’m going to have a gaggle of mares chasing me for the rest of my life.” He said as he closed his eyes and rested. _____________________________________________________________________________________ “Now turn your head and cough.” The Doctor said as she grabbed Kenshin’s family jewels. “I don’t think I can.” Kenshin said while wheezing as the air was taken out of him. “Please sir, I know this is awkward for you but this is part of the physical. Now, please cough.” The female doctor asked the samurai politely as to which he did weakly as his face was burning red from embarrassment. “There we go, now that wasn’t so bad.” She said as she finally let go of the man’s testicles. Kenshin frantically pulled his pants up in embarrassment as the mare walks out of the room. The young man let out a sigh of relief as he sat down on the examining table. “That was the most embarrassing moment in my life.” Kenshin sighed as Twilight walked into the room with a specimen cup to which she handed the samurai the cup. “What is this?” He asked with a perplexed look on his face. Twilight blushed as she told Kenshin. “This is a specimen cup, I need you to fill it up for me as much as you can.” She said with a massive blush. “With what?” He asked with a confused expression as he tilted his head. “… A… A sperm sample.” She said As all of the girls overheard this as they sat outside of the examining room, they began to giggle while Fluttershy gave an ‘Oh my’. “H-Here… I’ll give s-some privacy… Page 7 is my favorite.” Twilight stuttered as she handed the man a Play Colt magazine and walked out of the room. “Oh! You can think about my tushy if it helps Kenny! I don’t mind!” Pinkie Pie said with a giggle from outside of the room right before the door closed. “Oh God what has this one got himself into.” Kenshin said to himself with a red blush that spread across his face. As he sat there for a thirty seconds in per shock he could only ponder why this was how the day is going. “Why me.” He said to himself as he opened the Play Colt magazine to page 7 causing him to go bug eyed at what he saw. He saw a completely naked mare in a very provocative position that showed everything. She had massive breasts along with a very shapely and plump rear. “I can definitely see why the girls are all bi in this world. With ladies like this, what mare wouldn’t be?” He said to himself only to realize something very important. “I… I have never done this before in my entire life… H-How do I even do this?” Kenshin sighed in frustration as he walked to the door and braced himself for the shame he was about to endure. “Uh… Girls?” Kenshin said as he stuck his head out the door. “Oh you’re done! I was wondering what was taking you so long. Most stallions don’t last that long-” Twilight said only for Kenshin to cut her off before he heard any more awkward information. “This one has n-never done this before.” Kenshin interrupted. “W-What?” The girls all stuttered in unison. “A-Are you saying that you’ve never clopped before.” Rainbow Dash asked. “What is ‘clopped’ mean?” the samurai asked awkwardly. “I-I think what our dear friend Rainbow was trying to ask was… H-How do I put this…Have you never p-pleasured yourself before?” Rarity asked with a massive blush that caused Kenshin to blush in embarrassment as well. “N-No. I’ve n-never even learned how… Is it hard?” he asked with a red face. “It has to be hard for it to work Kenny!” Pinkie giggled with a massive blush on her face to which all of the girls face palmed hard. Pinkie Pie just stuck her tongue out at them playfully still maintaining her blush. ______________________________________________________________________________ *Meanwhile in Manehattan* “OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!” Sanosuke kept shouting over and over again in panic. “S-Sanosuke, please just calm down.” Cheerilee said worryingly as she tried to calm the panicking man down who had his hands on his head in panic. “I am so sorry Cheerilee, I didn’t mean for this to happen! I promise I’ll take care of you and the baby!” Sanosuke said in a panic. Cheerilee was shocked by what she had just heard. She couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t help remember a similar situation with her ex, Iron Anvil. She remembered it like it was yesterday, she walked up to him with a giant smile on her face. She told him that she had a surprise for him, she was so happy. But apparently he misunderstood what she was saying and said ‘Shit you’re pregnant! I’m out!’. She stood there as Iron Anvil literally ran off at full speed. All Cheerilee was going to say was that she got him a surprise birthday present for him and she wanted to wish him a happy birthday. But Sanosuke thought that she was pregnant and here was ready to do the right thing at the drop of a hat. She found his panicking cute. She couldn’t help but smile at this. She quickly shook herself out of her stupor. “Sanosuke.” She said trying to gain the man’s attention. “I’ll take you and our child in every way possible! I can’t believe I’m saying this but I’m going to have to find a job-” “Sanosuke, you didn’t get me pregnant. Nothing happened between us last night.” She said soothingly with a loving smile on her face. “So we didn’t-” He started. “No we didn’t.” She answered to which he breathed a sigh of relief. “I have to ask, why were you kissing me?” He asked. “Oh! I must have rolled over and latched onto you hehe… I’m kinda of a cuddler. The kiss must have happened when I was sleeping.” She lied nervously. “H-How did we end up in bed together?” He asked. “Vinyl played a prank on us by putting us in bed together.” She said with a blush to which the man nodded. She realized that Sanosuke’s face became even redder as he stared at her. When she looked down she saw that she was still in nothing but her black bra and black G-string. Her face blazed red as she let out a girly scream and ran out of the room in embarrassment. “My God… She is so beautiful.” He said to himself only to realize what he just said. “My God… What’s happening to me?” Sanosuke said in shock he felt a torrent of feelings inside of him. _____________________________________________________________________________________ *30 Minutes Later* Kenshin finally came out of the room with the specimen cup in his hand and a huge blush across face. “What took you so long? Are you okay?” Twilight asked with concern. “Yeah, you were in there for an awfully long time to just play with your salami Kenny! What took you so long, Kenny?” Pinkie Pie asked innocently Celestia walked up to them as the doctor took the ‘sample of shame’ from Kenshin. “How is the examine going?” Celestia asked with a smile. “Kenny’s been whacking the salami!” Pinkie Pie cheered. Celestia went wide eyed at this as her face burned red with embarrassment. Twilight explained how the doctors needed a sperm sample and how they were waiting for half an hour for him. As Twilight finished telling her what had happened Celestia’s blush increased tenfold. “I see… There is something that you girls should know about human stallions.” She said “What is it?” The six mares asked with perplexed looks. “Human males… last much longer in bed than stallions.” She said while looking away shyly. “H-How long?” To everyponies surprise it was Fluttershy who asked the question. “The average stallion lasts anywhere from thirty seconds to two and a half minutes tops before reaching sexual climax.” She explained with embarrassment. “B-But h-humans can last anywhere from a f-few minutes to… to… A f-few hours… Sometimes they e-even go all night long.” Celestia stuttered. The mane 6 all stared wide eyed before they turned their gazes to their human friend. They all had hungry looks in their eyes as their faces burned brightly with embarrassment. *POMF!* *POMF!* Everyone turned to see that both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash wings were fully extended while Kenshin was covering his face in embarrassment with on hand. *WHAM!!!* They all turned to see that one of the guards mares feinted at the news. Cadence and Shining Armor were both staring at the young man wide eyed at what they had just heard. Their mouths were opening and closing like a fishes. “This can’t possibly get any worse.” He thought. “Uh… Kenshin… Do you think that you could um… teach Shining Armor how to… y’know… perform that long.” Cadence asked Kenshin with a sheepish grin. Kenshin collapsed to the ground. “Ororororororo.” Kenshin moaned in exhaustion. He turned to see that Shining Armor was staring wide eyed at his wife. “Honey!” He gasped. “What! You can never get enough nookie!” The princess of love whined. “Mmmm, mmmm, no you can’t!” Pinkie Pie said as she hugged Kenshin’s arm and stared at him with dreamy bedroom eyes. “I-I think we should move on to the next part of the examination.” Celestia said as she tried to change the subject. Kenshin wondered what the next part of the medical exam. He had been poked and prodded, had blood drawn, and made to give samples of ‘other’ bodily fluids. “After word got out of your victory Kenshin, many have wondered what the limit to your power is, especially our scientists. Many nobles and high ranking officers of the royal guard wish to see you in action. I have hundreds of requests from members of the guard as well as nobles requesting to learn under you so that may learn and analyze your style.” Celestia explained. “This one will not teach the style of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū to others so that they may abuse it or use it to kill others.” Kenshin said still carrying his signature smile but his words carried a weight to them that said that he meant every word that he said. “I’ve told them the same thing but they wouldn’t listen.” Celestia said with a chuckle. “That is why my sister and I have set up a test for you to show of your skills to the top brass.” Celestia continued. “Basically Kenny’s going to show them what they can’t have!” Pinkie Pie cheered. “That’s right.” The princess chuckled. “Yay, they can’t have him because he’s my Kenny!” She said as she latched onto the samurai. This caused Kenshin to chuckle at the mare’s childlike innocence. “It is up to you whether you take part in this final part of the exam, I would never force my loved ones to do something that they don’t want to.” Celestia said only to realize what she had just said, causing herself to blush. “What is the test?” Spike asked as him, the Cutie Mark Crusador’s, the mane six, Shining Armor and Cadence waited for an answer. “I’ll do it.” Kenshin said with a smile. “But darling, you don’t even know what the test is yet!” Rarity gasped. “I trust Miss Megumi! I mean Celestia!” Kenshin quickly corrected. Celestia could only smile at this. “Pinkie Pie I will need your help for this test.” Celestia said with a warm smile. “I’m happy to help in any way that I can Princess! What do you need me to do?” “I need you to be the beautiful damsel in distress for Kenshin.” She said with a warm smile. “What is the test?” Spike asked again they approached a giant set of doors which opened up into a giant room that had numerous nobles and high ranking officers of the royal guard as well as Luna. “Your test is simple. We will recreate a hostage situation. The hostage is Pinkie Pie who will be held in a room at the other side of the castle. You have to take on all of the royal guard in order to get to her.” Luna explained. Kenshin opened his mouth to say something. “Don’t worry, Pinkie Pie will be completely fine. Also the guards will be using weapons that magically enchanted so they cannot kill or cause permanent damage. They are also enchanted so they cannot harm the innocent as well.” Luna said with a gentle smile. Kenshin smiled as a group of scientists quickly attached motion sensors to his hands and wrists and all over his body, they were each the size of a dime. They were made this way so they would not get in the way of the individual wearing them. Kenshin was told that they would help the scientist be able to record the data on his fighting. There were TV monitors set up everywhere so the fight could be seen by everypony as well have cameras set up all around the castle. “Pinkie Pie are you ready?” Celestia asked the pink party mare. “You betcha! I’ll be waiting for you Kenny! Don’t keep me waiting!” Pinkie said with wink as Celestia teleported her to the other side of the castle. “Are you ready Kenshin?” Celestia asked the human. “Yes I am. But this one must ask. How many of the royal guard will this one be fighting?” Kenshin asked. “All of them. These damn nobles kept insisting on it.” Luna groaned in annoyance. “How dare you! Why I have half mind to-” A fat noble began only to be interrupted by a loud click. *CLICK!* The click came from Luna’s switch blade clicking open which she held in her hand. “Bring it chunky.” Luna said causing the fat noble to quickly and silently sit back down in his seat. Celestia sighed at her sister’s behavior. Kenshin couldn’t help but notice a smug looking Blue Blood who thought that he was going to watch Kenshin get senselessly beaten. Kenshin could only laugh to himself at the pompous prince’s foolishness. Celestia and Luna had Kenshin stand in front of the double doors which led out of the room and into the castle which was filled to the brim with guards at the ready. “On your mark!” Celestia called. “Good luck Kenshin. But you won’t be getting past my guards. I trained them myself.” Shining Armor said with a smug grin. “Get ready!” Luna called. “Well, let us hope that they last longer in a fight than you do in bed.” Kenshin said with a sly grin. “Why you-” Shining started only to be cut off. “GO!!!” Both princesses shouted as the Giant double doors swung open and Kenshin charged out of the room as the girls, the Cutie Mark Crusadors, and Spike all cheered for him. The girls were cheering the hardest for him. Pinkie Pie cheered for him as well as the room she was in had a monitor that showed Kenshin in action. (Start Song, keep it going even through scene changes) Kenshin bolted through the double doors as he saw rows and rows of guards charging at him with swords and weapons drawn and at the ready. Kenshin could only smile as he drew his sword at such a high speed that it sounded like a whip cracked through the air as all the guards where sent flying back into the walls and on the ground knocked out. He charged down the hallway as he came to an intersection of four intersecting hallways. Twenty guards came charging in with swords, spears, and shields at the ready. Kenshin lunged at the first five and took them down with a single slash as the other fifteen tried to attack and slash at him, all at the same time. But to the guards surprise and shock, Kenshin blocked all attacks at the same time and pushed them all back. As they stammered backwards the last thing that they saw was the samurai disappeared in front of them due to his sheer speed only to feel excruciating pain. They only felt the pain for a split second before everything went black as they fell into unconsciousness. Kenshin darted down the hall and took a left turn down another hallway. Group of unicorn guards tried to use their magic to levitate him off of the ground only to realize that it had no effect on the man. Seeing that the man was quickly closing the distance they all began to fire magical blasts at the man only for him to quickly block and swat the blasts away with his sword as if they were nothing. The ten unicorn guards quickly increased their rate of fire but it had no effect. Kenshin leaped high into the air and slammed his sword onto the marble floor of the hallway. The effects were instant. The marble floor shattered underneath the ten unicorn guards causing them to be sent flying backwards from the sheer force. The sheer force of the blast knocked them out. Kenshin took off running again. As he ran a thought occurred to him. “It appears that this castle is built like a maze. Not bad Miss Megumi. This challenge is actually fun for this one.” Kenshin said to himself with a smile as he darted down another hallway. He saw a group of Pegasus guards with swords and spears drawn. They began to throw spears at him to which he sliced them in half and lunged at the guards only for them to take flight to the air. “Ha! You can’t reach us up here!” One of the stallions said as he flapped his wings only for Kenshin to leap 50 feet high into the air and end up face to face with the Pegasus. “Hi.” Kenshin said with a smile as he struck the Pegasus with his sword across the stomach, sending him flying back into the wall, and then the ground, and into dreamland. “Bye.” Kenshin said while still maintaining his smile. The nine other Pegasus flew at the still airborne samurai. Kenshin slashed the first Pegasus in the face and slammed both feet into the next one. A third one flew at him only to receive a two rapid strikes to the face and stomach. The fourth Pegasus saw Kenshin’s strike coming and brought up his shield to block the strike only for the sword to slice straight through the shield as if it were nothing and strike the guard in the head, knocking the Pegasus out. As all five Pegasus charged the man, Kenshin tucked himself into a ball spun in a full somersault. “HITEN MITSURUGI-RYŪ - RYŪKANSEN ARASHI!” Kenshin shouted as he sliced through all of the Pegasus guards and sending them into dreamland. As Kenshin finally landed on the ground he took off running again as more and more guards came pouring out into the halls. The guards with swords and shields charged him head on. Kenshin smiled as he charged the onslaught of guards and slashed his way through them. One, two, five, ten, twenty. The guards were falling around as his sword was nothing more than a mere blur. Ten Earth pony guards all swung their blades at him in a non-stop flurry. Kenshin could definitely tell that they were stronger than the average pony. Their strikes were strong as he felt the strikes against his sword as he blocked them, it still wasn’t a problem for him. Kenshin disappeared and reappeared behind two of the guards and delivered a flurry of slashes that sent them to the ground knocked out. One of the guards tried to bash the samurai with his shield only for his shield to be slashed to pieces in an instant and for a strike catch him in the chin and send him flying backwards and onto the ground in an unconscious state. The next guard threw their shield at the man in an attempt to distract him only for it to be smacked back into his face knocking him out. Three more tried to stab Kenshin only for him to duck under the attack and slice all three of them across the stomach and defeating them in one single stroke which he rode the momentum out causing him to spin in a full circle three times and take at two more of the guards. The last guard was terrified as he saw the man leap high into the air and scream. “HITEN MITSURUGI-RYŪ RYŪTSUISEN!” Kenshin screamed as he slammed his sword down on the guards head, causing his helmet to literally disintegrate from the sheer force of the strike. Kenshin was being sure to hold back as he knocked out the guard who fell to the ground. Three unicorn guards jumped from one of the high balconies in an attempt to try and surprise the man as the fired powerful rapid blasts at the man only for him to dodge all of the blasts and deliver three rapid strikes to each of them, sending them into dream land. As Kenshin took off running again he saw that the guards ahead were lowering a giant stone wall/gate that was meant to seal him off from his path to Pinkie Pie. As the wall/gate came down one of the guards laughed and said. “Ha, there no way a little stallion like him could get through this-” *BOOOOM!!!* The wall exploded to tiny bits as it was slashed to pieces as Kenshin ran past the Guardsmare and said. “Yes I can!” He said as he ran past the shocked mare and darted down another hallway out of sight. _____________________________________________________________________________________ In the room where Pinkie Pie was, she was watching Kenshin on the monitor and cheering him on. “WOOHOO! THAT’S MY KENNY!” Pinkie Pie cheered as she had hearts in her eyes as she watched the man decimate the royal guard that stood in his way. _____________________________________________________________________________________ In the room where everypony was watching the samurai fight, Celestia smiled as memories of her adventures with Kenshin came rushing back to her as she saw the man fight his way to his best friend. The elements of harmony were cheering happily as the Generals that were commanding the guards for this exercise were barking out orders into their mouth and ear pieces as their junior officers were giving them status reports. “General Iron Wing! Sectors 4, 5, and 6 have all been breached and the guards in those areas are all down!” One of the lieutenants shouted to the guardsmare known as Iron Wing. “Have Alpha squad close the emergency breach doors for the sector!” The high ranking mare barked. “Done!” *BOOOOM!!!* The boom was accompanied by a large tremor that shook the whole castle. “The emergency breach doors have been breached!” Another guard shouted. “Ma’am! Alpha squad has just been decimated!” Another junior officer shouted to General Iron Wing. “Well send in the bucking Equestrian Special Forces!” General Iron Wing shouted in anger as she began to panic and get angry. “Ma’am, Alpha squad was the Equestrian Special Forces!” The junior officer shouted in panic. “WHAT!!!” Iron Wing shouted as her jaw practically hit the ground in shock. Twilight and the scientists in the room were going nuts over the data that they were getting from watching this fight. All nobles were stunned and shocked into silence at what they saw. Blueblood was terrified at what he saw. But what terrified him the most was when the samurai turned and faced the camera and said. “This one hopes that you are ready for our dual Blueblood, this one can’t wait to fight you at the Grand Galloping Gala.” Kenshin said with a smirk. But what terrified the pompous prince the most was what Celestia did. She picked up a mic and spoke into it. “Kenshin, why are you holding back? This test is supposed to show everypony what you can do. How can we get accurate data if you keep holding back?” Celestia said with a cute little pout through the castle’s PA system. Everypony that was watching the monitor saw Kenshin simply laugh and disappear right in front of their eyes, not able to comprehend his sheer display of speed. At that moment the one of the guards sent a transmission over the intercom. “HE’S TOO FUCKING FAST! HE’S JUST WIPED OUT TEN SQUADS! HE’S EVERYWHERE! HE’S EVERYWHERE! AAAAAAAHHH!!!” A loud slashing sound could be heard right before the transmission cuts off. “Thou has bucked up nephew.” Luna said with a smirk as Blueblood passed out on the floor. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Kenshin was moving so fast that it looked like he was everywhere and nowhere all at once. Kenshin ran through the halls at such a high speed that he could not be seen by the naked eye, a loud screech could be heard from the speed that he was running at as he cut through the air. The young man was slicing his way through waves and waves of guards. Multiple guards tried to stop the man only for him to disappear before their very eyes. They all looked around to try and see if they could spot the man anywhere but it was futile as they all blacked out from a series of strikes coming from all directions. As another wave of guards came they could not spot the man either, that is until their lieutenant looked up and went wide eyed. “HOLY SHIT!” He screamed as he saw the red headed samurai running on the ceiling thanks to his sheer speed. On Kenshin’s face the whole time was a smile. Kenshin was untouchable to any and all enemies that tried to take him on. The guards that entered the room tried to draw their swords. But when they drew their swords they saw that all they had in their hands was the hilts and handles of their swords, the blades were all cut clean off and were somehow still inside of their scabbards. Before they could do anything, the man ran 100 feet on the ceiling and leaped off of and landed in the middle of the group of guards. “HITEN MITSURUGI-RYŪ RYŪSŌSEN!!!” Kenshin screamed as he delivered a serious of lightning fast strikes that took out the whole group of guards. Kenshin sheathed his sword as the guards all fell to the ground. Only one guard was left untouched. Kenshin ran up to the guard who dropped their sword and held up his hands in a sign of surrender. Kenshin stopped in front of the guard. “Pardon me, but can you tell this one if he is heading in the right direction to where Miss Pinkie Pie is?” The man asked the guard with a smile. “Y-Yes sir! J-Just head down t-that way and you’ll find a giant set of double doors! She’s in there Sir you can’t miss it!” The guard said nervously. “Thank you!” Kenshin said with a big smile as he darted off in the direction of Pinkie Pie. The guard stood there for ten seconds wide eyed at what had just happened before passing out with a thud on the ground. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Kenshin saw the giant double doors to where one of his best friends was being held. As he approached the door a bunch of guards dressed in black came leaping out of nowhere and began doing a bunch of flips and spinning their swords and spears around in a showing off fashion. Kenshin waited for them to be done their amazing yet silly show of their fighting skills. “We’re the Lunar Guard and we will-” The leader of the squad said only for Kenshin to slice all of them with his sakabato, causing all of them to all collapse to the ground unconscious. He approached the giant double doors and sliced them in half with a single slash. As the doors fell apart a two guards rushed at Kenshin only for him to deliver a quick strike to the first ones jaw and a strike to the top of the second guard’s head. Both of them crumbled to the floor. “KENNY!” Pinkie Pie squealed with joy as she ran up and gave Kenshin a big ol’ bear hug as she squished the man’s face into her luscious breasts. “It’s good to see you too Pinkie.” He voice came out muffled from his face being pressed into her pink fun bags. “Come on!” He said as he set the mare on his back and took off running. Her arms wrapped around his neck but she made sure not to do it too tightly. Kenshin ran at full speed as Pinkie laughed with glee. “Weeee!!!” She squeeled as they twisted and turned down the hallways that were filled with knocked out guards that littered the ground. Kenshin saw the main room where he started and saw that everypony was waiting for him. He front somersaulted through the air and landed. He held out his hands and caught a squealing Pinkie Pie who was still giggling from the ride. (End Song) Everypony in the room stared at Kenshin with pupils the size of dinner plates. Everypony was silent. Kenshin set Pinkie Pie down very gently and twirled his sword in his right hand before sheathing it. “That…was…AMAZING!!!” All of the girls screamed as they ran up to Kenshin and hugged him. “Darling you were amazing!” Rarity squealed. “That was some fancy sword fighting sugar cube!” Applejack praised. “That was so awesome!” Rainbow Dash cheered. “That was Spectactular!” Twilight cheered. “Y-You were a-amazing!” Fluttershy whispered with a smile. “You were whoopin’ major tushy!” Pinkie Pie laughed. Spike and the cutie mark crusaders were cheering for the man as they surrounded him and asking how he was able to do everything that they saw. “HOW!” General Iron Wing shouted in anger. “Oro?” Kenshin said with a tilt of his head in confusion. “HOW COULD A WIMPY STALLION LIKE YOU BEAT MY ROYAL GUARDS!!!” The mare barked in anger as she stomped up to the man. “There is no reason to get upset Ma’am.” Kenshin said with a sheepish, yet nervous smile. “How can a stallion like you beat all of those guards!!!” Iron Wing shouted with anger. “General iron Wing, Sir Kenshin is a very experienced swordsman. He has honed his skill for years on the battlefield with a lot of experience in combat.” Celestia explained to the young angry general in an attempt to calm her down. “You make it sound like he’s been in a war!” Iron wing stated angrily. “He has.” Celestia stated simply as scientists, high ranking guards, and nobles surrounded the man with questions and offers to the man to become a their personal body guard while others asked for him to make them his apprentice. Celestia could only sigh at the scene. “Everypony, Kenshin and his friends are currently tired from their ordeal. We will discuss the results of the test and Sir Kenshin’s abilities at a later time.” Celestia said as she lead Kenshin and the others to a lounge room so they could have some privacy. “Believe it or not I am quite skilled in sword fighting myself Kenshin.” Celestia said with a proud smile. “You are? That it amazing!” Kenshin said with a smile as she made a rapier appear out of nowhere. “Allow me to demonstrate my skills.” She said with wink as she took a stance and began to deliver quick strikes to the air. She delivers quick slashes and spins on her hoof and delivers a series of stabs to the air. She then front flipped through the air and slashed the air before sheathing her sword as she faced the young man with a smile. “Tell me what you think Kenshin and please be honest.” Celestia said with a warm smile. “It was…good.” Kenshin said with a strained smile. “Kenshin, you’re not being honest with me.” She said with a knowing look. “Besides I can take it.” She added. “A-Are you sure?” He asked nervously. “Yes my friend. Tell me what you think of my sword skills.” She said with a smile. “Weeeell… Your stance is filled with a lot holes in your defense. Your sword while it is quick, is too brittle to handle heavy strikes and is basically like a giant toothpick, you should really think about getting it reinforced. Your strikes are forced and stiff when they should be fluid in motion and strong yet smooth and swift. You need to spread your hooves out a little more for your stance. Your grip on your sword is too tight and should be a little higher on the hilt. Your fighting style is very simple and straight forward and the front flip at the end was completely unnecessary.” Kenshin said rapidly. “But um… you’re still very good at it.” Kenshin said sheepishly to a very shocked Celestia whose jaw had hit the ground along with all of the elements of harmony. Meanwhile Luna was laughing her ass off. (This is how Kenshin's rant went like.) ______________________________________________________________________________ *Later that Night: Fillydelphia Harbor – Abandoned Warehouse* (Start song) Enemy after enemy was sent flying back in pain. Two unicorns began firing blasts of magic at the man that was standing in front of him. Saito weaved in between the blasts as they were shot at him and delivered a flying spin kick to both of the stallions’ chins at the same time. Both stallions slammed into the walls of the abandoned warehouse. The two stallions laid there knocked out. As he turned to face the rest of the street gang, he saw that they were all circling around him with their weapons and magic at the ready. “I have to admit, ever since I came to this world I’ve been having the time of my life.” Saito said with a smirk as he slammed a hard right hook to one the face of one of the thugs. A sickening crunch echoed throughout the warehouse as the punch broke the gang bangers face, sending his opponent crumbling to the ground. Another gang member tried to stab Saito in the back with a knife only for him to slam a hard kick behind him without even looking. The thug was sent flying crashing through a window and rolled on the docks outside until he rolled off of them and into the sea shore with a loud splash. Another thug charged the man with a baseball bat and swung at him five times only to miss every single time. The cop simply smacked the bat out of the thugs grip and grabbed it in midair. The samurai then proceeded to smash the bat into his enemy’s skull with a sickening crunch. As the thug crumbled to the ground Saito delivered blow after blow to the stallion’s skull, sending blood splattering everywhere and all over himself. After beating the gang member’s brains out, he then turned his attention to the rest of the gang. They all had looks of fear in their eyes. He stared at them for a moment. They were all wearing red sleeveless hoodies that shrouded their faces. “W-Why are you doing this?” One of the stallion’s asked with a shaky voice. “Bloodied Blade, you’re guilty of five counts of murder and assault with intent to kill on a mother and her foal.” Saito said with a calm yet cold voice. “H-How the fuck do you know about that!?” Bloodied Blade demanded with a mixture of anger and fear in his voice. Before he could react, the man had already closed the distance between them and had him in a choke hold. Saito tightened his grip, snapping Bloodied Blade’s neck and then letting the corpse fall to the ground. As he turned to the next two thugs his icy glare struck fear into them. “Sell Out, you’ve guilty of extortion and racketeering and arson. Two years ago you burnt down the shop of an old stallion who couldn’t afford to pay you protection money. He died in the fire which adds murder to your rap sheet.” Saito said as he drew his katana and slashed the stallion clean in half, right down the middle sending blood spraying everywhere. “Crooked Star, you’re guilty of robbery, bribery, kidnapping, and murder. Last year you kidnapped a young filly and held her for ransom, when the royal guard and the family came with the money, you panicked when you saw law enforcement. You slit the filly’s throat and ran as the family cried as the police tried to save her only for her to die seconds later. Her name was Bright Mind. The family you tore apart demands justice and closure and that’s just what I’m going to give them.” Saito said fire in his eyes. “WAIT! WAIT! WAIT!” Crooked Star screamed only for Saito to slam him against the wall and pull out a knife. “This is the knife you used on Bright Mind that day. Feel what she felt.” Saito said as he dragged the old and rusty knife across the stallion’s throat excruciatingly slow. As the stallion clutched his throat as he choked on his own blood Saito grabbed him by his mane and brought him face to face with him. “Look me in the eyes as you die maggot.” Saito growled to the murder as he took his final breath of air and died. Saito let go of the dead body and turned to the next thug. “Angry Fists, you’re guilty of bribery, domestic abuse, assault and battery, rape, child abuse, reckless endangerment of a minor, and murder. Two years ago you had a loving wife that you abused, beat, and raped every day. You saw that she was very timid in nature and you took advantage of that. Whenever your son tried to stop you, you would beat the living shit out of him. One day you beat your wife so badly that she died. Her name was Timid Heart. You will feel her pain.” Saito said with fury in his eyes. “That’s impossible, the case was dismissed! I paid the judge off on that one!” Angry Fists shouted in anger only for Saito to reach into his bag and pulled out a severed head which he threw at the feet of the stallion. Angry Fists’ anger turned to terror as he saw the severed head of the judge he paid off that day lying at his hooves. Saito lunged at the stallion and began beating him to a bloody pulp. Punch after punch, the stallion screamed in pain as Saito began smashing his head into glass windows over and over again, shattering the glass windows and cutting the stallion’s face up horrifically. As he threw the stallion to the ground, the stallion was barely alive. The stallion laid there barely alive. As he saw Saito walk out of his field of vision and no longer standing over him he thought he was off the hook and that he might be able to escape. But when Saito came back into his field of view with a chair in hand, he realized how wrong he was. The last thing that Angry Fists experienced was Saito repeatedly bringing the wooden chair down on his head over and over again until it was nothing but a pile of splinters and his head nothing but a pile of bloody mush and paste. Saito turned to the last thug who was now shaking and quivering in fear. “Twisted Mind, you’re guilty of kidnapping, rape, and murder. Two years ago you kidnapped a young filly who was walking home from school and had your way with her, her name is Cool Breeze. When the royal guards found you about to kill the little filly, a guard by the name Courageous Heart stopped you just long enough for the filly to escape but in the process died because you stabbed him in the heart with a knife so you could escape. You ruined a little filly’s life, I will give her closure and avenge the fallen guard.” Saito said with cold furry and rage as he lunged at Twisted Mind and punched him so hard that his hand tore straight into his chest in a bloody mess. Saito slowly pulled his hand out of the stallion’s chest cavity and in his hand was the stallion’s still beating heart which he began to force feed to the stallion. As he forced the still beating heart into the stallion’s mouth he delivered an uppercut to the stallion’s jaw which caused him to crush his own heart with his own mouth. The stallion’s corpse fell to the ground. (End song) Saito looked at the dead bodies that covered the floor of the old abandoned warehouse as he sat down on an old crate that creaked under his weight. He thought for a moment about the documents that he saw on the criminals that he just killed. He had snuck in to the local police department and pulled up the files. From what he had seen, crime was basically nonexistent in this world. But it seemed that there were a few exceptions, why they all thought it was a good idea to hideout in the same abandoned warehouse was beyond him. From what he saw, Equestria was a utopia. Saito reached up and tugged at the collar of his shirt. For some reason he had felt like he had been burning up all day. The young man leaned back while thinking about this. This land was beautiful and peaceful, poverty was basically nonexistent, and those that were poor were helped by the government and were given good jobs by the government or the crown. It made no sense. Why would anyone want to fuck that up? But of course in his line of work he found out a long time ago that a lot of the criminals he arrested were stupid idiots that were trying to gain a quick yen. Small things like thievery and other things like that were nobody got hurt physically, he would let the legal system handle it. But when it came to things like rape and murder, that’s where he came in. Despite what most people think, he didn’t go by assumptions. He made sure that the guys that he killed were guilty. If there was even a single shadow of a doubt then he wouldn’t do it at all, he would let the law handle it. As for Equestria’s law enforcement, from what he saw the royal guard were a bunch of pushovers but at least they did their jobs, there was hardly any corruption from what he could see. (Start Song) At that moment a lightning fast sword slash came at him from the darkness of the warehouse. Saito managed to draw his sword just in time to block the strike. His katana clanged against the strike as more slashes and strikes came out of the darkness and at him. Saito was being pushed back by the flurry of the attacks. Saito did a backwards handspring and avoided the rest of the strikes. As Saito stood at the ready with his katana gripped tightly in hand as his eyes scanned the darkness, his eyes picked up a figure in the shadows which slowly walked towards him. “Well, well, it seems that your skills are still sharply honed after all of these years.” A very familiar voice said as he stepped out of the shadows. It was a man dressed in a purple kimono with long brown hair that was tied back in a ponytail. In the man’s hand was a katana. Saito’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the man. “Who are you?” Saito asked. “You really don’t remember me do you?” The man said with a smirk on his face. His eyes carried a predatory gleam. Something was very familiar about the samurai that was standing in front of him. “It’s alright, the last time we saw each other was in Kyoto and I was covered in bandages. But now as you can see my body is healed.” The man explained with an evil smirk. As the man said those words Saito went wide eyed when he finally realized who the man was. “Makoto Shishio.” Saito said surprised that the man was back from the dead. “How are you even alive?” Saito asked in an even tone. “That doesn’t matter right now.” Shishio said with a sadistic grin as he took a stance with his sword at the ready. “You’re right. It doesn’t matter at this point because I’m about to send you back to hell where you belong.” Saito said as he took his Gatotsu stance. “Come and try.” Shishio challenged. Saito and Shishio lunged at each other at full speed. Their blades clashed against each other causing sparks to fly everywhere. As there blades locked with each other Saito quickly threw a right hook at Shishio’s face only for it to be caught by the deranged killer’s hand. Shishio drew his head back and head butted Saito. The Shinsengumi captain was sent flying backwards in pain as he tried to right himself in midair. Shishio dashed forward and threw a hard kick to the man’s stomach. Saito felt the wind get knocked out of him as the kick struck his ribs. Saito managed to right himself in the air and land on his feet. Saito lunged at Shishio with his sword and unleashed a flurry of stabs, slashes, and strikes. Shishio went on the defensive as he blocked the series of strikes with his katana as quick as he could. The two swordsmen leapt away from each other. “I thought you would at least put up a fight Saito, I guess I was wrong.” Shishio said mockingly. Saito shot forward and delivered a hard kick to his enemy’s chin sending him flying backwards. Saito moved so fast that he disappeared from in front of Shishio and reappeared behind him. Shishio managed to right himself in midair as Saito delivered a slash to his right shoulder. Shishio grunted in pain. “What was that about me not putting up a fight?” Saito said with a smirk before he lunged at Shishio again. The young samurai slashed his sword at Shishio’s throat only for it to be blocked. Saito delivered five rapid slashes to Shishio’s face, throat, stomach, hands and legs. Every single blow was blocked by the deranged hitokiri’s blade. “Now it’s my turn.” Shishio said with a smirk as he took the offensive. Shishio dashed at the Saito while dragging his sword against the ground causing sparks to fly everywhere. “Hopefully you remember the pain from this!” Shishio screamed as his sword ignited in flames and caught fire as he slashed the cop across the chest. Saito howled in pain as the hitokiri kept up his assault and delivered a flurry of flaming slashes to his body. Saito was thrown back into the wall by a kick. Somehow, the cop managed to stay standing, albeit barely. Despite the mind numbing, searing pain he was in, Saito couldn’t help but feel like he was burning up on the inside. This was not because of the burning slashes he had just received, he actually felt like there was a small fire that was growing inside him. Shishio delivered a low slash to Saito’s legs only for him to leap into the air just in time for the blade to go under him. Shishio delivered two slashes that were aimed for the man’s stomach and neck. Saito barely managed to block the two strikes with his katana. As Saito blocked another flurry of attacks he saw that he was a disadvantage. He felt the flaming sword slice into the flesh of his shoulder causing him to scream in pain as the fire in his chest kept growing. Saito slashed at the man only for Shishio to duck under the strike and deliver an uppercut which sent him flying backwards through the air. Shishio gave chase. Before Saito could even react Shishio delivered a flying spin kick to the man’s chest, causing the man to spit up blood as he hit the ground and tumbled away. His sword lay a few feet away from him. Saito reached for his sword only for Shishio to walk over and pick it up. “How can you hope to defeat me all on your own? You barely stood a chance against me when you fought me in Kyoto.” Shishio mocked. Hearing these words caused Saito’s rage to build up as well as the fire in his chest which was now at an unbearable level as his hands clenched at his chest in pain. “You had to have everyone helping you and even then I kicked the shit out of you.” The hitokiri laughed as he raised his flaming sword, ready to kill Saito. Steam began to come off of Saito’s body as his anger rose to the breaking point. “In all honesty I think that Sanosuke Sagara would have stood a far better chance than you.” Shishio laughed as he brought the flaming sword down on the man’s head only for something completely unexpected to happen. “AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!” Saito screamed in insane rage as flames emitted from his body, causing a huge fiery blast which sent Shishio flying backwards into a wall. Saito lunged at the man while screaming in anger and rage. He threw a punch at Shishio who managed to jump pack away from the strike only for a ball of fire to shoot out of Saito’s fist and hit him square in the chest. Shishio screamed in pain as he felt the familiar sensation of his skin burning. Saito slammed a flaming kick into Shishio’s stomach which caused him to drop Saito’s sword which Saito grabbed before it hit the ground. Saito’s eyes were glowing as if they were on fire as he slashed at the man with his sword at a high rate of speed. Shishio was blocking the strikes as best as he could as they came at him at such a high speed that they were nothing but a blur. The blade slashed Shishio all over his body causing him to scream in pain. Shishio barely managed to dodge a potentially fatal strike. He saw an opening and smacked the sword out of Saito’s hand which flew across the room and stabbed into the ground. But Saito in his fit of rage kicked Shishio’s sword out of his hand which flew across the room as well and stabbed itself into a wall. Saito lunged at the man screaming in rage. At this point Saito seemed to have been completely overcome by his rage and was now attacking Shishio like a wild animal. Saito threw punch after punch which sent fire balls from his fists and at Shisihio. Shishio dodged some of the blasts while some managed to graze him. Saito slammed a spinning flaming uppercut to Shishio’s chin that sent him flying backwards only for him to land on his feet in pain. Shishio turned his neck slightly which emitted a series of loud cracks as a smirk spread across his face. “It seems that you’ve somehow absorbed this world’s magic. It’s even given you some powers. Too bad you don’t know how to control it.” Shishio said as Saito fired a stream of fire out of his hands at him. At that moment Shishio fired a stream of lightning out of his right hand that canceled out Saito’s attack. “Two can play that game.” Shishio said with a smirk as sparks of electricity were trailing down his hands to his fingertips. “AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!” Shishio screamed as he lunged at Saito, this time with electricity covering his body. Shishio delivered an electrically charged punch to Saito’s jaw which sent him flying backwards and into a wall. Shishio fired another stream of lightning from his fingertips to which the feral Saito fired another blast of fire which clashed with lightning. But as the two blasts met Saito’s flames began to die down and get weaker and weaker with each passing second until there was nothing left. The blast of electricity sent the shinsengumi flying backwards and onto the ground near his sword. Luckily for him his fire took the brunt of the attack for him. “What *HUFF* the hell *HUFF* was that? *HUFF*” Saito said out of breath as he grasped his sword just as Shishio retrieved his katana. “Your body has been exposed to the magic that is radiating off of this world. Your rage sent you into a fit of insanity. One little problem for you though, when you began shooting fireballs everywhere it drained all of your energy.” Shishio said as he pulled his sword out of the wall. “The lightning’s new.” Saito hissed. as he stumbled back as he kept trying to see he could shoot flames again. Unfortunately, his attempts were unsuccessful as he stumbled backwards into a metal barrel. Saito quickly threw the metal barrel at Shishio with the last of his strength. Shishio slashed the barrel in half. When he did, thick black liquid came spewing out of the container and all over Shishio’s body. The black liquid created a huge puddle which spread across the ground and under the rest of the metal barrels in the warehouse. The man paid no mind to this as he was covered in the black liquid, all he cared about was killing Saito. Saito, now completely out of energy fell to one knee. “Really? REALLY? Is that the best you can do? Hmph, I’m not surprised, you couldn’t beat me on your own when I was covered in burns, how can you even hope to kill me when I’m at full health and power.” Shishio said with a triumphant smirk as he walked towards the man. At this point Saito began to snicker before busting out into full blown laughter. “What’s so funny? You can’t even move.” Shishio asked, thinking that Saito had lost his mind. After a few seconds, Saito managed to calm. “Three things actually. One, I’m surprised that this whole warehouse didn’t explode during our fight. I mean this whole place is filled with oil drums. Two the stuff you’re covered in is oil.” Shishio began looking around the room and then looked at the oil that covered his body and saw that what Saito was saying was true. “And three…” Saito flicked on his lighter as his lips slowly curled into a smirk. Shishio’s eyes widened in realization. “Three, I think your old look was much better.” He said before throwing his lighter onto the oil that covered the ground. When the lighter hit the ground the oil instantly caught fire and spread across the ground in an instant, catching Shishio on fire. Before Shishio could even scream in pain the flames reached the oil drums. In a split second the whole warehouse was blown apart in a giant fiery explosion. *BOOM!!!!!!!!* (End Song) A badly injured Saito was sent flying through the air and into the harbor with a loud splash. Saito was trying to stay afloat but his severe injuries made this impossible. As he started to sink under the water he saw a figure swimming towards him. He saw a mare with very fluffy pink fur that was swimming towards him with a life preserver. She grabbed him and pulled him closer to her. He was fading in and out of consciousness at this point. As the mare looked at him she said only one thing to him before he pass out. “Pfffffft!!!” The pink fluffly mare blew a raspberry as Saito passed out. When Saito came to he was lying on a beach with the pink fluffy pony watching him with a worried look, but this time there were two more ponies. Spitfire and Derpy were kneeling next to him with worried expressions on their faces as he coughed up water. “Hold on Saito!” Spitfire said but to Saito it sounded like a distant echo. That was the last thing Saito heard before he passed out again. The three mares quickly carried Saito off to the nearest hospital. Meanwhile, in the rubble of the destroyed warehouse, a heavily burned hand came reaching out of the rubble. “T-This isn’t over.” A heavily burned Shishio grunted in pain. _____________________________________________________________________________________ *Canterlot Castle – Night* “So Discord brought you back from the dead and turned you back to the age of twenty-one?” Celestia asked after Kenshin explained how he came to Equestria as he looked out of the balcony and at the beautiful view of the country side. “That he did.” Kenshin nodded. “Did he ever say why he did this?” Celestia asked with concern. “No…” Kenshin said as he gazed out into distance. Kenshin watched the night sky as he thought about the one question that had been bugging him the whole time since he found out that Celestia was Megumi. The one question that he feared the answer to. “Kenshin…are you alright?” Celestia asked as she and her sister and the elements of harmony all look Kenshin with concern. “I…I have to know… What happened to Kaoru?” Kenshin finally asked the question that he feared. “Kenshin… I… I…” Celestia began to choke on her words. She saw the desperation in Kenshin’s eyes for an answer. “…I’m so sorry… I did everything I could…” Celestia said with tears welling up in her eyes. “N-No…” Kenshin whispered as tears welled up in his eyes as he fell to his knees and began sobbing heavily. Pinkie ran over to Kenshin with everypony following behind her. “I-It’s okay Kenshin, I’m here for you. I’ll always be here for you.” Pinkie Pie said with tears in her eyes as she pulled Kenshin into a tight hug. Kenshin only sobbed harder into Pinkie’s shoulder. “We’re all here for you Kenshin.” Fluttershy said as her and the others joined in and hugged Kenshin. _____________________________________________________________________________________ *Later that night* Kenshin laid in the bed of the guest room that Celestia had generously gave to him to use. The girls were in the rooms next door, they were all worried for him, but Kenshin said he wanted to be alone. Kenshin had cried himself to sleep hours ago. As he lay there in bed, a bright light began shining from the window of the room as a smoky mist came flowing into the room through the window and moved towards Kenshin. The mist began to take shape into the figure of a young woman that was made out of mist. “I… miss you… Kaoru.” Kenshin moaned in his sleep. “And I miss you Kenshin.” The woman said. Kenshin’s eyes slowly began to open as he awoke. What he saw made his heart nearly stop. As he stared at the ghost woman that was smiling at him, Kenshin could only say one word. “…Kaoru.” > Chapter 9 - Coming to Terms and Finding Closure > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 9 – Coming to Terms and Finding Closure “…Kaoru.” Kenshin could only sit there staring at the ghost of his wife who just smiled at him. Kenshin could feel tears slowing welling up in his eyes. He dare not blink in fear of her disappearing. The young man slowly got up from his bed and slowly walked towards the ghost and stopped in front of her. “…Koaru… Is that really you?” Kenshin asked with a shaky voice as tears streamed down his face. “It is my love.” She replied as she pulled Kenshin into a tight hug as he finally broke down crying into the woman’s embrace. “That’s right, let it all out.” She said as one of her hands rubbed his back in a comforting manner. After ten minutes, Kenshin managed to finally calm down enough. He stayed there silently in the embrace for a few more minutes before he felt a hand gently lift his chin up to her face. The young man simply didn’t know what to say, he stared at the ghost of his wife. She had a pale white glow that surrounded her body. Her hair was a deep shade of raven black and her skin was a pale yet beautiful shade of white. The young man looked into his wife’s eyes. “I see you’ve been doing well for yourself.” Koaru said with a smile as she looked Kenshin up and down. “Nice outfit, I like it.” She said as she floated around her husband. “T-Thank you… H-How are you here? How is this even possible when you’re-” “Dead? Well that’s simple, I’m a ghost!” She said with a smile. Kenshin was speechless. “I can’t stand to see you crying over me Kenshin.” She said with a sad expression on her face as she cupped his cheek. “B-But I love you! How can I not be grieving over the loss of my wife!” Kenshin said. “Kenshin, I love you with all of my heart. I know what you’re going through, I went through the same thing with you when you died.” Koaru explained sympathetically. “I-I’m so sorry!” He said as he fell to his knees in with his tears beginning to resume. “It’s ok Kenshin.” She said as she hugged the man again. “H-How long did you-” “Three years… I lived three more years after your death.” She said with a sad smile. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” He said with a frown as he wiped the tears from his eyes. “It’s alright Kenshin. But I have something important to tell you.” She said. “What is it?” He asked. “You need to move on. You need to go on living.” She said. “What!” “You cannot live everyday of your life grieving over me Kenshin. You need to live your life free and happy.” The woman said with a smile. “How can I? Knowing that everything and everyone I knew is gone.” He said. “I wouldn’t say that.” She said with a knowing smile. “Besides, you still have Megumi.” She continued. “How did you know about Megumi?” He asked. “I’ve known for a while actually. When she was treating me she gained her memories back, her magic was still weak and it would take years after my death for it to completely comeback before she could go home. But during that time, she would tell me stories about Equestria as I lay in bed sick and even show me some of her magic tricks. It would always put a smile on my face.” Koaru said with a gentle smile. “You should have seen the look on Kenji’s face when he walked in on her showing me some of her tricks.” She said with a smile. “Oh you mean he walked in on her showing you her magic?” “She was showing me something alright but it wasn’t magic.” Koaru said with a wink. “W-What?!” Kenshin said as his eyes widen in realization. “W-What do you mean?” He asked. “Well, when you passed. I fell into a deep depression. Megumi moved in shortly after you died. She was extremely worried about my declining health, so she thought it was best that she live with me so she could take care of me better.” She said. “But what about the disease being contagious?” Kenshin asked. “Ironically she found a way to cure my illness with a new type of medicine that she made shortly after you died, her discovery was phenomenal. The only problem was that by the time she managed to cure me, the disease had already damaged many of my organs. So I was going to die either way but she managed to give me a few more years and for that I am thankful. Her discovery has saved the lives of millions but she still feels great regret over not being able to save you and me.” Koaru said with a sad expression. “Oh… This one has to ask… When did you and Megumi-” “Become a couple?” She interrupted. Kenshin nodded with a dumbfounded look. “Well, a year after you passed. Megumi and I were sitting in the dojo, she had opened the some of the windows so I could get some fresh air. We had grown much closer over that year. I was sitting in the sun as she was knitting, she had just taken up the hobby. She began to tell me about Equestria as she always did since gaining her memories to cheer me up.” She said. “That day my depression was very bad, I missed you so badly. I remember holding a picture of you as my heart yearned for you. Megumi saw what was going on and came over to check on me.” She paused for a moment. “I remember being amazed at the stories Megumi told me about Equestria, how there was hardly and crime and no war.” She said with a smile. “Eventually one day by some odd chance the conversation moved on to how the relationships between our worlds differ. She told me about how herds work and thinks like that, she also told me that if a stallion dies the mares of a herd will usually comfort each other and love each other.” She explained. “I didn’t get what she meant by the mares love each other for a while until she explained.” She said to which Kenshin was intently paying attention to what his wife was saying. “She kept telling me that it wasn’t healthy for me to be sitting there every day depressed. I won’t lie, I never really did move on.” She said with a sad smile. “I’m very sorry that I caused you so much pain my love.” Kenshin said with a melancholy look. “But how did you two-” “Hook up? Oh that’s simple actually, one day my muscles were aching really badly so she took me to a local hot spring to help soothe my pain. We both got in, she offered to massage my shoulders which was something she often did for me so I thought nothing of it. Eventually one thing led to another.” She said with a blush. *THUD* “Ororororororo.” Kenshin moaned as he collapsed on the ground. Koaru couldn’t help but laugh at Kenshin’s antics. “Even to this day, you still do that!” She laughed kind heartedly before finishing her explanation. “I was lonely and had no one other than Megumi, after losing you I sunk into a deep depression. I guess I just clung to Megumi since she was always with me. Yahiko would visit often. Saito believe it or not would drop by every now and then to check on me.” She said. “Saito?” Kenshin asked with shock as he stood back up again. “Despite what has happened in the past between you two, he came in to check on me and Megumi to see if we were alright.” She said to which Kenshin was surprised. “Kenji would visit when he could, but… He was going through some personal problems of his own.” She said with a solemn look. “What do you mean?” Kenshin asked with worry. “He became very secluded, he began to stick to himself a lot. He was always disappearing off to God knows where. I know he always took his training very serious. But as a mother I worried about him a lot.” She said with a frown. “Is he ok?” Kenshin asked with worry. “Don’t worry, Kenji is fine. Last time I checked on him, he was with Yahiko. Those two have become very good friends over the years. Megumi always looked out for Kenji, even after I passed. But I will admit it has been a long time since I last seen him.” She said, happy that Megumi looked after her son but sad that she has not seen her son in years. “Sooo… are you mad?” Kaoru asked her husband with a worried expression. “About what? You and Megumi getting together? No. I could never be mad at you for that.” Kenshin said with a smile. “I died and left you all alone. You were sick and lonely, you just wanted to be loved. I’m happy that you moved on and that Megumi was able to ease your pain.” Kenshin said with a gentle smile. “Thank you Kenshin. That is actually the reason why I’m here. It goes back to what I said earlier. You need to move on.” Kaoru said. “Kaoru… I don’t think I can… You were all I had…Without you… I’m all alone.” Kenshin said with tears in his eyes. “That’s where you’re wrong.” She said just as the door to his room slowly creak open as 8 mares walked into the room. “Kenshin darling, we heard some noise coming from your room. We got worried and-” Rarity said as her and the other mares filed into the room only to freeze at what they saw. The girls’ eyes went wide as they saw the ghost woman floating there with a smile. _____________________________________________________________________________________ It was the middle of the night as Sanosuke, Cheerilee, and Vinyl walked into the bar. The place was decently packed, but nowhere near overcrowded. They all walked over to one of the open tables and sat down. “This is nice. So what’s the occasion?” Sanosuke asked as he looked around the bar from his seat. “We just thought it would be nice for all of us to get out of the house for a little bit.” Cheerilee said. “Yeah, you’ve been helping us out a lot around the house. It’s the least we can do.” Vinyl said with a smile. “It’s nothing, you girls were kind enough to let me stay with you.” Sanosuke said with a smile. Sanosuke felt bad that he was just lying around the place so he decided to help out with the house work. He may have been lazy but that didn’t me he wasn’t going to help out when he could. He even managed to fix some things around the girls’ home. “It’s also our way of saying sorry for some of the wackiness that has been happening around the house lately.” Cheerilee said with a sheepish grin. “Yeah, sorry about that prank Sano. I just couldn’t resist, he he.” Vinyl said with a nervous laugh as she scratched the back of her head. “The fact that you walk around in nothing but your underwear all day doesn’t help either.” Cheerilee deadpanned. “Are you still hung up on that? I like to relax at home. Besides, you know you love it. So does Sanosuke.” Vinyl remarks with a smirk. “It’s alright ladies, I don’t mind.” Sanosuke said with a hint of red on his cheeks. “Ah, see! Told you! He just can’t get enough of seeing these flanks!” Vinyl cheered with a triumphant smile as she smacked her own ass, causing it to jiggle slightly. Sanosuke’s cheeks turned redder. “Vinyl, quit teasing Sanosuke.” Cheerilee said with mock anger to which all three laughed. “Oh alright.” She said with a sigh as a bar maid came up to the table. “What can I get you?” The bar maid asked with a smile to which they ordered their beers. The mare walked off to get their orders. Sanosuke couldn’t help but notice that the waitress was eyeing him intently with a smile on her face as she walks off. He decided to just shrug it off. Cheerilee noticed as well and she didn’t seem too happy about it. “So Sanosuke, what are your plans for the future, besides finding Kenshin?” Vinyl asked. “I’m not sure really, I haven’t really got any plans for after that. But I’ll think of something.” He said with a shrug. “You could always find a good mare to take care of you.” The teacher explained. “Or a good herd.” The DJ added. “What do you mean?” The young man asked. “Well it’s very important for a stallion to find a good herd. A herd takes care of a stallion and makes sure he’s safe. A good mare takes care of her stallion.” Vinyl said. “I was always taught that men were supposed to take care of the woman.” He said with confusion just as the bar maid came back with their drinks. This time she was swaying her hips a bit and it seemed that her skirt was hiked up a few inches. “Here you go honey.” She said to Sanosuke as she handed the drinks out and gave him a wink. This caused both Cheerilee and Vinyl to glare at the mare only for her to ignore them. Sanosuke could have sworn that he could hear a low growl coming from the two mares. As the mare walked off, he could see her swaying her hips as she gave him one last wink. Cheerilee and Vinyl maintained their glares at the mare until she was gone. As they turned back to him they attidues changed back to normal. He had no idea what the hell was going on but he decided to not ask since he was slightly scared by the girls’ reaction. “Well like we told you before, Equestria is a matriarchy. Mares are expected to take care of their stallions and give them as much love as possible.” Cheerilee continued as they all began drinking from their mugs. “I’m still getting used to Equestrian society, not to mention this world. Besides, what lady would ever want a guy like me?” Sanosuke said with a shrug. “Plenty of mares would love to have you as their stallion!” Cheerilee said slightly louder than she intended. “What do you mean?” he said in slight shock and confusion. “You’re kind and you’re brave. Any mare would be happy to have you in their herd. You always put others before yourself.” Vinyl said as she joined in on the conversation. “You saved us from that bastard Blue Blaze. You’re a not just a great stallion but you’re a hero as well.” Cheerilee added. “Not to mention the fact that you’re a hunk!” Vinyl chimed in. “Exactly!” Cheerilee agreed. Sanosuke choked on his drink at what he just heard. The two mares’ faces turned red when they realized what they just said. The young man was shocked by what the mares said. “You… think I’m handsome?” He asked with surprise. “W-Well yeah.” Cheerilee and Vinyl said at the same time as their faces became even redder. An awkward silence fell between the three. “Soooo… How did you girls meet?” Sanosuke said awkwardly as he tried to break the silence. “O-Oh, well you see me and Vinyl met during our college days. I was getting my doctorate at the University of Manehattan and Vinyl was working on her bachelor degree.” Cheerilee explained. “We got assigned as roommates in college for that year.” Vinyl said. “Tavi graduated the year before so I needed somepony to be my roommate, just so happens Cheers here was looking for a roommate. Me and her were working on our final year for our degrees, so it seemed perfect.” Vinyl explained. “Who’s Tavi?” Sanosuke asked. “A very good friend of mine, I’ll introduce you to her when we get to Ponyville.” Vinyl said with a smile. “We both just hit it off pretty well. I liked to party a lot and she had trouble be able to loosen up. So I helped her.” She finished. “Well that’s good. Everyone needs to let loose once in a while.” Sanosuke answered. Sanosuke then began to gulp down his mug of beer until it was empty and set it down only to hear singing coming from across the bar. He saw a couple of mares singing with microphones on stage. Their singing was the not the best. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t good either. “What are they doing?” He asked. “Karaoke, haven’t you ever sang karaoke before?” Cheerilee asked. “No, I don’t even know what it is.” He said. “You just sing the words that appear on the monitor into microphone.” She said. “You should try it, its pretty fun!” Vinyl cheered. “I’m not that good of a singer, trust me on this.” The young man laughed nervously. “Oh I don’t believe that.” Cheerilee said. “I can’t sing to save my life.” He continued. “You’ll never know until you try. You lack confidence and I’m going to help you fix that.” She said with a grin as Vinyl got up to join in a well. Before the man could protest any further she grabbed his hand and pulled him to the stage as the two mares that were singing left the stage after finishing their song. “Cheerilee! What are you doing?” He asked. “Giving you some confidence. Here.” The teacher said as she handed the man a microphone. “Do I have to?” He groaned. “Yes!” Both mares giggled. “Just sing the words that are on the screen Sanosuke.” Cheerilee said to the man. As his eyes met the mare’s he found that he couldn’t protest any further. He found himself lost in her eyes. All he could think of was how beautiful her green eyes were, it was as if they were two beautiful green emeralds. He found that all of his resistance and reluctance began to fade away entirely. He turned to Vinyl but when he looked into her eyes he was met with the same affects. He couldn’t help but admire the mares beautiful eyes and smiles. “O-Ok.” He said as he finally gave in. “Alright!” Vinyl said with a fist pump to the air as she grabbed a mic. (Start Song) Just a small town filly Livin' in a lonely world She took the midnight train goin' anywhere Just a city colt Born and raised in south Detrot He took the midnight train goin' anywhere A singer in a smoky room A smell of wine and cheap perfume For a smile they can share the night It goes on and on, and on, and on [Chorus] Strangers waiting Up and down the boulevard Their shadows searching in the night Streetlights, ponies Living just to find emotion Hiding somewhere in the night Working hard to get my fill Everybody wants a thrill Payin' anything to roll the dice Just one more time Some will win, some will lose Some were born to sing the blues Oh, the movie never ends It goes on and on, and on, and on [Chorus] Don't stop believin' Hold on to the feelin' Streetlights, ponies Don't stop believin' Hold on Streetlights, ponies Don't stop believin' Hold on to the feelin' Streetlights, ponies (End Song) As the three finished the song the whole bar began to clap for them in applause. “See Sano, you’re singing was great!” Vinyl said. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Everypony just stood there stalk still as they stared at the ghostly woman as she smiled at everyone in the room. “Hello there everyone, I see you’ve been taking care of Kenshin since he came here. Especially you.” Kaoru said as she floated up to Pinkie Pie. “My name is Kaoru Himura. I’m Kenshin’s wife.” She said. “I-I’m Pinkie Pie, are you really a ghostie?” Pinkie asked to which Kaoru gently laughed. “Yes, Pinkie I am a ghostie.” Kaoru said with a kind smile. “You girls have watched over Kenshin during his time here in Equestria. For that I thank you.” She said. “I-It’s no problem darling.” Rarity said in a shaky voice. “Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.” She said laughing again. The mares all sighed in relief. Kaoru then turned her attention to Celestia. “It has been a while hasn’t it Megumi.” The ghost said with a warm smile directed towards the Alicorn in question. “It’s been too long my old friend.” Celestia said as she walked up to the woman. The two hugged each other tightly for a few minutes before letting go. “Oro.” Kenshin said causing the two ladies to turn around and see the man’s face turning bright red in embarrassment. “Kenshin, are you alright dear?” Rarity asked to which everyone looked at him with concern. “I-I’m still just very surprised about a particular revelation that was told to me.” He said with his face turning even redder in embarrassment at the subject. “What are you talking about?” Celestia asked. “I told him about us and how we got together a while after he died.” Kaoru said with a slight blush. “W-What!” Celestia said with blush. “Kenshin, I should have told you about that-” “It’s okay, this one understands and there is nothing wrong with it. I am not angry, in fact I am happy you were there for my wife and gave her the love that I was unable to due to my death.” He said with a red face. “T-That’s great b-but why is your face still red?” The Princess asked. “Oh he’s probably embarrassed because he’s still picturing the both of us going at it in bed is all.” Kaoru giggled to which all of the girls began to blush. The young man then looked like he would pass out any second from the embarrassment of the situation. “Sooo your Kenshin’s wife right?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Yes, that is correct.” She said with a smile. “And you’re dead?” She continued. “Yes.” Kaoru answered. “How and why are you here?... No offense.” Dash asked. “That’s simple. I saw Kenshin crying his eyes out at finding out that I was dead. I have come here to comfort him and help him to move on. I just couldn’t stand to see him so depressed.” She said with a sad look in her eyes. The young mares looked at the man with sadness in their eyes at hearing this. “Kenshin, you have lived a life full of hardships and sorrow. I want you to finally be at peace with yourself and be happy. But to do that you need to move on.” The woman said as her expression turned to one of sadness. “You can’t let my death hold you back Kenshin, You can’t stop yourself from living your life. You need to find happiness.” She explains. “B-but how can I? You and Kenji were all that I had.” Kenshin said with tears welling up in his eyes. “Kaoru, I don't know how to move on." "You have moved on with the help of friends and loved ones. Remember when you had to move on from Tomoe?" The spirit asks. "You mean the woman that Kenshin first loved?" Celestia asks, remembering the time when Kenshin and the others had to fight Enishi and his gang of crazy people. "If I could hit you like old times then I would." Kaoru face palms, which is surprising to the others that a ghost can face palm. "Do you see all those mares right there? All of them care about you and would rather see you happy." She asks, hiding her surprise at how he's not noticing all the woman in the room that would get in his pants to make sure he's happy. "Or should I bring up how some of them would get in your pants to make you happy?" Kaoru says with a smirk. "Oro, w-what do you mean?" Kenshin asks completely oblivious and like an idiot. "Look at those tits Kenshin!" Kaoru flails at all the mares, knowing at least the talk of boobs will get his head on straight...at least hopefully it's the one on his shoulders. "Do you see who their attached to? All the mares that care about you, I'm a ghost and I can tell they all love and care about you. Seriously I know your dense sometimes but not this dense." She shrieked. "Maybe it's because we keep shoving his head in our bosoms..." Rarity mutters a little. "Maybe." Kaoru frowns. "Listen..." She sighs out a little, feeling bad for being mad at her love. "You have an entire herd of mares just lining up to make you happy in any way shape or form, both figuratively and literally, instead of focusing on the past...like you did before, how about you focus on the now and be with the ones you care about now. Like how you did with me when you figured out I was still alive after Enishi tricked you into thinking I was dead." "Wait what!?!" Twilight says in shock and horror. "Long story." Kaoru says and just keeps it at that. "But you moved on with Tomoe when you saved me and stopped Enishi, you should be able to move on from me and to all these hot mares. I mean seriously if I knew Megumi was this hot as a mare I would have bedded her when I had the chance when you were gone." Kaoru says while throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation. "This is a serious topic, do you need to bring that back up?" Celestia says with a blush. "Yes, yes I do if I need to prove a point." Kaoru says. "Celestia has to get in line cause I'm gonna help Kenny get better." Pinkie says with a huff, taking a step to the forefront of the group. "Oro!" Kenshin said with a blush as he looks at Pinkie and the others. Kenshin turns to see Pinkie Pie hugging him tightly as she smiles at him. "You're right Kaoru, I am not alone. I...I will try and be happy...and I will try and move on. But I will always miss you though." Kenshin says. "I'll miss you too Kenshin...but as long as you’re happy then I'll be happy." Kaoru says with a smile. "And that's all I can ask for." She says with a very warm smile. "Will you be watching over us?" Pinkie just has to ask. "Given that it's Kenshin, I'll be watching you all from somewhere. In other words, yes I’ll be watching over all of you as well." Kaoru smiles. "So treat these mares right Kenshin." Kaoru says with mock warning tone but he could tell that she was being serious all the same. "O-Ok, I will... But hypothetically speaking... What would you do to me if I mess up?" Kenshin asked nervously. "I will haunt you for a long time, and I will make sure you know the pain of me throwing something at you a lot." Kaoru frowns. "And I don't think you want me throwing stuff at you for messing up for the rest of your life here." She said with a smirk. "Y-Yes ma'am!" Kenshin said as he stood up straight and gave a salute out of fear. "Pinkie hug him for me." Kaoru laughed at him saluting in fear. "Alright." Pinkie smiled and hugged Kenshin again, much tighter this time. "At least I know Kenshin will be in good hands, and also he's still happy." Kaoru smiled. "And if you just so happen to find everyone else, can you tell them all I said hi?" She asks with a smile. This only confused Kenshin as he wondered what she meant. “Oro? What do you mean by others?” He asked. “Oh nothing my dear, just focus on being happy honey.” She said with a gentle smile right before she pulled the man into a deep kiss. Kenshin did not fight the kiss but instead embraced his wife and enjoyed the moment as he leaned into the kiss. As the two broke the kiss they stared at each other for a moment before Kaoru broke the silence. “It’s time for me to go.” Kaoru said sadly. “I love you Kaoru.” Kenshin said gently. “I love you too Kenshin.” The ghost woman said with a gentle smile. “It’s been a pleasure meeting you all.” Kaoru said as she turned to everyone. She then floated up to the mares. “Can you girls all do me a favor?” She asked the mares. “Sure! What do you need us to do?” Pinkie said with a giant smile spreading across her face. “When the time comes…Fuck him… Fuck him good and fuck him hard.” Kaoru says with a smirk to the mares who were now blushing hard. “Especially you Pinkie Pie, ride him until his testicles are empty and he’s forgotten his own name, but remembers yours forever.” Kaoru said with sly grin. “O-O-Ok.” Pinkie said as she felt like her face was now on fire due to her embarrassment. “Good.” She said before going over to a very stunned Kenshin who was too shocked by what he had just heard that he was now frozen in place in shock with a bewildered expression. The ghost simply laughed as she hugged him. “I love you Kenshin… And I love your other side as well. Though you may not like it, he is still apart of you…” She says before giving him one last peck on the lips. “Well, it’s time for me to go. Don’t worry I’ll be watching over all of you.” She say as she begins to fade away until she disappeared entirely. “Thank you Kaoru, I will move on in life and I will be happy.” He said as tears began to slowly run down his face as all the girls hugged. ________________________________________________________________________ Deep inside Kenshin’s mind Battōsai stood there for a moment in shock. “…I will always love you Kaoru… And I will always miss you.” He said with a sad look in his eyes before fading back into the darkness. ________________________________________________________________________ Sanosuke stepped out of the bar for some fresh air. He snuck out alone, telling Vinyl and Cheerilee that he was going to the bathroom which was a complete lie.. Sanosuke was enjoying the night air as he stood outside looking up at the stars in the sky until he heard a loud crash coming from a dark alleyway. He walked over to see what was going on only to see a young female griffin being attacked by three other griffins. From the looks of it the young hen was badly bruised and had a black eye. “I suggest that you come with us quietly if you value your life.” One of the attackers said in a low tone. “You’re shit out of luck if you think I’m going anywhere with you!” She said with anger. “Listen, you’re coming with us whether you like it or not, you’ll fetch us a pretty penny with our employer.” One of the griffins said as he walked over to the hen only to get a swift kick to the head sending him straight into a brick wall causing him to crumble to the ground. Before the two other griffins could turn around Sanosuke slammed both of their heads together, knocking the two out cold. As the three attackers laid knocked out on the ground the man walked over to the hen and helped her up. “You okay? They roughed you up pretty badly.” He said. “I’m fine. Thanks for kicking the crap out of those bastards.” She said with a smirk. “No problem. Names Sanosuke.” He said. “Names Gilda.” She said as they shook hands. “What did they want with you?” He asked. “They were most likely trying to kidnap me, my mother is a governor back in the griffin empire.” Gild replied nonchalantly as if it were nothing. “Oh, well at least they won’t be bothering you now.” He said with a laugh. “Yeah.” She laughed. “Well I gotta split, see ya Sanosuke!” Gilda said as she flapped her wings and flew off into the night sky. “Seeya.” Sanosuke said before making his way back into the bar and to Vinyl and Cheerilee. ________________________________________________________________________ *Meanwhile in Prince Blue Blood’s Bedroom* Kaoru floated at the foot of Blue Blood’s bed as she gained an insane smile as she watched the pompous prince sleeping. “Let’s see what I can do.” She said as she changed her appearance slightly using her ghost abilities. “That should work.” She said with a smirk. She raised her hand and pointed it at a vase that was on the other side of the room. The vase immediately flew across the room and shattered against a wall causing Blue Blood to leap up from his bed. “Who dares wake me!” The prince shouted in anger as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “You’re the one that attacked Kenshin and his mares, I am personally going to teach you to never do that again. When I’m done with you bitch you won’t be able to shit right for months.” The ghost growled. “How dare y-” Blue Blood’s words stopped dead in his throat when he saw the ghost staring at him from the foot of his bed. Blue Blood was shaking so badly he couldn’t even scream. But what terrified him the most was what the ghost had in her hand. A baseball bat with barbed wire wrapped tightly around it. The ghost simply snapped her fingers, at that moment Blue Blood was pulled towards Kaoru by an invisible force. “W-Wait!” The prince cried. She snapped her fingers again causing the Blue Blood to be flipped over onto his stomach, forcing him to now be bent over the bed. “You need to learn to be nice to others.” The young ghost woman said in a singsong voice. “You can’t do this you psychotic bitch!” Blue Blood shouted in panic. “We’re going by prison rules bitch! If anything you’re the bitch!” Kaoru laughed. “You’re seriously angry at me for what I did to that disgusting creature!” The prince said in panic. Kaoru just paused for a moment before her face lit up with anger. “Oh you just fucked up now!” She said as she snapped her fingers again causing his pants to be pulled down. “HOLD ON TO YOUR LUGNUTS! IT’S TIME FOR AN OVERHAUL!” The ghost shouted before stopping just a few inches away from him. At that moment Kaoru’s voice shifted from feminine to that of a very scary deep voiced man as she raised the barbed wire baseball bat in her hands. “Come here puppet boy, make your daddy talk.” She said in a deep manly voice before charging at him again. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” That night all the guards in Canterlot Castle could have sworn they heard what they thought were the screams of a mare followed by the demented laughter of another mare. > Chapter 10 - Letters, Work, and Friends > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 10 – Letters, Work, and Friends Editied by: HydraLightning Sitting at a table in Sugar Cube Corner was Kenshin who was looking over a stack of letters sent to him by Princess Celesta. Apparently he was more popular than he thought. Many heard about his skills across the country. The letters were from young warriors asking for an apprenticeship under him. Most of the girls were busy that day so it was just Kenshin, Rarity and Spike sitting at the table. Pinkie Pie was working in the back of the bakery/restaurant. Sir Kenshin Himura, I request that you make me your apprentice so that I may be an even greater warrior (which is impossible considering how great I am) and claim honor and glory for my family. With me learning the style of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū, I would be unstoppable. If not for me do it for the glory of Equestria. Think of how many enemies would be taken down by me, you would be given plenty of glory as well for training me, The Great Glory Hog! Signed Glory Hog “Kind of ironic that his name is Glory Hog when you think about it?” Rarity commented. “This one agrees.” Kenshin said as Kenshin scratched behind her ears gently. “Oh darling that is marvelous.” She moaned as she closed her eyes and began to relax from the work of the samurai’s magic fingers on the fashionista. “So many want to learn the way of the samurai, but yet they do not know what it means to be a samurai.” Kenshin thought as his hand continued to scratch behind the alabaster mare’s ears causing her to coo lovingly at the attention. He had been replying to the never ending flow of letters for the past few days. Since the nobles saw his true skill two weeks ago, that was when the letters started coming in. Most of the letter were like this, sent by pompous nobles who thought they were entitled to whatever they want. While some letters were straight out demanding for him to train them by saying that he had no choice. But some of the letters were sincere and polite which was a nice change of pace. But even then they did not have what he was looking for in a student. Not that he was ever looking for a student to begin with. “Hey Spike, could you help me with something real quick.” Pinkie called from kitchen. “Sure.” The little drake said as he went into the kitchen. As Kenshin tried to think of a reply his hand moved towards Rarity’s horn and began gently caressing it absentmindedly. Rarity stifled a moan at the attention of the human’s fingers. “I could tell him that I am thankful for wanting to be my apprentice but he is not what I am looking for in an apprentice. Hell, I’m not even looking for an apprentice. But a politely worded letter is what I’ll send him. Yeah, that might work.” He thought as his hand slid up and down Rarity’s horn. Rarity’s moans began to grow. Luckily no one else was in the bakery except them. She squirmed in her seat in an attempt to keep herself under control. Still oblivious to what he was doing, Kenshin’s hand kept sliding up and down the mare’s magical appendage. “O-Oh darling, please don’t stop.” Rarity whimpered under her breathe. Kenshin finished his reply on the letter and moved to the next one. Rarity’s eyes were rolling into the back of her head as the samurai’s hand caressed the magical appendage at a faster pace as the pleasure built up to unbelievable levels as her tongue lolled out of her mouth as she began to drool. Eventually Rarity couldn’t take it anymore and let out a long sensual moan as sparks flew from her horn along with a weird purple goo. Kenshin blinked for a moment and noticed the goo on his hand. “Since when was this one eating jelly? Oh well, free jelly for me.” He said as he began to suck the purple goo off of his fingers as an exhausted Rarity watched in her afterglow. “This tastes delicious.” He said with a smile. “Oh Kenshin, you magnificent beast.” Rarity said out of breathe. “Did you say something Rarity?” “Nothing dear, just a little out of breathe is all.” She panted. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Kenshin and Spike were walking through Ponyville. The two had helped Rarity home who for some reason couldn’t walk and seemed to be dizzy and light headed. The shy samurai had to carry her in his arms. She had wrapped her arms around his neck lovingly and was cooing all the way home while nuzzling his chest the entire way back to the Carousal Boutique. After laying her down in bed for some rest the samurai and dragon decided to walk through Ponyville. “What was with Rarity?” Kenshin asked breaking the silence. “No idea.” Spike shrugged, just as confused as the man. As the two walked through the quiet little town Kenshin noticed that the little drake seemed troubled. “Something wrong?” He asked breaking the silence. “No, I’m fine.” “I can tell you don’t mean that. Please tell this one what’s wrong.” Kenshin said softly as he got down on one knee so he could look the little drake in the eye. “I…I’m scared.” Spike said as he stared at the ground. “Why?” “I still see his face when I close my eyes.” The little drake’s voice started to crack. “I can’t eat, I can’t sleep. I just see Jin-E laughing and the guards’ bodies lying on the ground chopped up.” Kenshin looked at the little drake and saw that he had lost some weight and had bags under his eyes. Kenshin had noticed that for the past two weeks spike was spending a lot of time in his room and barely came out for anything. Kenshin and the girls tried to get him to come out but he said he was busy. Truth be told this was the first day that Spike left the library at all. The girls had been worried sick. It made sense now, Spike was just a child who witnessed a deranged serial killer murder the innocent. It was eating him up inside. Kenshin pulled the little dragon into a hug. Spike finally broke down sobbing. “It’s my fault. I told him to come to the party. I killed them.” He hiccupped. “No Spike, it’s not your fault. It was just something that was out of your control.” Kenshin said as he let the little drake vent his sorrow. “I must ask, how have you been hiding your current condition from us?” Kenshin asked. “The few times I left the room I wore baggy clothing to hide my weight loss and I wore sunglasses to hide the bags under my eyes.” Spike sniffled. “It’s okay Spike, everything is going to be okay. I swear on my honor and my life that I will protect you and the girls from Jin-E. I will find him and I will stop him.” “I want Twilight.” He sniffled. “Don’t worry, I’ll take you to her.” He said as he picked up the sobbing drake and carried him back to the library. When they walked through into library, Twilight saw Spike crying and immediately ran up to him with worry. “Spike what’s wrong?” She asked panicked. Kenshin told Twilight about his earlier conversation with Spike. “Oh my poor baby!” Twilight said as she scooped Spike up and hugged him tightly. Despite Twilight claiming that she and Spike are like brother and sister, Twilight thought of Spike as her own child. She hatched him and raised him ever since, making her the mother. Her maternal instincts were already in control. Spike couldn’t stop shaking as he cried into Twilight’s chest. “Let it out, let it all out.” She comforted the little drake as he sobbed. After ten minutes the baby dragon began to calm down enough to talk. “I’m sorry.” He whimpered. “For what?” They asked. “For being useless.” Spike “You are not useless Spike!” Twilight said as she rocked her son back and forth gently. “But I am!” He cried. “No Spike, what happened was tragic, but it was not your fault. An evil being was at fault for it.” She said. “But I’m a dragon, I’m supposed to be strong and fierce. I couldn’t do anything but freeze up like a wuss.” “Spike, listen to me. You are not a wuss and you are not a coward. You are a foal that’s been through a very traumatic experience.” She said as she held him tighter. “But why did it have to happen?” he wailed. “I don’t know Spike.” She said as she continued to rock him back and forth gently. Spike eventually cried himself to sleep. But as Twilight and Kenshin took him to his room, Spike muttered something. “If only I were strong. I could have saved them.” Kenshin stared at the sleeping drake for a moment before turning off the light and walking out of the room. “Maybe… Maybe I can give you that strength.” Kenshin said as he walked off. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Saito began to slowly awake as he lay in the hospital bed. “Morning sleepy head.” A happy voice said causing the man to sit up. Saito looked around the room and spotted the owner of the voice. “Derpy?” “We were worried about you.” She said with a smile. “We?” “What the hell were you thinking? What were you even doing in that warehouse?” A second mare said as she entered the room. “Spitfire?” He said as he saw the Wonderbolt Captain. “What the heck happened?” She demanded. “Shit.” He said simply. “What?” “Shit happened.” Saito said with a straight face. “Care to be more specific?” Spitfire said as she narrowed her eyes at the man. He sighed. “I was fighting another samurai by the name of Makoto Shishio.” “Why were you fighting him? Is he a big meanie?” Derpy asked. “Yes Derpy, he is indeed a very big ‘meanie’.” Saito said with a smirk. “Why did the whole entire warehouse explode?” She asked in confusion. “Simple Derpy, despite the fact that he was a big ‘meanie’ as you put it. I decided to help him out by fixing his face.” He explained. “…With an explosion?” Spitfire looked at him shocked. “Precisely.” He told the Wonderbolt Captain “What were you thinking?! Were you really so stubborn that you would blow yourself up just to take down an enemy?” “Yes.” “You are one crazy stallion!” She groaned. “Where is the pink fluffy pony that was with you?” He asked. “Oh, you mean Fluffle Puff. She dropped you off here with us and ran off blowing a raspberry. She loves helping those in need.” Derpy smiled. “Well you all have my thanks for saving me.” He said as he got up and changed into his cloths even while the two mares were still in the room. “Oooh, he’s hunky.” Derpy muttered with a blush. “W-What are you doing?” Spitfire panicked. “Getting dressed.” He said as he took off his hospital gown and put his uniform back and grabbed his sword that was in the closet and attached it to his belt. “Thanks again for helping me out girls.” He said as he walked out of the room. “You can’t leave, you’ve just woken up from a 2 week coma!” She shouted as she chased after the samurai. “Wait for me!” Derpy said as she flew after the two. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Aoshi was going through the city that they had docked at a few days ago. He figured it didn’t hurt to look around and gain an idea about how ponies interacted in their everyday lives. The streets were bustling with life and activity as vendors sold their wares and claimed they were the best in the world when it came to quality. Despite being the only human in the area, no pony paid the man any mind. Aoshi was an expert at stealth and staying out of sight. It was his mother who trained and raised him as a shinobi due to his father dying before he was even born. She had taught him that sometimes the best hiding place is in plain sight. When hiding in a crowd it all came down to how you carried yourself. Aoshi walked through the crowed careful not to bump into anyone while maintaining his usual cold demeanor. He came upon a book store and entered. “Hello and welcome to The Twinkling Star.” A mare said as she came out of the back room and up to the counter. The mare had freckles and looked like she was barely 18. He wouldn’t be surprised if she was still in her teens. Her mane was a fiery orange and her fur was white. Despite looking so young she was almost Aoshi’s height. She straightened the outfit to what looked like a school girl outfit. “Hello, I was wondering if you carry any books on pony society and culture.” He said. “Y-Yes. I think we have some in the back.” She stuttered as she looked into the man’s icy blue eyes. Causing her cheeks to turn pink. She walked out from behind the counter and took him to the area where the books he was looking for. In a few minutes he found a couple of books that was about pony customs, traditions, and society along with a few others. He paid for the books and stepped out of the shop. “How long are you going to keep following me?” He asked. No one answered back making the man sigh as he massaged his eyes in annoyance. “Second bush to the left, 10 feet behind the park bench, 15 feet to the left of the stone.” He breathed. “How did you know?” Daring Do said as she came out of the bush. He gave her a look that said ‘are you really asking me that?’. “Right, ninja training since birth.” She sighed. “Any reason you’ve been spying on me?” “I wasn’t spying on you!” She denied like a child that had just been caught by their mother with their hand in the cookie jar. “Following me for the last mile and a half while hiding is spying.” “Fine, I was spying on you.” She huffed. “Why?” “You’re a walking artifact, a walking encyclopedia of a secret society. Many would love to get their hands on you.” She said seriously. “And your point is?” He said with a cocked eyebrow. “I’m not risking anything happening to you.” She proclaimed making the man sigh in annoyance. “Besides what do you need with those books?” She said as she looked at the book. “Just trying to familiarize myself with your society.” He said as they walked along side each other. “Oh, well you could have just came to me.” “You seemed busy.” He said. The two walked in silence for a while before Daring decided to break the silence. “Soooo… Who taught you how to be a ninja?” She asked. Aoshi was silent for a moment. Nobody had ever really asked him a question like that before. Seeing as there was no harm in telling her about it he decided to humor her. “My mother, she taught me everything I know.” “Really? What was she like?” The mare asked. “She was a very cheerful and happy woman despite how tough life was.” He answered. Daring was silent. She found it a little surprising that Aoshi’s mother was cheerful while Aoshi himself had as much emotion as a statue. They both said nothing as they returned to the ship. As they returned, they saw two new passengers boarding the ship. One of them was a fluffy pink pony that was blowing raspberries as she kept tugging on the hand of a mare while pointing at him. The mare whose hand was being pulled by the fluffy pony turned to look at him. She was looked like an ordinary mare, black mane and brown fur but with simple jeans and a white cut off t-shirt that showed her toned belly. Aoshi looked into her eyes and for a split second the pupils in her green eyes were slitted like a cat’s eyes before they went back to a normal round shape. Something was definitely off about this mare. Something didn’t seem right, but he could sense no ill will coming from her. Just curiosity. He returned to his cabin and locked the door. “It seems I’ll have to keep an eye on her.” He said before sitting at the desk in his room and began reading his new books. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Okita walked up to a shady figure that sat on a giant throne and took a knee. “Sir, I have found Shishio. Saito managed to get the upper hand and got away.” “That is most unfortunate. Where has he been the last the last two weeks?” The figure asked. “Weeell.” The shinsengumi laughed sheepishly while scratching the back of his head only for the doors to the room to be kicked open. A severely burnt Shishio came limping into the room. He walked up to the being that was sitting on the thrown. As he moved, pieces of charred skin broke off and fell to the ground but that didn’t stop the hitokiri. “…Wow.” The figure on the throne said slightly impressed at the damage that was done to the sociopath. At that point Jin-E walked in completely healed from his previous battle with Kenshin. Jin-E saw the burnt man and laughed. “Fuck...You.” Shishio gritted through his teeth in pain. “What are you going to do? You can barely move with those burns. I’ll laugh as much as I-” Shishio cut Jin-E off as he lunged at the man at such a blinding speed that he was nothing but a blur and slammed his fist into the serial killer’s face. Jin-E was sent backwards, sliding on the ground before hitting a wall. “You bastard. How the hell were you able to do that in that condition?” “If you didn’t puss out like a bitch and kill yourself when you lost to that red haired bastard, then you would know that I have spent years living and fighting in similar conditions.” He said before turning to the creature on the throne. “You have failed me Shishio. I don’t like failure. Jin-E learned that lesson the hard way.” He said with anger. Jin-E flinched as he remembered the consequences of not completing his mission. He had the scars to prove it. “Whatever the fuck you’re going to do, just do it. Otherwise quit wasting my damn time.” The burnt man said. The two stared each other down before the being on the throne began to laugh. “I like that about you Shishio, you got balls. I’ll heal you but it will take some time.” He said. “As long as I can fight at full strength but leave my appearance as it is.” He said as Okita brought a first aid kit to him and began treating him and wrapping him up in bandages. “Interesting requesting. Any particular reason?” he asked. “Because I want them to know that it’s me, when I tear Kenshin’s intestines out and strangle him with them, I want him to know that it was Makoto Shishio that killed him. I want them to feel fear when they see me.” Shishio said as he was finally wrapped from head to toe in bandages like a mummy. “Very well.” He said as the three walked out of the throne room. The figure sat silently on his throne. A wicked smile came to his lips. “A minor setback. Soon Equestria will be nothing more than a pile of ashes. Then I can move onto the rest of the world.” He thought as he leaned back in his throne. “They will know that I Morte Aeterna, live up to the true meaning of my name… Eternal Death.” _____________________________________________________________________________________ Spike was holding a stick in his hand as he was in a field by himself. The little drake repeatedly swung the stick like it was a sword. “I think that was how Kenshin did it… Wait no, my footings wrong.” He readjusted his footing. “Hiya!” He shouted as he swung the makeshift sword. Spike had been doing this for the past hour. He was working up a sweat. “You need to remember to breathe.” A voice from behind him said causing him to jump and quickly turn around. “K-Kenshin? What are you doing here?” He asked embarrassed that he was found trying to copy Kenshin. “We’ve all been worried about you. Especially since the last time we’ve talked. How are you holding up?” The red head asked. “Better I guess. Twilight wants me to see a psychiatrist so she set up an appointment for me. I don’t want to go.” He said awkwardly. Twilight had talked to Kenshin about this and had to explain what a psychiatrist was before he understood what was going on. Even Luna recommended it, she had sent a letter apologizing for her failure at stopping Spike's nightmares. She had been dealing with night court and a bunch of nobles who were causing trouble for the past two weeks due to Kenshin refusing to work for them. Even then she wrote that it would be difficult due to it being a memory of an event instead of just a regular nightmare. “It can really help to talk about stuff with somepony.” Kenshin said only to realize that he said ‘sompony’ instead of ‘someone’. He shook his head and returned his attention to Spike. “Just give this a chance, this doctor just wants to help you. The girls really want you to go to this doctor.” He said. “Do you think I should go to this doctor?” Spike asked. “Yes. I want you to get better.” Kenshin said with a gentle smile. “B-But even if I go to this doctor, I still won’t be able to protect anypony.” He said sadly. Kenshin looked at the little drake thoughtfully for a moment. He had been thinking this over for a while now. “You will.” Kenshin said. Spike stared at Kenshin for a moment before breaking the silence. “What do you mean?” He asked. “I would like to teach you the ways of the samurai.” Spike felt all the air in him leave his lungs. Was this really happening. “Y-You mean you’ll train me?” He asked when he finally caught his breath. “Yes, but this one will not be teaching you Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū.” He said which confused the little drake. “What? How will I learn how to protect others then?” He asked with confusion. “The style that I will teach you is actually one that I learned later on in my life from my wife so I could help her teach at the dojo. While my style was created for the sole purpose of killing many opponents as quickly as possible. My wife’s style was created for the sole purpose of defending others and preserving life.” He said. “That sounds amazing! What is it called?” “Kamiya Kasshin-ryū.” “Thank you Kenshin…But can we keep this training a secret? I’m not doing this for glory or anything like that. I just want everyone I love and care about to be safe.” Spike said which made Kenshin smile. “There’s nothing wrong with keeping this between us.” Kenshin said. “In fact, how about this one gives you your first lesson since no one is around?” He asked. “Okay.” Spike smiled Kenshin began to give the dragon his first sword fighting lesson. “Finally, I can protect those I love.” Spike thought. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Fluttershy lay in bed as the cool night air came flowing into the room. “Darling are you sure everything is alright?” Rarity asked the animal lover. “Y-Yes.” She said nervously. Rarity lovingly ran her fingers through Fluttershy’s hair. “No, you’re lying to me darling. I can tell that something is wrong.” “S-Sorry.” Fluttershy whispered with guilt. “Have you taken your medicine for your condition?” Rarity asked with concern. “Yes. I took my last dose for the day.” She said as she looked down for a moment. Rarity’s worry eased a little. She knew of Fluttershy’s medical condition. Most would think that Fluttershy was just a very nervous mare. True she was naturally a very nervous mare due to her extreme shyness. But what most didn’t know was that along with her extreme shyness, Fluttershy suffered from an extreme nervous condition the left her nerves shot. She was diagnosed with the condition as a filly. The doctors were concerned for her health and told her parents that if this went untreated it could affect her heart and quite possibly give her heart disease. Her parents made sure that she always took her medication and always tried to make things less stressful for her. As far back as she could remember her parents always tried to give her the best that they could and be there for her. They always loved her unconditionally. Thinking about her parents always made her calm down and smile. But right now Fluttershy was a shaking from her nervousness. “Darling you must relax. I’m worried about you my love.” Rarity said with worry. “I-I’m sorry, it’s just so hard for me to calm down.” She said trembling slightly. Rarity felt bad for her until she remembered something that could help Fluttershy relax. Rarity got up from the bed with a sway in her hips and faced Fluttershy with a sultry smile. Fluttershy was confused for a moment before Rarity slipped the shoulder straps of her red silk nighty off of her shoulders causing it to fall to the ground and pool at her hoofs. Fluttershy could only stare at the scene in front of her. Rarity stood in nothing but a black lace thong and bra that hugged her beautiful figure. Her DD breasts looked like they could barely be contained in her bra but it didn’t cause her any discomfort. Her perfect ass was barely covered as Fluttershy stared at the three blue diamonds on her marefriend’s flanks. The shy mare could only stare at the fashionista’s bubble butt as she wanted so desperately to grab the pair of world class cheeks in front of her. “Oh, it seems my little shy-shy is very interested.” Rarity said as she saw Fluttershy’s wings standing up stiffly, twitching and throbbing every second. Rarity sauntered over with a sway in her hips. Rarity’s horn lit up and Fluttershy’s pajamas disappeared. She was wearing nothing but a black lace thong and bra as well. Fluttershy gave off a cute ‘eep!’ as she blushed deeply and tried to cover herself up. “Oh such a beautiful sweet angel.” Rarity said as she ran her hands gently over Fluttershy’s body. “We haven’t done this in a while darling. If this is making you uncomfortable then just say the word and I’ll stop or we can keep going if you want. I would never force you to do anything that would make you feel uncomfortable darling.” Rarity said to her friend lovingly as she looked the shy mare in the eyes. Fluttershy looked into Rarity’s eyes and saw nothing but pure love. “I-I want t-to keep going.” She whispered after a few moments of silence. (WARNING CLOP SCENE AHEAD – IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT SKIP TO THE OTHER LINE THAT SAYS ‘CLOP SCENE DONE’) Rarity smiled. “Very well darling, this will help you relax. Here.” Rarity said as she gently grabs Fluttershy’s hands and guides them all over her body. Moving them to her breasts to which she gently fondled and squeezed shyly before they moved down to the seamstresses flanks. Fluttershy was blushing as her hands were guided over Rarity’s body. Rarity then threw her arms around her lover in a hug and pulled her into a deep and passionate kiss. As their tongues battled each other for dominance, one of Rarity’s hands grabbed and squeezed Fluttershy’s ass while the other hand was behind her head pulling her deeper into the kiss. The two mares moaned into each other’s mouths as they were lost in the passion of their love. As they broke the kiss they were both gasping for air. “Lie back darling and let your marefriend take care of you.” Rarity said as she unhooked her bra and tossed it to the side and then slid her panties off. Fluttershy could only stare at the beauty that was in front of her with a huge blush on her face. Fluttershy was so nervous that she had trouble trying to take her bra off as she fumbled with it. Rarity giggled as she walked up and helped Fluttershy. She took the mare’s bra off carefully. She stared at the yellow breasts that were at least DD’s in size before moving down to her panties. Rarity slid Fluttershy’s thong down her legs slowly and pulled them off all together. She spread her marefriend’s legs apart and saw Fluttershy’s wet marehood that winked in anticipation. She gave the mare’s pussy a kiss making the animal lover gasp. “Shhh, just relax.” Rarity said before licking Fluttershy’s lower lips, which made her moan. Rarity began licking and sucking Fluttershy’s pussy. Pushing her tongue into her love canal and exploring every single inch of her. “O-Oh my.” Fluttershy moaned only for Rarity to grab her ass cheeks and pulled her closer so her tongue could go deeper into her. Fluttershy’s eyes rolled into the back of her head as her senses were over loaded by pure pleasure. Fluttershy gripped the bed sheets as she stated to thrust into her marefriends muzzle. “My, my. Somepony is enjoying themselves.” Rarity said with a giggle before she flicked the mare’s clit with her tongue, causing her whole body to tremble as an orgasm slammed through her like a tidal wave. Fluttershy let out a loud moan as her eyes rolled into the pack of her head as her mare honey covered her lover’s muzzle who greedily lapped up the delicious treat and kept up her tongue work to prolong the yellow Pegasus’ orgasm. The Pegasus’s wings twitched a few times before going limb. As her orgasm faded Rarity moved up next to Fluttershy who was panting. The fashionista gave her a sweet peck on the lips. “How was it darling?” She asked. “Amazing.” Fluttershy said as she finally caught her breath. “Good. But were not finished yet.” She said with a wink. Rarity then crawled on top of her lover and dove her head back in between Fluttershy’s legs. Fluttershy moaned once again as she caught the view of a life time as they were now in a 69 position. Right in front of her face was Rarity’s marehood. The scent of the fashionista’s arousal was overwhelming to the veterinarian. The scent was just so intoxicating that she needed to have a taste. “Go head and dig in darling.” Rarity said with an encouraging smile as she wiggled her butt. No more needed to be said as she dove in and began to lick Rarity’s pussy before driving her tongue inside. Fluttershy’s eyes rolled back into her head at the intoxicating taste as Rarity moaned. For Fluttershy it was as if she was eating the most delicious meal in her entire life and she couldn’t get enough of it. The two mares moaned into each other as they brought each other to orgasm. Fluttershy cried out in pleasure while Rarity squealed at her climax as her lover lapped up her mare honey greedily as she did the same. As soon as they caught their breath, Rarity moved around so she was facing Fluttershy. “Let’s try something different for the grand finale.” Rarity said. Rarity moved her legs around so her right leg was over Fluttershy’s left leg while her left leg was under her right. There slits pressed against each other making both of them cry out. They began scissoring each other as they thrusted their wet pussy’s together. Fluttershy’s wings wrapped around the white unicorn and pulled them closer together as their arms wrapped around each other in an intimate embrace. They kissed each other as they rubbed their pussies together and began thrusting into each other faster and faster as their moans grew louder. Eventually they both felt the pleasure increase as a familiar feeling quickly approached. “R-Rarity, I’m gonna-” “Me too darling! Let’s cum together!” Rarity said as they both reached their limit. Both mares screamed at the top of their lungs as their orgasms slammed right through them like a tidal wave. Fluttershy’s stiff wings fell limp as they two kissed each other, their tongues wrestling each other for dominance. As their orgasms faded away, they fell backwards onto the bed, enjoying their afterglows. (CLOP SCENE DONE!!!) “Did that help you relax?” Rarity said as she finally caught her breath. “Yes. Thank you.” The shy Pegasus said softly. “Good.” Rarity said as she brushed a couple of strands of Fluttershy’s mane out of her face. “The only thing that could have made that better would be if Kenshin was right here in bed with us.” Rarity said making her friend blush. “Come now darling, you can be honest with me, I know that you like him as more than just a friend. We all do.” She said. “I-It would be v-very nice.” Fluttershy whispered as she felt her eyes grow heavy. “It would be a dream come true if we were all in a herd together.” Rarity said as she heard Fluttershy give off a cute yawn. She turned to see Fluttershy’s naked form fast asleep as she sucked her thumb in her sleep. Rarity found the whole scene to be the cutest thing she had ever scene. She levitated a blanket over their naked bodies and hugged her lover as she felt sleep over take her. > Update: FCC Internet Neutralilty and Chapter Pogress > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hello everyone, as you already know, Net Neutrality has been repealed and is gone. Which has pissed me off royally. I'm writing this to let you all know that I am still going to keep writing and posting my fics and chapters on here. If I have to pay a little extra to do so then so be it. But I'm writing this to let you all know that I'll still keep writing and making many more chapters till the end of time. Also, as for the chapter progress. It's coming along. As of late I've been working a little bit of over time due to the holidays and all that. So it's been a little hard lately but rest assured the chapters for all of my stories are coming along nicely. Anyway, God Bless and Brony on! ~ Axel