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.

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*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*

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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.

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*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?”

Author's Note

Hey guys, sorry about the long wait. I originally planned on this chapter being much longer, but due to the fact that you guys and girls have waited so long and the fact that I am sick like a dog, I have decided to cut it into 2 parts. If you've noticed, Kenshin will have to learn how to adapt to modern technology, hilarity will definitely ensue, especially when he meets the Princesses but what happens then will be a suprise. Sorry if this chapter isn't too good, it was kind of rushed.

P.S.

Yes that was Fluffle Puff that ran past Kenshin.

P.S.S.

I actually proof read the chapter this time before I posted it.

P.S.S.S.

Start asking character questions for either me, the heroes, or the villains. Also feel free to ask questions to potential future characters that you would like to see brought into the story from the Rurouni Kenshin universe. Also the next Q/A segment will be with different characters such as Sanosuke, Cheerilee, and Vinyl Scratch along with those that you would like to ask questions such as potential future characters, but you need to ask them questions that are directed towards them, so feel free to ask any questions that you want and have fun.