The Way Of The Warrior

Beep-beep-beep

‘...’

Beep-beep-beep

‘... W-what?’

Beep-beep-beep

‘... What… is that… infernal… noise?’ Konishi groaned internally, senses slowly starting to come back to him. Around his body was a strange mixture of warmth and softness, as if he were a young child wrapped in his mother’s embrace. Across his face he could feel the coolness of what he believed to be a slight breeze. He could also feel a distinctive numbness in both his leg and side, where his wounds were. It was obvious someone had intentionally numbed the pain for which he was very grateful.

He could already hear the strange beeping that had awoken him not moments ago, but it was not the only thing. In between each loud beep was the sound of birds gently singing their song, although he found himself unable to distinguish what bird it was, as he had never heard that song before. Finally, Konishi could just make out the sound of breathing. It was subdued, as if someone was intentionally trying to remain quiet, though for what reason he was still unsure of.

The next sense to come back was taste. It seemed mostly the same, though Konishi could make out that disgusting taste that one sometimes gets in the morning. He noticed that his mouth felt very dry, drier than it could if had just slept through the rest of the day. It was obvious that he had been asleep for quite some time.

The slight breeze Konishi had felt earlier now brought back a new and powerful sense; smell. Or several different smells in Konishi’s case, making it hard for him to distinguish one straight away. First there was a flowery smell, not unlike the one he had smelled in the forest the last time he was conscious. Then there was a stronger, more pungent smell of sweat. His sweat probably, he could feel the moisture on his forehead and palms. And finally there was a clean, disinfectant-like smell. The strongest one yet.

With all his senses back apart from sight, which he deliberately avoided using to prevent anyone, or anything, from knowing he was awake, Konishi began to try and figure out just where he was. The disinfectant smell was new to him, its pungency at least giving away the fact that it was related to medicine. That, combined with the numb sensation in his wounds, gave him the impression that someone was treating him, though how anyone managed to keep him alive after the wounds he had suffered was beyond him. The flowery smell and singing birds told him that he was in a more rural area, and the fabric he was wrapped in gave him the distinctive impression he was in a bed. Maybe he was in a-

The sound of doors opening broke Konishi from his train of thought. He quickly slowed his breath, hoping to give the impression he was still asleep. He wasn’t exactly ready for a confrontation.

“Has our guest woken up yet?” a calm, feminine voice asked. Konishi relaxed slightly when he heard the word ‘guest’. It gave him the impression that whoever had found him may be friendly. Also, her voice proved to be quite soothing.

What didn’t relax him was the fact that the voice was female. No woman wanted to speak with him after the dishonour his father had brought upon his family. They much preferred to seek out the companionship of those with a more noble history. He therefore did not have much experience with them.

He felt his heart rate quicken as memories of previous attempts came to mind, but he somehow managed to push them away before they became too much to handle. He had to be ready to converse with whoever had found him, female or not.

“No your majesty, he has not changed since your last check up”, another voice answered, this one definitely a male. Konishi found himself more surprised by what he had said though.

Majesty. It was not a Japanese word, but after hearing several of his fellow Samurai talk about some western traders, he knew exactly what it meant. That and he was well versed in the English language.

It meant royalty, or someone who could be considered equal to the Emperor in both stature and power. This told Konishi several things. One: he was not in Japan anymore. No one referred to the Emperor or their Daimyo as ‘majesty’, and there was certainly no other person in the country who could be spoken to as if they were royalty. Two: whoever this majesty was obviously had an interest in him. The male had pretty much given away the fact that she had visited him more than once today. Though why anyone who was royalty would take any interest in him was beyond him.

There was a long silence in room, only broken by the distinct sound of metal against floor. Obviously someone wearing metal shoes, and slowly approaching him. Eventually the metallic sound stopped, filling the room in silence once again.

“Leave us”, the female voice said, this time in a commanding, but still soothing, tone. The silence was once again broken by the clanging of metal as several soldiers, at least that’s what Konishi thought they were, left the room. Once they had left the female giggled, “You may be able to fool the royal guards but you can’t fool me. I know you’re awake.”

Konishi inhaled sharply, completely taken off-guard by what the she had just said. To be honest he hadn’t the slightest clue as to what was going to happen when she had ordered everyone else to leave, but this was certainly not what he was expecting. He thought he was better than this. The Samurai sighed deeply, deciding that remaining incognito was no longer the best approach.

“What gave it away?” he asked, his eyes remaining firmly shut. He didn’t want to open them just yet, lest he didn’t like what he saw.

“Your breathing slowed when I came in, it was obvious you were trying to create the illusion that you were still asleep. Unfortunately for you I have been alive for so long that I can see through such ruses. Well, that and a small application of scanning magic of course”, the female told him, though Konishi never caught the last bits of the sentence. He had stopped listening after he had heard one word. Magic.

Konishi eyes quickly snapped open, and he turned to the female was speaking to, hoping she could better explain what she had meant. He never got to ask the question though, as he was left speechless by the sight before him.

The room was completely white, and looked too clean to be possible. His earlier assumption had been correct, he was in a bed, though it was not the only one in the room. All around the long room were many other beds, all looking exactly the same in both colour and shape. To his right was some sort of box, its front changing constantly, as green lines seemed to jump up and down it. It was obvious to Konishi that this box was what was making that annoying beeping noise. From the box extended several wires, some of which trailed off to random places, while others wiggling their way towards him. Lifting the cover off, Konishi discovered that one of the ‘wires’ was attached to his body, in between his hand and his elbow. The Samurai panicked slightly, having never seen anything like this before.

“Do not worry, that’s just an IV drip. You have been out for three days now, and we needed to use it keep you from getting dehydrated”, the female reassured him.

‘I’ve been out for three days? I must of lost a lot of blood’, Konishi thought to himself. When he thought about it though it was pretty obvious that he would have lost a considerable amount of blood, his wounds had been pretty deep. He was more surprised about the fact that he had survived. Such wounds would have killed most men. Konishi turned to the female, but he never got his question out.

The female had been speaking to was, for all intents and purposes, an alabaster horse, though this one was very different from the horses Konishi had seen. She had a long horn and a pair of large wings, with a multi coloured mane that fluttered in a seemingly non-existent breeze.

On her head, neck and hooves sat golden regalia, obviously well looked after as it shone in the daylight. Her flank had some sort of sun tattoo on it, though Konishi did not focus on it for too long. It seemed both rude and embarrassing to stare at the horse equivalent of an ass cheek.

Instead he focused on the very last noticeable difference she had, her eyes. They were much bigger in proportion to the rest of her face. While this was slightly weird, those large magenta eyes of hers gave a more kind, sapient look to her, somewhat calming to Konishi. Though why he had focused mostly on her eyes was, quite frankly, beyond him.

“Oh my ancestors”, was all Konishi managed to utter, the rest of his words seemingly lost. The alabaster horse quickly put her hooves on his shoulder, making him jump slightly, though that was more due to how cold her horseshoe felt against his bare skin.

“You have no reason to panic, you are safe now. My name is Princess Celestia, I rule this country alongside my sister Luna. I am merely here because I am interested in you, nothing more. My student and her friends found you in the Everfree forest not more than three days ago, and brought you to this hospital, where you’ve been treated ever since”, she told Konishi, who nodded slightly.

Princess Celestia. Just knowing her name helped him to relax a bit more, along with calming words and soothing tone. She was certainly giving the impression that she meant Konishi no harm, and at this point he was inclined to believe her.

He would have felt a bit more at ease if he had been able to show her the proper respect. Being the co-ruler of this country gave her the equivalent stature of a Daimyo, maybe even Emperor. Such stature demanded respect, such as bowing, but unfortunately Konishi was no position to do so. His left leg was far too numb to stand on, and he was pretty sure Celestia wouldn’t be pleased if he tried to jump out of bed. With rather limited options, Konishi decided to go for the one piece of respect he could currently muster.

Celestia quickly noticed that he was still showing some trepidation, and gave him the most comforting smile she could give, “I understand your concern, I too would be fearful if I woke up in a new world, inhabited by a species I’ve never seen before. But I would still listen to reason, and I know you’re more than smart enough to do so yourself. You have no reason to fear us, we are a peaceful race and have no wish to harm anypony, let alone you. Even if somepony did, I have my royal guards protecting this building, and have given the order that you are not to be harmed under any circumstances.”

Her logic seemed more than sound, allowing Konishi to relax some what. He still held some nervousness, but he managed to suppress it for long enough to reply. “Sorry, I shouldn’t be this worried. My name is Konishi Issen Ryutaro”, he told Celestia, who beamed back at him. She brought a hoof up towards Konishi, who quickly shook it so as to not insult her. Another western custom he was more than happy to have learned. It felt kind of weird shaking a hoof, it was bigger and had a more fleshy feeling to it compared to that of a hand. Still, pretty much everything about this scene was weird, so he decided to let it pass for now.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Konishi. I must say you are taking this rather well, given the circumstances. A lot of ponies, my sister included, were expecting you to panic when you awoke”, Celestia admitted. Konishi released her hoof from his grip, smiling sheepishly at the alabaster princess. Ironically he found it easier to talk to her than the females he had met before. Maybe it was because she didn't have an knowledge of his families dishonourable name, and therefore had no reason to judge him on a constant basis.

“I will admit that I was close to panicking when I first saw you, it was certainly a change to what I am used to seeing. Even now I’m still holding some fears, but your soothing words and calming demeanor have played no small part in preventing them from controlling me, to which I am thankful for. That and my training as a Samurai of course. I think it would have been insulting to you if I had lost my calm and started panicking”, he explained. Celestia waved him off with one of her hooves, quickly turning her face away slightly. She somehow managed to hide the slight blush that had come about from Konishi’s kind words.

“Nonsense, a reaction like that would have been completely understandable. From what my student told me you just appeared out of nowhere. That, combined with the fact I have never seen anything like you before, leads me to believe you are not from this world”, Celestia told him. Her mentioning about him being on a different world brought back a few butterflies within Konishi’s stomach, though it also provided a logical explanation for things being so different. It also told him that he was almost certainly still alive, though Konishi was as of yet unsure whether or not that was a good thing. On the one hand being alive gave the Samurai the opportunity to continue to follow the ways of Bushido, which was always a good thing.

“If you don’t mind me asking, where exactly am I? So far all I know is that I was found in some forest and that I am no longer in my world, which really isn’t a lot to go on”, Konishi finally asked, feeling slightly better now that he was dealing with the question that had been annoying him for so long. Celestia chuckled, taking a seat next to him.

“Since you are not from this world, I shall keep it as brief and simple as I can. You are on the world of Equis, a planet home to many different sapient species such as Griffins and Changelings. Currently though, you are in the small rural town of Ponyville, within the nation of Equestria”, she told him. Konishi’s eyes widened, those three sentences already more than he could handle. So many questions began to pop up. How could there be more than one sapient species on a planet? What were Changelings and Griffons? Who would call a town Ponyville?

Before he could ask these questions though Celestia leaned closer, cracking an almost unnoticeable, wily grin, “Now, since I don’t have all the time in the world, I believe it’s my turn to ask a question. How exactly did you get here?”

Konishi knew he’d have to save those question for a later date, this one was going to take some time. “I’m not quite sure myself. I was in the middle of a forest, about to be killed by my enemies, when suddenly there was a blinding red flash. When my vision finally returned I found myself in a completely different forest, with no noticeable evidence of the bloody battle I had been in only seconds ago”, Konishi answered, scratching his head awkwardly. He really wished he could be of more help, especially after how kind she had been to him, but he couldn’t for the life of him figure out of him.

“Hmm, that definitely sounds like magic”, Celestia said, her hoof tentatively stroking her chin in thought. Her comment temporarily brought up Konishi’s hopes, only for them to be dashed when he saw just how confused she looked. “But I can’t say I’ve ever heard of such a spell in all my years as a princess.”

“But if this ‘magic’ can send me here, it can send me back, correct?” Konishi asked, still filled with hope despite Celestia’s previous comment. As interesting as this new world was, he wanted nothing more than to get back home, if only to be with his family.

“If I can find such a spell then yes, but I can’t guarantee that one exists. Still, I shall consult the royal Canterlot library for information, just in case I glazed other it by accident”, Celestia assured him, though it did no good in reassuring herself. She had read every book in that library at least twice, and had never seen a spell for transdimensional teleportation, which would be the most obvious name for it. Sure there were a few references to it here and there, but only in theories, and even they pointed out the impossibility of even using such a spell. The magical energy required, as put by Starswirl the Bearded, would be astronomical. Still, she had to at least try. It was for the sake of one of her subjects, even if he was to be a temporary one.

Konishi couldn’t help but sigh in relief. “Thank you Princess, I appreciate all the trouble you’re going through for me. If there is anything I can do in repayment, I am willing to serve”, he told her, politely bowing his head. This left Celestia with a bemused expression.

“You’re willing to serve? That’s a rather strange way of putting it, if you don’t mind me saying”, she told him.

“I am a Samurai, my duty is to serve my lords to the best of my abilities. But since I will be stuck here for the time being, and I owe you, your student and her friends my life, it would be rude for me not to offer my services”, he explained.

Celestia stood there for a few moments, stroking her chin as she pondered Konishi’s offer. The last thing she wanted to do was offend him in anyway, but neither did she want to make it seem like she was using him for free labor. Eventually though a small grin graced her face, as an idea came to mind, “Okay, I accept your offer. My student, Princess Twilight Sparkle, has always enjoyed learning new things. I would like you to tell her everything you can about yourself and your species. It doesn’t have to be anything too personal of course, just information we’d find interesting.”

“I can do that. The pursuit of information has always been an important journey for a Samurai, so I would be more than happy to help another along that road”, Konishi said, rather happy with the outcome. It was certainly better than the manual labor he had expected. Besides, it was likely that he would in turn learn something about these ‘ponies’, whom he was fascinated with. It almost made him regret wanting to go home.

“Well then, I believe that settles the concern about temporary accommodation. The medical staff here believe you are fit to leave at anytime, and since you have humbly accepted to share your knowledge with Twilight, I believe staying in Ponyville would be the best option. Is that okay with you, or would you like to be somewhere less rural?” Celestia asked, only for Konishi to quickly disarm her concerns with a wave of his hand.

“It’s fine. I have lived in a rural village all my life, so I think it would suit me best”, he reassured the princess, who smiled happily in response.

“Excellent, I shall send for Twilight Sparkle right away. I’m sure she will know what to do with you, and I have a sneaking suspicion you two will get along like a house on fire. As for that spell, I shall return in a few days with my findings. Hopeful I can bring you some good news, and we can return you home before your people start to miss you too much”, she said, before raising herself onto her hooves. A small sigh left her mouth, and she absentmindedly glanced at the ward doors behind her, “I wish I could stay for longer, but alas my royal duties call. It has been nice meeting you Konishi, and I wish you the best of luck while you are here.”

Konishi’s heart dropped when he saw Celestia’s saddened expression, and quickly threw her a reassuring smile, just like the one she had given him earlier, “Thank you for everything you have done, I will never be able to express how grateful I am. And don’t worry Princess, I am certain we will be able to talk again, and I look forward to the day when that happens.”

Fortunately that did the trick, and Celestia’s expression returned to her traditional small smile, along with another slight blush. “Have you ever tried your hoof-- or should I say hand-- at being a leader? You do have a certain way with words”, she told him, making her way to the doors as she did so.

“My duty is to serve, not to lead. But… I appreciate the kind words”, Konishi thanked her, taken slightly aback by her compliment. He had never really received a compliment from anyone outside of his family, his father's actions had made sure of that. ‘Even in this world I can't forget about what he did… how wonderful.’

“You’re welcome. Now, my student will be here as soon as I tell her about our conversation, so be ready to meet a rather excited mare in the next hour or two. And remember, if you need anything don’t hesitate to ask, that’s what the nurses are here for”, Celestia told him, before sighing once again, “I’m sorry, I have to go now. Until we meet again Konishi.”

“Goodbye Princess”, Konishi replied simply, giving the Princess a courteous nod. Celestia smiled sadly at the Samurai, lingering at the door for several more seconds. It was days like this when she found herself truly envying ponies such as Twilight Sparkle, who had the freedom to explore their curiosity for far longer than she ever could.

It was the unfortunate trade off for one in power. More time had to be spent on politics and pleasing the nobles, leaving hardly any time for her to socialise and in this case, sate her curiosity. In fact the only thing she could really do in her very short free time was sleep, eat, and maybe read the occasional book.

This didn’t mean that she was unhappy with her life, she enjoyed leading Equestria and its ponies, and her job certainly gave her the opportunity to meet a lot of interesting ‘people’. She just wished she could have some time off every now and again.

Celestia gave the bedridden Samurai one last sad smile, before quickly leaving the room. Konishi sighed as the room was once again plunged into relative silence, with only the constant beeping of the weird box and the occasional twitter of birds reminding him that he could in fact still hear.

‘Have no fear my mother and little brother, Kojima. I shall return home soon enough…”