The Way Of The Warrior

Their conversation lasted a lot longer than he had expected, but by the passing of the hour Konishi’s knowledge of human anatomy had finally run out. He was surprised just how much information he knew though. Not only had he remembered the major organs, but he was also able give Twilight tips on how to properly treat an external wound: both in stitching and preventing it from getting infected.

Looking it over, he was quite pleased to see his information had managed to fill at least half of Twilight’s scroll, which was a lot considering the scroll was about a metre long.

Twilight also looked pleased, and gave Konishi a gleeful smile. “‘I’m no expert in human biology’ my flank! You know a lot more than you give yourself credit for. Sure it’s nothing comprehensive, but if you were to get injured again I’m confident I would be able to keep you alive, so thank you. I certainly feel a lot more confident now”, she told Konishi, who gave her a respectful bow in response.

“Glad I could be of service, I just hope you never have to use that information outside of practice in real life. I’m still reeling from my current injuries”, he admitted, grimacing at his abdomen. It’s not as if he could have forgotten about it, it’s constant thumping pain reminding him that it was still there, hidden under his clothes.

Twilight noticed Konishi’s grimace, and that-- combined with what the Samurai had just admitted-- gave her all she needed to know. She moved closer to Konishi, gently placing a caring hoof on his arm as she spoke, “You’re still in pain aren’t you? Why didn’t you tell me? I could have helped.”

“I didn’t wish to bother you, not when my role here is to serve you. Besides, I can handle the pain”, Konishi reassured her. Though Twilight’s narrowed her eyes were enough to tell him she wasn’t at all convinced.

“You’re a terrible liar. You know that?” she asked Konishi rhetorically, who’s sheepish expression was enough to confirm that her suspicions. The young princess could only sigh, “Please take your gown off. I may be unable to heal you, but I can at least dull the pain.”

“A-are you sure? All my clothes are with Rarity, so I’m not wearing anything underneath this”, Konishi reminded Twilight, surprised that she was basically asking him to strip down to the nude in front of her.

It wasn’t the idea of stripping in front of someone that took Konishi off guard, thanks to unisex public bathhouses that was a regular occurrence even in front of women. What caught him off guard was who was making this request: Princess Twilight Sparkle, his Equestrian lord.

Never before had he stripped in front of anyone with such stature-- as his lords had their own private bathhouses. Besides, the whole idea behind it seemed rather disrespectful, especially given his current condition. He wasn’t exactly clean after all, having just got out of a hospital bed he had spent the last three days recovering in.

‘To strip butt-naked in front of royalty in my condition would be nothing short of dishonourable’, he internally chastised himself. What if Twilight was offended by his current condition-- or worse-- the way his body looked? Konishi wasn’t anywhere near similar to ponies on a physical level, and she had yet to see a naked human after all, so there was no telling how she would react.

“Why would that be a problem? I’m not wearing any clothes, and neither do most ponies unless they’re going to a posh party like the Grand Galloping Gala, or something along those lines. I’m not sure how things work back in Japan, but here it’s completely acceptable to be naked in public”, Twilight prescribed. He didn’t seem convinced, causing Twilight to smile apologetically. “If you don’t want to be naked all the time that’s fine, I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable while you’re here, but could you just do it this one time? I can tell you’re in a lot of pain, and I want to help you. Please Konishi.”

At first Konishi didn’t reply, his trepidation at stripping down in front of royalty getting in his way. Eventually, a mixture of his willingness to follow Twilight’s orders and his desire to get rid of the pain broke his resistance down. The Samurai sighed in defeated manner. “As you wish Twilight.”

Konishi pulled himself onto his feet, unable to subdue a grunt as the pain in his abdomen spiked dramatically. He was prepared for it this time, and managed to keep his footing. ‘It seems I need that numbing spell more than previously anticipated.’

He took a few seconds to mentally prepare himself, before slowly undoing the tape ties at the back of his hospital gown one by one. It was an action that Konishi found painfully awkward to do, though Twilight didn’t seem all that bothered by it. She was probably more surprised that he had worn the gown for as long as he had.

Eventually though he managed to undo all the tape ties, before slipping out of the gown; completely naked in front of Twilight. Once again the young princess didn’t seem bothered. That is, till her gaze fell upon his exposed crotch. Her eyes instantly widened, and a deep blush soon followed. Konishi wasn’t faring any better himself, a strong blush of his own adorning his cheeks.

“I… uh… I see why you wanted to keep your clothes on. I’m sorry, I should have asked beforehoof”, she stuttered, before using her magic to pick his gown up, handing it over to him. Konishi quickly took the gown out of her magic, using it to cover his crotch.

“I-it’s fine, no harm done”, Konishi told her, secretly thankful that she had been so quick to give him back the gown.

Twilight gave the Samurai an embarrassed smile, before returning her gaze to his body, though it was more out of curiosity than anything else. He was mostly hairless, just like she had thought the first time she had met him, though there were tufts of hair under his armpit and… around his crotch. ‘That mental image is going to be stuck in my mind forever now.I can just tell.’

Konishi’s build may have been that of a different species-- a different world even-- but she could clearly tell he was a warrior. His arms and legs were muscular, and while his chest and abdomen weren’t as defined as warriors from similarly shaped species-- like minotaurs for example-- they still showed signs of the strenuous exercise most warriors went through.

“Are you okay Twilight? Do you need me to cover something else up as well?” Konishi asked, dragging her back to the real world. It was only then she realised she had just been staring at his body the whole time: rather awkward for the Samurai.

A blush appeared on her cheeks once again, though not as strong as before, and fortunately unnoticed by Konishi. “No no, you’re fine as you are. I was just thinking about something”, she told him, before returning her attention to his wound. It had long since stopped bleeding, but the bandage was still encrusted with dry blood from before. ‘His wound may be stitched up, but we’re definitely getting that bandage changed at some point. It’s far too unhygienic.’

“If I may so bold as to ask, what will this spell entail? Suffice to say I’m new to magic, so I have no idea as to what it will do exactly”, Konishi told her, hopping quietly from one foot to another as he stood there. It was cold, and he was rather nervous about having magic used on him for the first time in his life. Well, at least the first time while he was conscious. He knew the doctors had used some on him back at the hospital. This time was different though, this time he’d be able to see it; to feel it.

“Don’t worry, it’s just a low level dulling spell. A lot of unicorns use it when they have chronic pains. It works by numbing the affected area to such an extent that you can no longer feel anything. It’s completely harmless; the only thing you should feel as it’s working is a slight tingling sensation”, Twilight explained, hoping it would reassure him. Another grimace and a slight dipping of the body to his right told her Konishi wasn’t going to be complaining either way. “Whenever you’re ready”, she told him.

Konishi straightened himself out, ignoring the searing pain as he did so, before giving Twilight the nod she had been waiting for. With a focused expression and her legs spread out, Twilight began to channel magic through her horn, the light raspberry coloured aura slowly growing strength. She didn’t have to charge it too long though-- being a low level spell-- and soon a similarly colored aura covered Konishi’s wound. The magic slowly started to take its effect.

‘Why I was nervous about this I don’t know. It really doesn’t feel all that bad’, Konishi thought, suppressing a chuckle as Twilight’s magic delicately tickled at his side. In all honesty he was rather relieved by how it felt, as he had originally expected her magic to feel more invasive. In fact it felt just like it did back at the hospital, when he had given it a glancing touch, only this time it had more weight behind it. ‘Perhaps different spells work and feel differently. I’ll have to ask Twilight at some point.’

But just as quickly as it arrived, the tingling sensation left, along with the searing pain nagging him since they had got back. Instead Konishi felt nothing in that area, just a distinct numbness that worked its way over the entirety of his wounded area. He sighed in relief, unable to hide his surprise as he looked down at his abdomen. It had worked so quickly, unlike anything he had ever seen before.

“There you go. How does it feel now?” Twilight asked, relaxing once she was sure the magic had done its work.

“Wow… I never expected it to take affect so quickly, or for it to completely get rid of the pain. Thank you Twilight, you have done more for me than I could ever repay”, Konishi told her, now able to give her a proper bow.

Twilight was about to reply when suddenly Spike entered the room. “Hey Twilight, I’ve finished washing up now. Can I go…” The young dragon trailed off when he saw the scene before him.

In the middle of the room stood a butt naked Konishi, his crotch barely covered up by the removed gown in his hand, and a happy smile on his face. Twilight on the other hand stood directly in front of him, a heavy blush on her face as she stared at Konishi’s well-toned body. It was perhaps the most compromising situation he had ever seen Twilight in, made ever more so the fact he didn’t actually know the context in which all of this was happening.

Twilight jumped at the sound of Spike’s voice, turning to face the young dragon. “Spike, I didn’t see you come in! I was just helping Konishi”, she quickly told him, though it didn’t change the confused expression on Spike’s face.

“Helping him with what? Twilight, why is he naked? Why are you blushing? I don’t understand any of this”, he said, scratching the back of his head as he did so.

Twilight nearly screamed in surprise, quickly turning to face Spike. The young Alicorn promptly placed herself in front of Spike, trying to cover up the incriminating evidence. “Spike! I-I didn’t see you come in. We were just- uh… what I mean to say is-”

“Twilight, is this just another demonstration of what happens when two adults love each other very much, because you’ve already explained it to me”, Spike interrupted her.

Twilight’s cheeks turned a deep scarlet as tried to stutter out a response. “W-what? N-no, that’s not what I meant. I-”

Twilight was once again interrupted, this time by Konishi, who could see that she was struggling to find the proper words. “Have no fear young dragon, Twilight here was simply casting a spell to relieve me of my pain, a spell that required the removal of my gown”, Konishi explained, receiving a hasty nod and a thankful smile from Twilight as he did so.

“Y-yes, that’s what I was trying to say. Konishi was in a lot of pain, and I needed to numb the pain for him. It was something I couldn’t do with his gown on, as I needed to see the affected area before I could start working on. You know how hard it can be for a magic user to manipulate something they can’t see, don’t you?” Twilight asked rhetorically, more to reiterate her point than anything else.

Spike’s confusion dissipated, nodding in understanding. “Oh, okay, that makes sense. So can I go upstairs and read the latest issue of Power Ponies now? I’ve finished the washing up”, he told Twilight, who giggled in amusement at his pleading expression.

“Of course you can, Spike. Thank you for doing the dishes. And just like I promised, you can come with us to Rarity’s tomorrow”, she happily informed him.

“Yes!” Spike cheered excitedly, catching Twilight off guard with a quick hug.

Twilight’s expression curled into a loving smile, and she gave Spike a gentle hug in return. “I wasn’t expecting that, but you’re welcome. Now go on, Konishi needs some privacy so that he can put his gown back on”, Twilight told the young dragon in a teasing tone, obviously directed at the naked Samurai.

Spike gave Konishi a glancing look before releasing Twilight from his embrace and quickly scurrying up the stairwell, a noticeable spring in his step. Konishi chuckled as the young dragon did so.

“Are you sure they’re not courting? He seems far too excited for this to be a mere friendship”, he pointed out, slipping back into his gown while Twilight wasn’t looking.

“I’ll admit his reaction was rather surprising, but he hasn’t Rarity for over three daysnow, so who can really blame him?” Twilight said sardonically. She turned her attention back to Konishi, face scrunching up a bit when she got a whiff of his clothing. “Regardless of how he feels though, the sooner we get to Rarity’s the better. That gown looks-- and smells-- absolutely terrible. It’s not your fault really, anypony would smell like that after being stuck in bed for three days, but hopefully we can deal with it by tomorrow”, she told him.

“Is it really that bad?”, Konishi asked, sniffing himself to assess just how bad it was. It only took him a second:  ‘Ancestors, that’s the worst thing I’ve smelt in years!’

“Truthfully? Yes, it is, and I only pointed it out now because I wanted to be polite. You’re lucky you haven’t met Rarity yet, she would have been absolutely furious with both of us if she found you smelling like that… mostly me really”, Twilight warned him, making her way back to her saddlebags.

She carefully picked up her notes on human anatomy-- along with the many other things he had told her today-- in her magic, doing the same thing with her saddlebags. She then deposited them inside the saddlebags with the same amount of care, before making her way back towards the Konishi. She gave the Samurai an expectant look, made her way up the stairwell.

Konishi was confused as to why Twilight wanted him to go upstairs all of a sudden, but decided upon following her anyway, knowing it would be rude not to.

“Perhaps I could wash myself then, if there are any bathhouses nearby that is”, he proposed, having to duck slightly to avoid hitting the ceiling. ‘This house has some really confusing proportions.’

Twilight looked back at Konishi, her eyebrow raised in confusion. “We don’t have bathhouses here, that’s more of a Griffin custom. We have showers here”, she replied, turning back to face him once she had reached the top of the stairs.

Konishi tilted his head in confusion. “What’s a shower?”

Twilight sighed, trotting off down the hallway as she did so. “Follow me”, she called back to Konishi, who had an easier job keeping up now he had cleared the stairwell, and could stand up to his full height once more. “Since you’ll be here for several days I should probably tell you about the layout of the library. The kitchen and living room are downstairs-- as you’ve already seen-- and there’s also another flight of stairs that lead to the basement down below.”

“What do you keep down there?” Konishi asked her.

“Nothing much really, just scientific equipment and a few random items I have no place for. The rest of it is just empty space”, she explained, before stopping at the first door along the hallway. “Anyway, this is my room; the one you can see from downstairs. I probably won’t be there during the day, but if you ever need me during the night feel free to knock.Fair warning though-- I can be grouchy if I don’t get a full night’s sleep”, Twilight told Konishi, giving the Samurai a wink as she did so.

Konishi chuckled, nodding his head in understanding as he replied, “Then I shall be on my guard should I ever require you assistance.”

“Good idea”, Twilight said, letting out a snicker as they set off again. As they did so she motioned to another door, this one now on the left side of the hallway. “That room belongs to Spike. Up until recently he slept in my room, but I decided to let him have his own room now he’s getting older. He deserves it, he’s been a great assistant for as long as I can remember.”

“You’ve known him for a long time then?” Konishi asked, receiving a nod in conformation from Twilight.

“I’ve known him for a very long time. I hatched him back when I was an eight-year-old filly-- albeit by accident. It was definitely the best accident to happen in my life though”, Twilight told him, a nostalgic smile slowly growing on her face.

“Eight years old? Wouldn’t that make Spike a teenager? Or a child at least? I don’t know much about Equestria, but I think it’s fair to assume that the age of adulthood here would be around eighteen to twenty years, which would make Spike at least ten years old”, he hypothesised.

“Close, the minimum age for an Equestrian adult is sixteen though, not eighteen. And Spike’s thirteen, so yes, by Equestrian standards he is a teenager. But dragons live much longer than most ponies-- thousands of years-- and they age very slowly, so technically he’s still a baby”, Twilight explained to Konishi, smiling up at the Samurai.

“Ah, that helps to clarify things. Thank you”, Konishi replied, bowing out of gratitude as Twilight continued her tour once more.

“You’re most welcome. Anyway, as you can see there’s a second flight of stairs near Spike’s room. It leads to the highest point of my house, which is the balcony. I’m sometimes up there at night if I can’t sleep”, she told Konishi, a small sigh passing through her lips. “I like going up there. It’s the one place where I can find some peace after a day of solving problems and helping ponies; both as a princess and as a friend.”

Konishi nodded in agreement. “I often do the same in the early hours of the morning, just as the sun’s coming up. There’s a cherry blossom tree outside my house, and I like to sit there and watch it as the time passes. There’s something calming about watching a lone cherry blossom floating weightlessly in the cool breeze of morning, wouldn’t you agree?” he asked. Twilight responded with a slight frown.

“We don’t have cherry blossoms in Ponyville, at least as far as I know. though there may be some in the royal Canterlot gardens. I might try it next I’m there, it does sound very relaxing”, she admitted, only coming to a stop because they had reached the end of the hallway, another door standing in their way.

“I would definitely recommend it. It’s essential to start your day with a calm mind and a clear head, otherwise we could make unnecessary mistakes”, Konishi continued, before turning his attention to the door. In all honesty it was just like the other doors; wooden, and with nothing to indicate what might be behind it. “So, this door leads to the shower then?”

Twilight nodded. “It leads to the bathroom, of which the shower is a part of. I should warn you though, if you don’t know what a shower is, you might be quite surprised as to what else it in there”, she warned him, before using a quick application of magic to turn the door knob, before pushing open the door itself.

When Konishi’s first stepped into the bathroom his jaw literally dropped. ‘Ancestors, it’s so different’, he thought. If he had been unsure as to just how technically advanced Equestria were compared to Japan, this was a real wake up call.

Most of the things Konishi had expected to be in a bathhouse were there; a mirror, a toilet, a sink and towels, but they all looked so different that it took the Samurai several seconds to work out what they actually were.

On top of that everything seemed to be lower down-- though that was be expected from a bathroom designed for beings who stood just below Konishi’s navel. ‘That’s something I’ll probably have to account for in a lot of places.’

Unlike the bathhouses back in Japan, both the toilet and the sink were made out of porcelain-- similar to that of the hospital room from earlier-- and had metallic pipes coming out of the bottom.

Most impressive though was the tall glass cubicle to the left of him, standing right in the corner of the room. The glass cubicle was big, easily big to fit both Konishi and Twilight in with a reasonable amount of head and arm room to spare.

“I see you’ve found the shower. Before you ask the obvious question, we ponies use showers to wash ourselves. It’s basically an easier, quicker, and cheaper way of washing compared to using a bath full of hot water”, Twilight explained. Konishi could only give her an understanding nod, still studying the shower in great depth. The glass surrounding the shower was not see-through, being somewhat blurred, preventing him from seeing what was actually inside.

“So… I assume you’ll have no problem in using it then, right?” Twilight inquired, breaking Konishi out of his thoughts. He looked down at her with a puzzled expression, forcing Twilight to reiterate herself. “The shower? You have no problems in using it to wash yourself, right? I’d hate to force something upon you, but you really need it.”

“I have no problem with bathing myself Twilight. It’s just I have no idea how to use this... shower”, Konishi conceded, though to Twilight this came as no big surprise. He hadn’t known what a shower was to begin with, so there was no way he’d know how to operate it..

With an effortless application of magic Twilight slid open the shower door, before entering the large cubicle, beckoning Konishi to follow her with a hoof as she did so. Suffice to say, Konishi was glad he had been correct in his assumption about the shower’s size, otherwise it would have made for a tight fit.

“That metal thing is the shower head-- where the water comes out of-- and the white box below it controls the temperature”, Twilight told him, pointing at the object in question which only just came up to Konishi’s chest. “You turn the knob left if you want cold water, and right if you want hot water. There’s not really anything else to say about it, it’s that simple. You might want to bend down a little though, it’s not exactly designed for anything taller than a pony.”

“That’s fine. The opportunity to wash away three days worth of dirt and sweat is well worth the risk of back pains”, Konishi stated, inspecting the so-called shower head as he did so. There were two colours directly above the knob; blue to the left and red to the right. ‘Blue for cold, red for hot. That’s certainly convenient.’

Twilight didn’t reply straight, stroking her chin as something dawned on her. Konishi was still injured-- and while he really did need to wash himself-- having hot water sprayed directly onto his wounds didn’t seem to be the smartest of ideas. Especially when the only thing covering them was a thin, worn out layer of bandages covered in dry blood.

Fortunately a plan to combat this problem soon came to Twilight’s mind. “Konishi, I need you to take your gown off again. Obviously you’ll need it off in order to wash yourself, but I want to perform a quick spell that’ll waterproof your bandages. That way you shouldn’t feel any pain when you turn the hot water on.”

“Your people are going to start talking if news that I’ve stripped in front of you twice gets out. Could be considered rather scandalous in their eyes”, Konishi teased the young alicorn, slowly undoing his gown once more, this time making sure his crotch was covered in advance.

“Well then, I guess we’ll have to keep it our little secret”, Twilight replied in kind, winking at the Samurai as she began channeling magic through her horn once again. “Hold still now, you don’t want this spell to hit any part of your body. Trust me, changing the properties of your body-- even temporarily-- would inflict a lot of pain upon you.”

Konishi quickly stiffened up, making sure his bandages were as easy to access as possible. The spell proved to be more complex than the one Twilight had used earlier-- as it involved manipulating the properties of not one, but two bandages-- and thus it took a few extra moments before the spell actually started to work.

Eventually though the magic did kick in, first bathing Konishi’s abdomen bandage in a raspberry aura, then the one on his left leg. Once more there was a tickling sensation, though it wasn’t as profound this time thanks to the lack of body contact.

“There you go, you shouldn’t have to worry about the hot water now. I think you’re just about ready to have a shower. Do you have any other questions before I go?” Twilight asked, instinctively stepping out of the shower.

“I do. What are these multi coloured things over here?” Konishi asked, pointing at a small rack to the left, next to the shower itself. Twilight leaned in to check what he was talking about, before nodding her head in understanding.

“Those are just plastic containers. They’re used to store a variety of different things such as food or drink. In this case they contain my shampoo and shower gel, though you shouldn’t worry about them too much. You won’t have a need to use them; unless of course you want to go around smelling like a mare”, she told him, ending her explanation in a teasing tone and a wink.

“I see no problem with that, you smell nice. Lavender if I’m not mistaken”, Konishi pointed out, leaving Twilight slack jawed and with a heavy blush for the second time today.

“I… uh… yes, thank you”, she stuttered, still taken back by Konishi’s sudden complement. “I’m going to say that you shouldn’t use my shampoo though, for your sake as much as mine. Lavender’s not a stallion smell, trust me.”

“As you wish, though I’d like to point out that I’m not a stallion”, Konishi told Twilight, who simply shrugged her shoulders in response.

“You’re a male, my point still stands”, she rebuked, backing out of the shower as she did so. “We’re going to get off topic again if we keep this up, so I think it’s best if I leave you to your shower now. Is there anything you need before you go?”

“No, you have already done more than enough. Thank you”, Konishi reassured her, giving Twilight a curt nod.

“Good. Once you’re fully cleaned and dressed come downstairs, I’ll have your sleeping accommodations ready. Unfortunately, I don’t have any extra beds, so you’ll have to sleep on the couch for the time being”, Twilight told him, looking down at the ground nervously. “Unless of course you want to sleep in my bed instead. I’d be more than happy to sleep on the couch for the next couple days.”

“I couldn’t ask you to do such a thing, you’ve already been far too kind to me as it is. I have no problem sleeping on the couch”, Konishi reassured her, bringing a smile back to Twilight’s face.

“Okay then, if you need anything feel free to call me, and do enjoy your first ever shower. I hope you find it to be just as relaxing as your early morning meditating,” she told him, before exiting the bathroom, leaving Konishi to wash himself.

The room plunged into relative silence as her hoofsteps got quieter and quieter, before stopping altogether. Konishi nodded, before folding up the hospital gown, placing it down on the towel rack.

He started the short journey back to the shower, but stopped prematurely, turning to face the mirror above the sink. He slowly moved towards it, observing his reflection intently as he did so.

His long black hair fell down to his shoulders, disheveled and still containing clumps of dried up mud and blood from the battle three days prior. His face seemed mostly clean, but still showed signs of wear and tear, tiny particles of dirt mixed in with his stubble.

‘Ancestors, this is what Twilight saw of me? How disrespectful of me”, he thought, before promptly moving to the shower and closing the door behind him.

‘So water should come out instantly hot then? This’ll be interesting’, he thought, before turning the knob right in one fluid motion.

At first he was met by cold water, forcing him to jump out of its way; his hairs standing on end. After a few seconds though, the water began to heat up, reaching a temperature Konishi found to be perfect. Satisfied, the Samurai leaned down, allowing the warm water to cascade down the entirety of his tired body. He couldn’t help but smile as he watched three days worth of sweat-- along with whatever dirt and dried up blood remained from the battle-- wash down the drain, as the warm liquid helped untense his muscles. He quickly put his face under the warm waterfall, rubbing it as he worked to remove all the dirt and blood from his stubble.

‘Ancestors, Twilight was right. How I wish our bathhouses had these’, he thought, basking in an amazing state of blissful relief as he stood there, leaning up against wall. He combed a hand through his long black hair, relieved as the disgusting feeling of greasy hair was literally washed away, along with what remained of the battlefield.

As Konishi washed himself, he couldn’t help but reflect on what had been one of the most interesting days of his life. It had been little under six hours since he had first awoken in this new and alien world, and in that time he had become so fascinated by it.

‘It’s such a shame I’ll only be here for a couple days, otherwise I might’ve explored Equus’, he thought. He knew that was still an option, that all he had to say was that he wanted to stay here. Twilight certainly wouldn’t have any complaints about it, and Celestia seemed too kind to deny such a request, so at the end of the day what was really stopping him?

‘I’m a Samurai, not a free man. I have a duty to my lords and my ancestors, and I cannot drop it all for my own entertainment. My family has enough shame to its name as it is’, he reminded himself, his happy mood somewhat tainted by those thoughts.

The chance to explore Equus was a once in a life opportunity-- one no other human may ever have the chance to do-- and yet he knew he could not take it. As a Samurai the needs of Konishi’s lord outweighed his own, and while Twilight was his temporary lord, he knew it would have to come to an end sooner rather than later.

‘Well then, I guess I’ll just have to cherish the time I have here’, Konishi rallied himself. He was certain he’d remember these next couple days for the rest of his life-- regardless of what happened-- and he certainly didn’t want them to bring sad and depressing emotions up when he looked back on them. ‘No, these will be happy memories. Ones I can look back upon with a sense of pride, knowing these were the days when I became the only human ever to make friends with colourful talking ponies with strange tattoos on their hindquarters.’

‘...Yeah, I’m not going to be able to tell anyone about this am I?’