Kiva: Symphony of Friendship

Chapter 4

Apple's Lullaby Part 1

Wataru sat at his workbench, shaping and shaving the wood on a new violin base, humming to himself as he did so. Ever since his encounters with the Mane Six, Wataru's normally gloomy nature had taken a turn for the positive. He actually smiled for a change and was even beginning to go outside without his set of anti-germ clothes. However, his shy nature still remained, as evidenced by his freezing up as his doorbell rang.

Wataru stopped his work and was about to go see who it was before Kivat spoke up.

“Don't Wataru, it's probably just another sales pony trying to sell you another magazine subscription,” Kivat said in a rather annoyed tone.

Wataru frowned as he looked over at the massive pile of newspapers and magazines that had shown up in the previous weeks. Forty different ones in all. Wataru fidgeted as he struggled deciding whether to go to his door or stay inside.

The bell rang again.

Wataru started to go back to his workbench, but was interrupted as the bell began to ring incessantly. Finally, Wataru had enough and went to his front door. Kivat shook his head in disappointment.

“When is this fool gonna learn?” Kivat said as he flew to the window to watch Wataru's exchange.

When Wataru approached the door, he steeled his nerves to try and say no to whatever the pony outside was trying to sell him. His confidence at peak, he swung open the door.

“I'm sorry, we're not interested! Sorry!” Wataru said as he bowed. He waited a second for a response. After no response, he lifted his head to find Fluttershy standing at his gate. Wataru blushed a deep red.

“F-F-F-Fluttershy!” Wataru sputtered. Fluttershy looked at Wataru with a somewhat dejected look and turned away.

“I'll just come back later then,” Fluttershy said as she began to walk away. Wataru, panicked, ran to his front gate.

“Wait, Fluttershy wait a moment!” Wataru said as he caught up with the yellow pegasus. She turned to look at him, a confused expression on her face.

“I'm sorry, I thought you were another sales pony trying to sell me something. Sorry,” Wataru said in apology. Fluttershy turned and smiled at Wataru.

“It's okay Wataru, I have the same problem,” Fluttershy said, a hint of an embarrassed blush gracing her cheeks. Wataru and Fluttershy laughed at themselves for a minute before they smiled. They stayed like that for a few moments before Fluttershy suddenly remembered why she had come to Wataru's house in the first place.

“Um..anyway, I was wondering if you could help me with something,” Fluttershy said.

“Of course, what do you need?” Wataru asked. Fluttershy pulled out a violin case from her saddlebags.

“An old friend of mine was telling me about how she missed playing the violin. When I asked her why, she said her violin was broken and she refused to play with any other. She'd tried getting it repaired before, but she couldn't find a specialist skilled enough who could do it. When I told her about you, she asked me to have you take a look at it. Would you please? I mean, if you don't mind,” Fluttershy said. Wataru smiled and nodded.

“Of course I can take a look at it. How bad can the damage be?” Wataru said as he opened the violin case. What he saw made his jaw drop.

The violin was in the worst shape he'd ever seen an instrument. Their was a hole about the size of his hoof going right through it. The wood was in terrible shape and it looked like it hadn't been properly taken care of in years.

Wataru's eye twitched “How.....how did this happen?” he asked.

“She didn't say. Only that somepony broke it a long time ago. Do you think you can fix it?” she said. Wataru sweated under her gaze. He'd never seen a violin in worse shape. However, he had to try. If for nothing else than to help Fluttershy.

“Of..of course! I'll need to find the right type of wood to use though,” Wataru said.

“Maybe I can help you,” Fluttershy said. Wataru smiled at this.

“I'd...I'd like that, thank you,” Wataru said as he and Fluttershy began to walk towards Ponyville.

Meanwhile

Three figures sat around a table with a deck of cards laid out before them and a chess board set up. The figures each looked at the cards with interest. On the cards they could see what appeared to be Wataru and Fluttershy walking down a road.

One figure, a diamond dog in a black suit with a blue tie, looked at the cards and sighed.

“So he continues to get close to this Fluttershy mare,” the diamond dog said The two other figures, a minotaur in a butler outfit and a small green dragon, who oddly enough was dressed in a Neighponese schoolfilly's outfit, looked at the card.

“Hey hey. Do you think we should dispose of her? It could be dangerous for Wataru if we just let her be,” the dragon said. The minotaur looked at the card and snorted.

“El-im-i-nate,” the minotaur said slowly. The diamond dog raised a paw to the two.

“For now, we stay as observers. If she looks like she'll be a threat, then we act,” he said as he
picked up a diamond that was sitting on the table and crushed it to dust in his paws.

Fluttershy and Wataru walked around Ponyville trying to find the right type of wood to use for the violin.

“So what type of wood are we looking for exactly?” Fluttershy asked. Wataru pulled out the violin and examined it.

“Judging by the color and the feel of it, I'd say we're looking for something like oak or cedar,” Wataru said.

“Why so specific?” Fluttershy asked.

“If you use the wrong type of wood when repairing it it will cause the sound to be different.,” Wataru explained.

“Oh”.

“So that means we have to...” Wataru said before he suddenly stopped. Fluttershy looked to where Wataru was looking and saw him staring at the sign for a music store.

“Huh, I didn't know we had a music store here,”Fluttershy said. Suddenly Wataru hoofed the violin to Fluttershy and ran over to the sign. Fluttershy managed to catch the violin as Wataru rubbed his face against the sign and began to examine it.

“This is perfect. This is just the type of wood I need,” Wataru said as he examined the sign more.

“Um, can I help you?” a voice asked. Wataru looked up to see a white unicorn mare with a wild blue mane and purple sunglasses. Wataru froze.

“Um....I.....um.....” Wataru stuttered. Thankfully Fluttershy came to Wataru's rescue.

“I'm sorry Vinyl. Wataru can get a bit overzealous with his work. We were looking for some wood to use to repair this violin and I guess Wataru thinks the sign would work,” Fluttershy said showing Vinyl the broken violin.

Vinyl Scratch raised an eyebrow at the two. She knew Fluttershy was a pretty nice mare, and had saved Equestria a few times, so she trusted her. But she couldn't help but question the stallion rubbing his face against her sign.

Vinyl looked at Wataru “You need my sign to repair this violin right?” she asked. Wataru nodded his head. Vinyl shrugged.

“Go ahead, take it. I was thinking about replacing it anyway,” she said in her usual laid back tone. Wataru's eyes lit up as he got to his hooves.

“Thank you very much Miss Vinyl!” Wataru said as he bowed to the DJ. Wataru's action began to draw some stares from other ponies.

“Okay, okay pal, easy with the bowing. I'm not a Princess you know,” Vinyl said. Usually she liked being the center of attention, but only when she was on stage.

Wataru raised his head and smiled.

“Thank you so much Miss Vinyl. How can I repay...” Wataru said before he suddenly stopped and closed his eyes.

Back at Wataru's house, the Bloody Rose began to make a sound. A single solitary note that rang out. Kivat heard this noise and flew off his perch.

“Finally, some action!” the gold bat said as he flew out the window.

“Wataru, are you okay?” Fluttershy asked as Wataru's eyes shot open.

“Please excuse me,” Wataru said as he took off running. Fluttershy and Vinyl were left behind, confused.

“Weird friend you've got there Fluttershy,” Vinyl observed.

“Could it be a Fangire?” Fluttershy thought.

“Excuse me Vinyl, I'm gonna go see what's wrong with him,” Fluttershy said as she flew off after Wataru.

Vinyl was left with a confused look on her face.

“What is with everypony today?” Vinyl questioned as she went back into her store.

“Help!!!! Monster!!!” Apple Bloom yelled as she ran towards the farm house.

Hot on her tail was a Fangire with a purple upper body, tentacles running along her arms, and stained glass markings all across her body. The Fangire shot an ink ball at the young Apple Bloom, which grazed the young filly's leg. Apple Bloom tripped just as she was about to cross the gate into the main farm house. She backed up as far as she could as the Fangire advanced on her.

“Someone, help,” she said as tears formed in her eyes.

“Henshin!!” a voice rang out. The Octopus Fangire and Apple Bloom both looked to see a figure running towards them encased in a rippling aura. When the aura cleared, Kiva stood before them.

“What in the hay?” Apple Bloom said as Kiva ran up and began to repeatedly punch the Fangire, leading it away from Apple Bloom. Soon, Applejack and Big Macintosh were running over to her from the farm house.

“Apple Bloom!! Are you okay!?” Applejack yelled as she ran up to her little sister. Big Macintosh and Applejack hugged Apple Bloom close.

“Ahm fine, but look,” Apple Bloom said pointing over to Kiva and the Fangire fighting a distance away.

“What in tarnation?” Applejack yelled.

“I was playing over by the pond when that monster popped out of the water. I tried to run but it got one of my legs. I thought I was done for when that feller in the armor showed up,” Apple Bloom said. Applejack and Big Macintosh looked over at the battle.

Kiva was managing to subdue the Fangire fairly well, landing a round house kick to it's jaw. The monster shot a few ink shots at Kiva, one of them hitting Kiva square in the chest.

“That must be that Kiva feller that saved Fluttershy,” Applejack said. Kiva stumbled from the hit he took, which gave the Fangire ample time to kick Kiva through a tree.

“He needs help! Big Mac, take Bloom back to the,” she said. Unfortunately, Big Macintosh was already running towards the Fangire, his face one of anger, a rarity for the usually calm stallion.

“Big Mac wait!” Applejack yelled. But she was too late as Big Mac came upon the Fangire and proceeded to swiftly buck it a few feet back. Kiva got up form the remains of the tree and noticed Big Mac.

“Stay out of this you fool! That thing will kill you!” Kivat yelled at the red stallion.

“Can it! This thing hurt my sister! Nopony does that and lives to remember it,” Big Mac said as he charged the Fangire.

Bad move.

The Fangire had recovered from Big Mac's little attack and fired an ink shot at him. Big Mac tried to dodge it, but ended up getting hit in the side. The red stallion fell to the ground, blood dripping from his wound.

“Mac!!” Applejack yelled.

“This is bad. We need to end this,” Kiva said as he grabbed the Wake Up fuestle from his belt and placed it in Kivat's mouth.

“Agreed. WAKE UP!!!” Kivat yelled as the sky darkened, a blood red moon replacing the sun. Kiva raised his right hind leg, Kivat spinning around it and breaking the chains on it. Kiva launched himself into the air and proceeded to fly at the Fangire. The Fangire saw this and released a cloud of ink.

Kiva's attack didn't stop however as he continued to fly toward the smoke cloud. Finally, Kiva made contact, the ground shaking and cracking as he did so. When the smoke cleared, Kiva's mark was on the ground, but no remnant of the Fangire was to be seen.

“What!?” Kiva said as he looked around.

“Damn, it got away! Sneaky octopus,” Kivat said in frustration.

“Big Mac, wake up!! Big Mac!!” Applejack yelled as she and Apple Bloom examined the downed Big Macintosh. His wound was bleeding and his breathing was heavy.

Soon enough, Fluttershy appeared on the scene. When she saw Big Macintosh on the ground, she ran up to him and examined his wounds.

“What happened to him?” Fluttershy said.

“One of them Fangire attacked Apple Bloom and suddenly that Kiva feller you were talking about showed up. Big Mac tried to fight the Fangire himself but ended up getting beat pretty bad,” Applejack said. Fluttershy looked for Wataru, but he was nowhere to be seen. Applejack noticed this as well and snorted in anger.

“Darn that armored pony!! My brother gets hurt and he just runs off like a coward,” Applejack said.

“Applejack, we can't worry about that right now. We have to get Big Macintosh to a hospital,” Fluttershy said as she and Applejack lifted the red stallion and proceeded to take Big Macintosh into the farm house.

Within an hour of the attack, the Mane Six and Wataru had gathered at the farm house while a doctor examined Big Macintosh. Applejack paced around, worried about her big brother.

“So you said Kiva showed up and fought the Fangire?” Twilight asked.

Applejack nodded “But he ran off before I could ask him anything. That coward!” she yelled. Apple Bloom went up to her sister and tapped her on the side. Apple Bloom had luckily gotten off with just a small graze on one of her legs.

“That Kiva feller wasn't a coward sis. He saved me and Big Mac,” Apple Bloom said. Applejack looked at her sister for a moment before hugging her.

“I know Bloom. I'm sorry. I just wish I coulda asked him some questions,” Applejack said. Everyone in the room nodded.

“I'd like to know more about him as well. But he seems pretty keen on playing the mysterious hero,” Twilight said. Everyone in the room nodded except for Wataru. Wataru looked utterly ashamed of himself. Fluttershy looked at him concerned.

“Are you okay Wataru?” Fluttershy asked. Before Wataru could answer, the doctor came down the stairs. Applejack rushed toward him, startling him a bit.

“How's Big Mac? Is he okay?” she asked.

“Your brother is fine Miss Applejack. He's pretty sturdy, so the wound thankfully wasn't too deep. I've cleaned and dressed the wound and he's resting right now. He should be fine with a few days rest,” he said. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank you doc,” Applejack said.

“You are very welcome Miss Applejack. However, this means he cannot do any strenuous activity for at least the next week. Understood?” the doctor said. Applejack froze at these words.

“How long did you say?” she said.

“At least a week, maybe two,” he said. Applejack nodded and smiled.

“Just checking. Thank you doc,” Applejack said as he doctor left.

Once the doctor had left, Applejack slumped into a chair.

“This whole Fangire business is getting out of hoof,” Rarity said.

“I agree. First Fluttershy, now Apple Bloom and Big Mac. Our only lead on these things is Kiva, and Celestia knows where he's always running off to,” Twilight said. The Mane Six all looked at each other worried. Wataru sweated profusely, out of both shame and fear.

“Have you been able to find anything in the library about them Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked. Twilight shook her head.

“The best I was able to find was a small mention of them in an old legend. Nothing that could help. I think it's time I contact Princess Celestia about this,” Twilight said. The rest of the Mane Six nodded.

“I think that's a good idea. Maybe she can shed some light on this whole thing,” Applejack said.

“Alright then. I'll contact the Princess tonight and ask her for whatever information she can offer. For now, I say we all get some rest. Applejack, do you want one of us to stay with you?” Twilight asked.

Applejack shook her head “Nah, I'll be fine. Thank ya'll though,” Applejack said as she hugged her friends. With that, everyone left the Apple Farm.

Wataru and Fluttershy walked together in silence. Fluttershy would occasionally look over at Wataru, who had a serious but sad look on his face. She tapped him on the shoulder concerned.

“Wataru, are you okay?” she asked. Wataru shook his head.

“Listen, what happened today wasn't your fault. You tried your best and fought to protect Apple Bloom and Big Mac. You were very brave,” she said, trying to comfort the young stallion.

“I know, that's not what I'm worried about,” he said.

“What's wrong then?” she asked. Wataru looked like he was about to say something, but then didn't.

“I'm sorry, I can't say right now. All I can say is that I don't want to see another family go through something like that again,” Wataru said. Fluttershy looked at him in a mixture of concern and admiration. Fluttershy hugged Wataru, which made him freeze in place.

“I know Wataru. You're a good pony. I know you can protect others, I've seen it. You can fight these things and win,” Fluttershy said.

Wataru looked at Fluttershy and smiled “Thank you Fluttershy,” he said. Soon enough, they arrived at Fluttershy's cottage.

“Well, I'll see you tomorrow I suppose,” Wataru said. Fluttershy nodded and smiled.

“Good night Wataru,” Fluttershy said as she entered her cottage.

“Good night Fluttershy,” Wataru said as he began walking back to his house.

Once Wataru was a good distance from Fluttershy's cottage, Kivat flew up beside him.

“Well, today has certainly been interesting,” Kivat said. Wataru nodded, which caused Kivat to sigh.

“Are you gonna be all mopey again Wataru? Listen, I've told you before, people will get hurt. That's just a fact. You can do all you can but people will still get injured Wataru,” Kivat said.

“I know Kivat. It's just...seeing Miss Applejack and her family like that. It just.....,” he said. Kivat got the message.

“Wataru...”

“Kivat, I think it's time I start making myself a little more known,” Wataru said.

“What!? You can't reveal your identity to all six of them. Just revealing it to Fluttershy was risky enough. Who knows what'll happen happen if you reveal your identity to all of them,” Kivat said.

“I said I want to make myself more known. I never said I was going to reveal my identity,” Wataru said as he took a side path toward Ponyville. It took Kivat a second before he understood what Wataru was trying to say. When he finally got it, he smiled.

“Devious. I like it,” Kivat said as he followed Wataru.

“So Big Mac's okay?” Spike said. Twilight nodded as she wrote a letter to Celestia.

“That's good. I wish I could've been there to see this Kiva guy. He sounds pretty awesome!” Spike said.

“I could care less how awesome he is. I just want to know what his goal is and what his connection to the Fangire is,” Twilight said as she finished the letter. Just as she was about to seal it and send it off to the Princesses, a knock came at the front door.

“Who could it be at this hour?” Twilight said as she went to get the door. When she opened, nopony was there.

“That's odd,” she said as she looked around to see if anypony was hiding. When she decided it must have been some prank, she heard a rustling above her.

“Up here,” a voice said. When she looked up, she was met with the armored face of Kiva, hanging upside down from a tree branch like a bat.

She was about to scream when Kiva dropped down and put a hoof over her mouth.

“Be calm, I'm not here to hurt you,” he said as he released his hoof. Twilight stepped back a bit, taking in the image of Kiva for the first time. Even in the low light of her outside lantern, she could make out his red and black armor. His most striking feature though was his masked face, which gave him the appearance of a large bat, and strangely enough a jack o' lantern.

Twilight gulped and said “So you're Kiva?”

Kiva nodded

“So what did you want to talk about?” she asked nervously. Now that she was actually in front of the mysterious Kiva, she was terrified. The armor made him seem very imposing. She had fought evil monsters before, but Kiva unnerved her somehow.

“I realize I have not exactly been open about my mission here. So I wanted to clear some things up,” he said.

“Okay. Would you like to sit down?” she said, motioning for him to come inside.

“It's better if I keep this brief. To start, I am sorry about what happened earlier with Big Macintosh. I should have been able to stop that. Secondly, I want you to leave the Fangire to me. If any of you try to fight them, you'll just end up getting hurt. I don't want that to happen. They are my responsibility,” he said

“Okay. May I ask a question?” Twilight said.

“Of course”.

“Why are you here, why now? What connection do you have to the Fangire?” she asked. Kiva was silent for a moment. After a while, he finally spoke again.

“That I cannot tell you. Not now,” he said. Twilight knew he was dodging the question, but chose not to address it.

“One last question. Why do you wear that mask. Why hide your face?” she asked. Kiva stood silent before he turned away from Twilight.

“Good night Miss Sparkle,” Kiva said as he jumped up and disappeared. Twilight tried to chase after him, but she found no trace of the strange armored figure. When she went back inside, Spike was staring wide eyed.

“Was that?” he asked. Twilight nodded.

“What did he want?” Spike asked.

“He wanted to talk. He let me know that none of us should try and fight the Fangire, to let him handle it”.

“Anything else?”

Twilight furrowed her brows in thought “He's hiding something. I don't know what but he's hiding something,” she said. She shook her head.

“For now, he's not our enemy. The mere fact that he came here to talk is enough to show he's on our side. Plus, he saved Fluttershy and the Apples. I want to trust him, but he's still not giving us enough information,” Twilight said.

“So what now?”

Twilight looked at the letter she was going to send the Princesses and threw it away.

“Spike, take a letter,” Twilight said as her assistant began to write.

Outside, Kivat and Wataru listened to the conversation. Kivat detached from the belt and flew up besides Wataru.

“Wataru, are you sure this is wise? What if the Princesses decide to label you an enemy?” Kivat said. Wataru sighed and stood up.

“Then I'll have to prove to them that I'm not,” Wataru said. Kivat looked at Wataru and sighed.

“Jiro and the others are not going to be happy about this,” Kivat said. Wataru shuddered a bit,his knees buckling a bit.

“We'll...we'll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Wataru said as he leaped off of the library and ran back to his house, Kivat following him.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I have some troubling news to report. In the past few weeks here in Ponyville, a strange series of monsters have been appearing known as Fangire. So far nopony has been fatally injured, although one of the Apple Family, Big Macintosh, did sustain an injury from an attack earlier today. I deeply apologize for not reporting these incidents earlier, but I wanted to wait and see if they were isolated incidents or a widespread threat. I have tried to find any information on the Fangire that I can, but I have come up with nothing. I ask for any assistance you can give on this matter as myself and my friends are deeply troubled.

Also, along with the Fangire, a strange armored stallion calling himself Kiva has appeared. He has been fighting the Fangire and has saved two of my friends. He has said that he is here to fight the Fangire and that we should leave the fighting to him. While I do not believe him to be an enemy, I do believe he is hiding something.

I worry for the safety of my friends and Ponyville. I know we have defeated tough foes in the past, but I know nothing of this enemy. That thought alone frightens me. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle