Chapters The Hunter Finds his Prey
Bastian stood a good distance away from a skinny, gaunt-looking man, the Hunter's unzipped hoodie flapping a bit in the wind blowing through the mountain field.
"I am going to give you one chance to surrender." Bastian said coldly as he glared at his foe. "And I am also going to give you one chance to apologize for what you did."
"And what, exactly, did I do?" The man asked, tilting his head.
Bastian growled. "You killed the man who saved my life."
"I've killed a lot of people, kid." The man chuckled. "You're going to have to be a little more specific than that."
"A Deep Sea Hunter by the name of Alphonse." Bastian replied, clenching his right hand into a fist as his Nen flared with his anger. "You killed him four years ago when he tried to stop you."
"Oh yeah, the trident-user!" The man chuckled a bit to himself. "That really was a fun fight~"
Bastian growled again. "Now that I've refreshed your memory, let me ask again - will you apologize, surrender, and come with me... or not?"
The man's smile turned into a sneer. "I think we both know the answer to that... 'Killer of Killers'."
"That we do." Bastian said, taking his left hand out of his pocket. "And now that the requirements have been fulfilled, I can finally go all-out."
Over a hundred tridents, all made out of what looked to be blue energy, appeared in the air surrounding Bastian as the Blacklist Hunter raised his hands, all of them pointing towards the man.
"Prepare yourself, Yuudai," Bastian declared, his aura blazing strong, "because you will not be leaving this place alive!"
Yuudai chuckled, his own Nen flaring up. "Funny... I was about to say the same thing to you."
Twilight Sparkle strolled down the path of the park, a picnic basket held in her magical grasp; her and the other girls had managed to find enough free time to schedule a picnic, just like the old days before Twilight became an Alicorn. She found the rest of her friends eagerly awaiting her, each of them having brought a little something to the get-together. Pinkie Pie had brought some freshly-baked cupcakes, Rainbow Dash had ensured that the skies above the park were clear and cloud-free, Applejack had brought along some of her famous cider (which Dash kept trying to steal a cup of) and a basketful of apples, Rarity had provided the picnic blanket, and Fluttershy had brought along a cute little carrot cake she'd made this morning.
"Hey girls!" Twilight called out as she approached. "I brought the sandwiches!"
"Yay! Now we can start!" Pinkie pie declared happily, bouncing up and down and clapping her hooves, Rarity smiling at this announcement; Fluttershy gave a quiet "Yay" of her own as Applejack once again slapped Rainbow Dash's hoof away from the cider cooler.
Bastian leapt back to dodge another grab attempt by Yuudai, who laughed. "I wonder how long you can keep dodging like this! We both know that sooner or later, I'm going to grab you!"
He's right, Bastian thought as another storm of tridents drove Yuudai back, I can only dodge for so long.
The Blacklist Hunter had learned through the grapevine that Yuudai - colloquially known as the Hunter Killer, due to always targeting Hunters - had a Specialist Hatsu that allowed him to steal his opponent's available Nen while simultaneously locking them in a state of Zetsu for exactly one minute by grabbing hold of them for only a few seconds, giving him a boost while weakening his target; this was especially dangerous to Hunters who relied solely on their Nen to fight, as it would leave them helpless and wide open for the serial killer to strike.
Thus, Bastian had actually reworked his own Hatsu to counter this - by manipulating dozens of tridents from afar, he was able to keep at least some distance between the two of them, more often than not.
Yuudai leapt forward again, reaching out for another grab, but was forced back as a few tridents blocked his advance and more shot towards him from the sides; he leaped backwards to avoid them, narrowly managing to dodge the attack before they both swung around and came for him again.
He leaned back and let them pass over his nearly-horizontal form before straightening up again and backflipping over another trident from behind.
Yuudai cackled, rushing forward again with a crazed look in his eye. "Come on, you can do better than that!"
Bastian smirked. "You're right; I can."
The next attack came from a direction Yuudai didn't expect - right below him. A trident erupted from the ground in front of him as he darted forward, his momentum carrying him into its path. A moment later, Yuudai coughed up a wad of blood as the trident impaled his stomach, the force carrying his body upwards before the weapon disappeared and reappeared beside Bastian. Yuudai flopped to the ground, bleeding heavily, before slowly rising back to his feet, cackling again.
"This is why I love fighting Hunters!" He said through his crazed laughter. "They've always got something to surprise me!"
Another trident rushed him from the side - only for Yuudai to reach out and grab hold, stopping it dead in its tracks. Scowling, Bastian directed more tridents toward the maniacal serial killer while simultaneously destroying and re-creating the spear in the madman's grasp to get it away from him.
Yuudai, through some miracle, was able to duck, dive, leap, or flip over every trident that came his way, laughing all the while as he slowly got closer and closer to the Hunter. Bastian narrowed his eyes and deconstructed another spear as he decided to get creative.
Yuudai's laughter was abruptly cut short as the trident re-materialized just centimeters away from him, his momentum once against working against him as he impaled himself upon the weapon, blood spilling from his mouth and the wounds as he hung there, stuck.
"Like you said - we've always got something to surprise our opponents." Bastian said, smirking as he sensed Yuudai's Nen slowly fading away. "But for now... go to Hell, and atone for your sins."
Yuudai's limp body was dumped unceremoniously on the ground as Bastian tilted the trident and allowed him to slide off. The hundred tridents continued slowly floating around the area as he looked down at the serial killer's corpse.
"Alphonse... I finally did it." The Blacklist Hunter said to himself, smiling as he stared up into the sky. "It took a while, but... I finally avenged you."
He turned and started walking away, the army's worth of tridents floating after him - until a horrifying Nen presence caused him to stop in his tracks. He spun around, Hatsu at the ready, only to see Yuudai's corpse still just lying there. After a moment, however, Bastian felt that same terrifying aura sweep over him and cancel his power. The tridents all vanished as he dropped to his knees, unable to stand.
Shit, the residual Nen! He silently cursed, realizing what was happening.
Bastian knew about residual Nen - sometimes, when a Nen user died, the emotions that user felt towards another person would fuel their powers, even post-mortem, while also greatly amplifying its effects.
And in this case, instead of forcing Bastian into Zetsu... it was draining his Nen dry.
Tunnel vision began to form as his life force was continuously sapped; Bastian, unable to do anything to stop it, slowly slumped over as his heartbeat began to slow.
After a minute, it stopped, and the Killer of Killers was dead.
Or at least, he was no longer alive in this reality...
The Element Bearers continued their 'picnic party,' as Pinkie kept calling it; there was a lot to talk about, since they had all been so busy for the last few months - or at least, there hadn't been any more major incidents in or around Ponyville. Surprising, to be honest, but certainly not unwelcome. For a while, the six of them had had to deal with major problems arising every few days or so. Of course, some ponies in town couldn't help but wonder when exactly that peaceful period would be broken.
As it turned out, that day was today.
The ponies' picnic was interrupted by what sounded like shattering glass, causing everypony to look around in confusion. Rainbow Dash was the first one to spot it - what looked like a large, black crack in the sky. Everypony there could feel an ethereal, almost malevolent presence coming from it before something dropped out of the crack; that something fell towards the ground at high speed as Rainbow Dash took off despite her friends' warnings. As she got closer, she realized it was definitely a creature of some sort, though it was apparently unconscious (she hoped).
Grabbing hold of it, she managed to slow its descent enough that it wouldn't go splat upon impact. The rest of the girls rushed over as Rainbow Dash looked the creature over. It was tall, easily six hooves in height, and rather ape-like, though it had little visible hair and wore clothing - a grey sweatshirt, unzipped, and pants of a material they'd never seen before.
After a moment, the creature moved, its eyes opening. It looked around, before finally stopping on the rainbow-maned pegasus and her friends. It opened its mouth... and spoke.
"Mind telling me if this is Heaven or Hell?"
Author's Note
So, in case anyone was wondering why Bastian having his Nen sapped led to his (supposed) death, let me remind you of something: Nen is essentially the manipulation of one's life force. Hunterpedia, the Hunter X Hunter wiki itself, says that if one were to lose all of their Nen - and thus, the energy keeping them alive - they would die.
Also, some side notes:
One, A Pirate's Promise has not been cancelled, it is on Hiatus.
Two, Fear's Fun is just coming along very slowly and I made this while I waited for new ideas to strike me. If you like, leave some suggestions for that story.
Three, this is actually an idea I've had floating around in my head for a while now. The hardest part for me, though, was trying to decide which Nen type he'd be and what his Hatsu would be. Initially, he was a Conjurer with a hammer that would double gravity's effect on whatever it touched. Then he was an Emitter who could fire Nen bullets from a finger gun (similarly to Franklin from the Phantom Troupe); as you can see, however, I have finally decided on a specific ability for him, which I have decided to dub "Poseidon's Tridents". It will be explained in more detail down the road.
Anyway, please leave some comments and let me know what you think of this! I could use the feedback!
"Mind telling me if this is Heaven or Hell?"
Rainbow Dash blinked at the creature in confusion as he - for the voice was undoubtedly male - glanced around.
"Though, maybe this is Purgatory..." It mumbled to itself as it stood up and brushed itself off. "There's no angels coming out to greet me, nor is there fire and brimstone..."
"Um... excuse me?" Twilight finally mustered up the courage to speak. "W-who are you? W-what are you?"
The creature glanced at her, confused.
"What, you haven't seen a human before?" He asked, sounding surprised.
"N-no... not at all..."
"Well, guess that rules out the 'Purgatory' theory..." He mused to himself, scratching his neck in contemplation. "Anyway... name's Bastian Kuroyama!" He said, giving her a friendly smile and stretching out his hand towards her.
Twilight carefully reached out and touched it; she'd been to diplomatic meetings with minotaurs before, so she recognized what she was supposed to do with such as gesture... she hoped.
Her hopes were proven correct as he shook her hoof before letting go.
"So... mind telling me where exactly I am?" Bastian asked, glancing around again.
"You're in Equestria, run by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna." Twilight explained, her nervousness quickly being replaced by enthusiasm - here was a completely foreign creature, something nopony had never even heard of before; just imagine all the information she could get about these 'humans'!
"Huh; a diarchy..." Bastian mused. "Haven't heard about those in quite a long time... do you think they're fair rulers?"
"The fairest we've ever had!" Twilight replied happily, her mood switching from worry to happiness as she thought back to her old teacher. "They've ruled for thousands of years!"
Bastian's eyes widened imperceptibly. Two potential Nen users? Given their age, it was rather likely... And it was even more likely they were extremely powerful.
Glancing around again, he finally noticed the four other ponies staring at him. He awkwardly waved.
"Hi there."
The six mares had eventually decided to bring 'Bastian' back to Ponyville, making sure that he'd be seen with them - it would help assuage any fears the other ponies had, and make them more comfortable with his presence. Plus, it meant Twilight could get some free information from the meet-and-greet.
They all walked in a circle around him as he glanced around at the staring townsfolk, his hands in his hoodie pockets.
Huh... he thought to himself as he analyzed them. They don't appear hostile, but they're definitely wary of me... it would be understandable, since they've apparently never seen a human before, but considering the fact that several of them barricaded their doors the moment they saw me, it would suggest they've been visited by strange creatures before, ones with... less-than-noble intentions. Wonder if any of them are around... Might help me gain their trust if I deal with a few of their problems...
He was snapped out of his thoughts by the winged and horned one named Twilight speaking up.
"Alright, I'm going to go ask Mayor Mare to-"
"I'mgonnagoplanawelcome-to-PonyvillepartyforBazzy!" The one known as Pinkie Pie declared at hyperspeed before rushing off. Bastian blinked in confusion at her antics, but the others seemed to take it in stride - he assumed she probably did things like that often. But... 'Bazzy?'
"As I was saying, I'm going to go ask Mayor Mare to set up a town-wide meeting so we can introduce you to everypony. Until then, though, feel free to wait in the castle." Twilight explained. Bastian nodded in understanding as she turned and headed toward town hall, the rest of the group heading towards her castle.
Off above the Everfree Forest, far enough away from civilization that nobody could notice it, another tear in the sky formed.
Author's Note
For anyone who asks why the ponies know what hands are, I'll quote another story I read: "What do you think minotaurs call them? Meaty grabbers?"
Also, for anyone who is going to ask about Equestria Girls - in this story, it never happened. Forget all about it, because that knowledge will do you no good here.
About an hour after Twilight's return to the castle, Bastian found himself onstage with the Princess of Friendship herself introducing him and explaining that he was willing to answer any questions the crowd had for him. After that, she passed the spotlight to him and walked offstage to prepare her parchment and quill for the upcoming interviews; this was another reason she'd wanted this meeting - he'd answer questions while also letting the townsfolk become accustomed to him. So long as he didn't do something wrong, she'd get lots of information!
"So... yeah." Bastian began a bit awkwardly; he never really was one for big introductions like this. "Like she said, my name is Bastian Kuroyama, and I'm willing to answer any questions you may have. Ah, yes, you in the back."
"Do you eat ponies?" The stallion asked. Bastian chuckled; of course that would be one of the first questions he'd get asked.
"No, I do not." He replied. "Humans like me are omnivorous, but can survive on a plant-based diet. I actually prefer this kind of diet, since eating so much meat has actually been linked to medical problems among humans." Bastian shrugged nonchalantly. "So no, I'm not going to go running around trying to devour you."
"Where are you from?" A mare in the middle of the crowd asked.
"I came from a place not on a lot of maps; it was a small village between a forest and the ocean. That's all I really remember of it, since I left there when I was still young to get away from my father."
"Why did you leave?"
Bastian's face darkened. "Two reasons. One, because that man had no right to call himself a parent, let alone my father. He happily locked me outside the house in the middle of winter and refused to feed me in an attempt to get rid of me." The crowd gasped at this, horrified one could be so cruel to their own child. Bastian's face softened a bit, however. "And two... I met a man named Alphonse. He was only visiting for a few days to try and get some information for his job, but when he found me, he saved me from a life of crime and actually fed me." Bastian chuckled. "With that one meal, Alphonse was more of a father than my biological father ever was. The moment I was done eating, I swore my life to him in the hopes of paying back what he'd done for me."
"What happened to Alphonse?" was the next question. Bastian's expression darkened again, though this time with a hint of sadness.
"He's dead. Murdered." Again the crowd gasped. "Once I found out, I was devastated. I spent the next six years of my life hunting his killer down to make him pay." Bastian took a few deep breaths to avoid letting out any malicious Nen; he didn't want to be responsible for what might happen. Once he calmed down a bit, he picked another pony to ask a question.
"Do humans have magic?" One pony asked, a little frightened by the story and wanting to change the subject. Bastian internally debated between saying 'no' and telling the truth, but eventually chose to be honest. If they found out he'd lied, they wouldn't be as trusting, and in a strange world like this - no matter how harmless it seemed - he did not want to be mistrusted.
"Well, I don't really know if it counts as magic, but with enough training, we can learn how to manipulate our own life energy for a variety of purposes. We like to call it Nen." Bastian held up his hand and focused some aura into it. The crowd gasped, amazed. While Bastian was a bit surprised they could actually see what he was doing, he remembered seeing several unicorns lifting and moving objects with this 'magic' of theirs. If their 'magic' was anything like Nen, then that might explain why they could see it...
Letting the aura fade, he lowered his hand. "Any other questions?"
Bastian sat in a chair, wired up to several machines in a room in Twilight's castle. Said alicorn was currently looking over a bunch of notes she'd taken during Bastian's interview by the town.
"So, you want me to use Nen, and these machines will record its output and whatnot?" He asked, jiggling the many wires he was hooked into out of boredom.
"Yes, exactly!" She said, checking the current readings of one of the machines.
She was fascinated by this 'Nen' that he'd mentioned; ponies used ambient magic in the environment to use spells, fly, or do other things, but according to Bastian, his people had developed a way to use their own life energy as a source of power! Dangerous if overused, but otherwise a nigh-inexhaustible source of power! She couldn't help but wonder if ponies could use this 'Nen' as well; if so, it could be a whole new field of magic research!
"Alright, everything looks good here..."
"So... how much power can these things read?" Bastian asked, looking at all the wires hooked to his arm.
"All the way up to 100,000 MU!" Twilight stated proudly. At Bastian's confused expression, she elaborated. "Mana Units, the measurement used to measure how much magic a single being can produce. The princesses themselves have been able to reach up to that level, which is why it was set so high. I, meanwhile, have a much larger mana pool, but because of magic constraints to avoid using too much power, the most I can produce at a time is 98,000."
"And, how does that measure up to a normal pony?"
"An average unicorn usually scores about 25,000 to 40,000. Unicorns with plenty of experience score an average of 75,000."
"You're really something, then." Bastian chuckled. Twilight smiled a bit at the compliment, but continued checking the machines.
"Alright, looks like everything's in order!" She said, turning to the Blacklist Hunter. "Ready when you are!"
"Alright, here goes." Bastian said, surrounding his arm with Nen. Instantly, the needle inside the gauge shot up to 85,000, much to Twilight's surprise.
"Wow... so Nen holds that much power..." She murmured, staring at the results in shock.
"I can put a lot more in, if you like - I'm not using a lot, here."
"Wait, what?!"
"What your machines are measuring is a rather light coating of Nen; if I wanted to, I could focus my entire aura into my arm. But, I'm also afraid doing so might damage your machinery..."
"Hmmm..." Twilight considered the offer. On one hand, it would certainly be a sight to see, and she might be able to get a good reading off of it... but at the same time, this 'light coating' of his was almost topping out the scales already! If he put too much in, it could short-circuit the machinery...
"No, that's enough for now." She decided, shutting the machine down. "Though, I'm going to see what I can do about modifying the machine to take higher ratings... Keep in mind, though, I'd like to ask you some more questions in the future, if that's alright."
"Nah, it's fine." Bastian replied, beginning to remove the wires and clamps. "Anyway, if you need me, you know where to find me."
It had been decided amongst the six ponies and one human that he would stay at Applejack's farm - plenty of room for him to stretch and walk about. And, between the ponies, if he was actually evil and plotting against them... this way, they could keep an eye on him.
Twilight's thoughts returned to the machinery as Bastian strolled out of the room, heading for the front door.
Bastian placed the baskets around the tree and signaled to Applejack that everything was ready. She promptly bucked the tree, sending every last apple down into the buckets below.
This was part of the agreement - in exchange for food and shelter, he'd have to help out around the farm. Bastian was happy to agree - his old mentor, a grouchy old geezer named Geehan, had used farmwork as a means of both physical training, and to raise money for food. In other words, Bastian was no stranger to physical labor - far from it.
"Well, I reckon' that's about all of 'em." Applejack said, glancing at the surrounding trees. "Good work there, sugarcube! I thought it'd take a lot longer than it did to clear out this end of the orchard."
"Well, like I said when we started - I'm intimately acquainted with hard work." Bastian replied with a chuckle, lifting two large buckets full of apples and beginning to walk them over to the cart they'd brought.
"I can see that!" Applejack replied with a smile as she pushed another basket towards the cart. "Now we've just got to load these up, and bring 'em into the barn."
"Hmm..." Bastian mumbled to himself as he glanced around at the numerous other baskets. "Shouldn't take too long." He said, more to himself than to the apple farmer.
To Applejack's amazement, Bastian's form seemed to blur out of existence; seconds later, the cart was loaded with apple-filled buckets, Bastian carefully placing the last one on the very back.
"What in tarnation was that?!"
"What was what?" Bastian asked, glancing over at her as he lifted the farmer's bucket and placed it next to the last one.
"How in tarnation did you get that done so quickly?" Applejack demanded.
"I ran." Bastian replied simply. "When you train your whole life to do something, you'd better be able to do it well - you of all people should know that."
"R-ran?" Applejack asked, astonished. "What sort of work did you have to do to run that fast?"
"AJ, I captured extremely dangerous criminals for a living back home." Bastian replied, not even sparing her a glance. "Most of them didn't want to go down without a fight, so I trained and trained until I was faster than them, then trained some more."
"You captured criminals?!"
"What, didn't I mention that during the interview?" Bastian asked, giving her a confused look. She slowly shook her head.
"Huh; could have sworn that I did..." He mumbled to himself before shrugging. "Anyway, now you know. It's not much of a secret, anyway."
As they brought the cart back to the barn, Applejack couldn't help but glance over at the human every now and then. Weird magic, extreme speed, captures criminals for a living...
She could only wonder what else he hadn't mentioned.
Author's Note
Hello everyone! hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
By the way, can anyone guess Bastian's Nen category? If someone can figure it out, I'll hurry up on creating the next chapter!
For hints, check the first chapter.
Author's Note
The contest has been concluded - and by the very first commenter! WhyNot34 , please step forward to claim your prize!
Also, I know this chapter probably isn't the best one I'd ever written, but this is mainly to explain Bastian's limitations... and because I wrote this whole thing in a hour or so.
Meeting Royalty
Bastian sat back in his chair as the Elements of Harmony surrounded him in uncomfortable silence. He sighed.
"Alright, look - I already told Applejack what I did for a living, so if you didn't hear my message to the town, please ask her before bombarding me with questions. As for those tridents, that's a manifestation of my Nen."
"Manifestation of Nen?" Twilight asked, tilting her head.
"Yes, but I can give you a lesson on what I mean later." Bastian said, glancing out the window. "For now, though, you might want to answer the door - there's a couple of ponies in armor heading this way."
Twilight blinked as everyone else jumped at the sound of a chiming bell that reverberated throughout the house. Guess that's what they use as a doorbell for such a big house, Bastian mused to himself as Twilight teleported away to try and open it.
A few minutes later, a few royal guardsponies walked into the room. "Bastian Kuroyama, the Princesses have requested your presence." One of them, apparently the leader, stated. Bastian shrugged.
"Oh well. Guess we'll have to continue this later." He told the Elements as he stood up and stretched before following them out the door and towards a carriage waiting outside.
"So, you say those weapons of yours can be summoned at any time?" Luna asked.
"That is correct." Bastian replied. "You need not worry, though - I don't plan to use them unless I find a criminal who refuses to surrender, and even then I'd only try and frighten them like I did with the thief in the square. The only exception would be if, say, I found a murderer or the like." His expression hardened just a fraction as he said the last sentence.
"And, you say you hunted criminals back home?" Celestia asked.
"Yes, I was a Blacklist Hunter of the Hunter's Association. A large group of humanity's 'elite', if you will." He elaborated upon seeing her look. "To become a Hunter, you'd need to take and complete the Hunter Exam, which is a long and arduous task that occurs once a year, where death is not uncommon." His casual mention of death was a bit off-putting, but they let him continue. "I passed the exam when I was fifteen. Believe it or not, though, the record for youngest Hunter of all time went to a twelve-year-old named Ging." He added with a chuckle, despite the Princess's shocked expressions. "Even better was the fact he was the only one to pass that year."
"What sort of association lets young children enter such a dangerous thing?!" Luna demanded. Bastian remained unphased.
"The Hunter's Association." He replied calmly. "Anyone can take it, anyone can join - provided they pass the Exam, of course. A Hunter's License is one of the most sought-after things in the world, though usually only less than ten people actually get one each year due to how dangerous and strenuous the Exam is." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his own card, showing it to the monarchs.
"Why is such a thing so sought after?" Celestia asked, taking it in her magical grasp and levitating it up to her face to observe the card's strange language.
"Because it gives a Hunter access to ninety-five percent of public faculties at no cost, access to ninety percent of countries that restrict travel, and seventy-five percent of areas inaccessible to the general public. It also allows next to no legal responsibility for killing, but I generally only use that when a murderer refuses to surrender."
"You've... killed?" Luna asked, staring in shock.
"Yes. I don't enjoy it, but I'd certainly say it helped make my world a better place." Bastian replied. "Say a serial killer was running around in the city down there - Canterlot, was it? - and your guards weren't able to stop him. Would you prefer they continue to roam free, or would you prefer it if someone were to 'remove' them in the name of saving everyone else?"
The princesses glanced at each other at this; they truly hated the idea of taking another's life, but if a killer like that existed...
"So yes, I have killed - but they always refused to surrender. In fact, that's actually one of my Limitations."
"Limitations?"
"Nen techniques can grow stronger if Limitations and Vows are applied to a user. Two of my Limitations are that if I were to try and use my tridents, my opponent must be a criminal; the other is that I must always ask said criminal if they'd like to surrender. If they say no, then I'm free to use my tridents against them. Another severe Limitation I have is that I can't harm an innocent - if I did, the damage would rebound back onto me. Finally, there's a Vow I set a long, long time ago - I can't use my full power unless my opponent is a murderer who refuses to surrender."
Celestia and Luna glanced at each other again. If this was true, then they really would have nothing to worry about from Bastian - his own power would turn on him if he tried to use it to harm any of their little ponies.
"If you like, I could give a more in-depth explanation of Nen and how it works, but judging by the fact that I saw quite a few ponies waiting outside those doors, I think your schedule might be a bit busy." Bastian pointed out. "But, if you're willing to let me stay in Ponyville, I can give the detailed explanation to Twilight and have her send you the report. If you have any questions that aren't covered in said report, you could always send a letter or ask me in person. Does that sound good?"
Celestia considered this; while she could certainly hold Day Court off a while longer and keep talking, she also felt that she could trust Bastian to not harm any of her little ponies if let go. But his power was frightening to behold, despite its limitations... and what if he was lying about them?
She made up her mind.
"Alright, Bastian, you may go." She decreed, ignoring her sister's sidelong glance. "However, remember this - should I find out you intentionally harmed one of my little ponies without good reason, I will deal with you personally ." The narrowed her eyes at him.
"That sounds fair, your majesty. Now then, I shall return to Ponyville." Bastian replied calmly, giving a small bow before turning and heading for the doors. "Expect the report to appear sometime during the next few days."
Once he was gone, Celestia sent a messenger to find one of her most trusted confidents. A minute later, a dark-brown pegasus wearing a vest bearing Celestia's mark walked in, bowing once she was close enough.
"Whisper, I have a special assignment for you." Celestia declared as the pegasus straightened back up. "I will need you to observe a human known as Bastian until further notice; he seems trustworthy, but the lengths he went to while capturing a criminal, not to mention the powers he possesses, worry me. To ensure the safety of all my little ponies, I ask that you watch him and report back to me should anything happen."
"It shall be done, Princess Celestia." Whisper curtly replied before turning and walking back out, nothing but the last few echoes of her voice showing she'd ever been there.
On the train ride back to Ponyville, Bastian simply leaned back against the wall of the train, his eyes closed. The other ponies on board had all moved away from him, unsure of what exactly he was. If they didn't know better, they'd say he was asleep... that's what they thought until one of them moved even an inch closer and he opened one eye to give them a lazy-yet-alert look. He relaxed again once they'd backed off.
He wasn't sleeping. He was resting. Big difference.
Normally, the ponies on the train wouldn't care... but there was something in the way he carried himself, some sort of air about him, that told them all one thing: I am dangerous.
Bastian simply let his thoughts wander as the train ride went on and on, ignoring the looks the ponies would occasionally send his way.
He knew it was very unlikely the Princesses would simply let him off the hook without some sort of contingency or way of keeping tabs on him. He'd done a bit of research after hearing about them the first time; at best, he concluded that if they were Nen-users, they'd likely be Specialists, what with their connection to celestial bodies and all. With all their power, winning against someone as skilled as him with raw power wasn't impossible. He'd even done a bit of research on rumors he'd heard, about Celestia being able to rain down solar fire upon her enemies and Luna transforming the battlefield to mimic the surface of the moon, vacuum and all. He hadn't been able to discover anything substantial with those claims, but if those rumors were true, he'd have little to no chance of beating them if it ever came to it, no matter how many more 'Mana Units' his aura gave off.
They didn't seem to want to fight, however, instead seemingly more concerned for the well-being of their citizens, something Bastian admired. Most of the monarchs he knew cared only for themselves and money - he'd had to hunt down three of them for corruption charges, after all. However, he also knew that they likely had or since formed some sort of contingency and/or way to keep tabs on him. Likely through some sort of spy.
If one did tail him back to Ponyville, though, he'd know - if they set one hoof inside the town boundaries, Pinkie Pie would be there in a heartbeat to throw a party. She'd make a pretty good spy-detector... assuming they didn't assume the guise of other ponies she knew. Even then, though, he'd been around long enough to know about her 'Pinkie Sense,' as the locals had called it. If something was amiss, she'd likely 'sense' it.
Even still, he was going to keep his eye out.
Queen Chrysalis griped and grumbled to herself as she paced in what used to be the throne room in the old castle, smack-dab in the middle of the Everfree. She'd moved there for several reasons - it was open and abandoned, it was remote, and it was close enough to Ponyville that her spies could keep watch on the Elements of Harmony.
But now, this... thing , this 'human' had shown up and thrown a wrench into her plans! At first, she'd written him off as a harmless target, despite his size. Then she'd gotten reports of what he'd done when a simple thug had tried robbing the orange one, Apple-something. If she could only get her hooves on this 'human,' she could potentially learn the secrets behind his power... but from what the report had said, that was likely to get quite a few of her children killed . She couldn't go through with it... not until she had some way of knowing she could win with absolute certainty.
Something in her mind twitched as a message was sent along the chain of command, informing her there was someone who'd wanted to see her on their way. Another human, by the sounds of it...
Bastian chuckled at the Pinkie's surprise "hooray-you've-returned-to-Ponyville" party as the partygoers all danced, ate, and drank all around him. Nobody seemed that scared of him anymore... was a single day of being away from them really enough time for them to get over their terror, or had Pinkie done something to convince them all he was safe to be around?
Know what? Bastian decided as he grabbed a cup of punch and took a swig. I don't care. I'm just going to have some fun for the night.
He spent the next few hours mingling, dancing, eating, and drinking with the townsponies. Eventually, though, they all began drifting away, needing to return home before midnight rolled around. Bastian eventually left with Applejack to head back to the farm after having noticed how late it was.
Twilight left shortly afterwards to head back to her castle and work a bit more on the MU machine. She was so close to figuring out how to boost it even higher...
Her thoughts eventually turned to Bastian and his power. He'd described it as manipulating his own life energy for different purposes... theoretically, couldn't that mean it could be taught to ponies? She could only imagine what she could do if she could use 'Nen' as well... she resolved to ask Bastian if he could teach her in the morning.
"What do you mean, no?!"
"Exactly what I said - no." Bastian replied simply.
"But... but why?!"
"Because in order to learn Nen on such short notice, I'd have to force your aura nodes open, which has the potential of tiring you out to the point of exhaustion if you can't get a grip on it quick enough. If you can't control it quickly, everything that keeps you alive could escape, which would lead to your death. And something tells me you don't want that." He replied calmly.
"Is... is that how you learned it?"
"Nope. I learned how to feel it and slowly opened my aura nodes through meditation... which took over a year."
"A year?! "
"Yep." He replied nodding. "That's about average for someone attempting to learn Nen. Granted, some people can learn within days, but in every single case those people had natural talent in controlling it, but those are few and far between - very, very far between."
"I'm a fast learner!"
"I'm sure you are, but I still don't plan on teaching you unless I absolutely have to." Bastian said. "And I sincerely hope it'll never come to that." He added under his breath.
With a sigh, Twilight turned to the machinery and made sure everything was alright. She'd practically had to build a second machine from scraps and spare parts and connect the two, but the results would almost certainly be worth it!
She signaled for him to start, and he coated his arm with a regular amount of Nen, the result once again coming out to 150,000 MU. Slowly, he began adding more and more aura, the bar slowly raising higher and higher.
To Twilight's shock, Bastian's total aura output totaled up to 600,000 Mana Units. Six times greater than the Princesses'.
Bastian held Ko as he waited for Twilight to tell him it was okay to stop. After a minute he glanced at her, noting how her hair was starting to stick out at odd angles and she was beginning to twitch, a crazy smile slowly spreading across her face as she witnessed this.
He wisely decided now was a good time to go and help Applejack with her applebucking.
Author's Note
My computer was being a piece of junk and I lost a good chunk of the story. Had to rewrite it from memory, which I am terrible at.
Anyway, now that Bastian's category has been found, how about another challenge?
"Who can guess where I got the original idea for Bastian's power?"
Please comment below what you think the answer is. I'll give you a hint, though:
"The answer is a videogame character. But which one?"
Bastian returned a few hours later, an apple in hand as he chewed and hoped Twilight was okay now. Thankfully, it looked like whatever had snapped inside her had fixed itself, as Twilight seemed much calmer and more reasonable.
"So..." He spoke up, startling her out of whatever she was reading. "Now that you don't look like you're about to go insane, how about we finish that report to Celestia?"
Twilight vigorously nodded, somehow managing to hide her mortification he'd seen her in that state. It had taken Spike a while to calm her down. Retrieving her quill and parchment, she began reading off a list of questions.
Princess Celestia was in the middle of her lunch break when the letter materialized. Making sure to grab it before it landed in the bowl of soup she'd just been enjoying, she unrolled it and began to read. It was a whole description on Nen and Bastian's abilities, with some of Twilight's personal opinions thrown in.
Dear Princess Celestia,
I have questioned Bastian about the nature of his Nen abilities, and have written down what he has told me.
Aura, or as it's colloquially called, 'Nen,' is the life energy produced by all living bodies, and is vital for survival. Aura from all parts of the body has a tendency to flow together, producing one mass of energy. This happens without the individual's awareness, typically resulting in a slow leak of aura continually escaping the body. If one were to lose their entire aura, it would be equivalent to using up all the energy keeping them alive, which would be fatal. The pores or points on the body from which aura flows out from are called "Aura Nodes," which he has described as being able to be opened through two methods: the first method is meditation over a long period of time in order to slowly and carefully open them while getting a sense for it, which is what Bastian himself did over the course of a year. The other method is another Nen user jolting these nodes open, which is much more dangerous. If the one opening the other's Aura Nodes has any malicious intent, it could severely harm the recipient, sometimes leading to paralysis or even loss of limbs, or potentially even death. This is why it is an extremely frowned-upon method. Controlling these Aura Nodes is the first step to being a user of Nen.
Learning to use Nen is the final step in becoming a professional Hunter because most contracted jobs require the use of it as the minimum requirement. The technique has the ability to enhance the strength of physical attacks or objects depending on the quantity of aura employed and an individual's aura type, as well as allows for para-psychological abilities to exist in reality. Because one can craft just about any sort of psychic power through only using their mind, Nen is also a dangerous power unknown to the public at large.
(When I asked Bastian why he told us about it if it was a secret, he simply said he had no reason to distrust us, as well as point out the fact Ponies, especially Unicorns and Alicorns, already use magic that is startlingly similar to Nen.)
Bastian has mentioned six different categories Nen-users fall into: Enhancement, Transmutation, Conjuration, Emission, Manipulation, and Specialist.
Enhancement is the most simple category, as it is the ability to use aura to increase the natural abilities of an object or one's own body. Therefore, Enhancers are able to greatly increase their physical attack and defense through use of their aura.
(Bastian has stated that most Nen users are essentially required to learn at least a little Enhancement at some point, as it can easily help defend oneself from harm should the need arise.)
Transmuters, meanwhile, can change the properties of their aura to mimic something else, thus giving it different properties. Transmuters can copy the properties of real things, but can also give their aura properties of things that don't actually exist by combining certain attributes.
(Bastian gave an example of giving aura properties like heat to burn things or stone for protection, or even attributes like sharpness to help cut through things.)
Emission means that a user is capable of controlling the deployment of their aura while separating it from their body. Normally, when one unskilled in Emission does this, the aura will break down and disappear. Emitters, however, are able to preserve the shape and consistency of their aura, even when separated from it. Some forms of Emission can be mistaken for Conjuration.
Conjurors like Bastian can create a physical, independent, material object out of one's aura. In Bastian's case, this takes the form of his tridents. However, Bastian has stated that in some cases, objects or entities created by this technique have a subtle "independence" to them, meaning that they can continue existing even if they were at a considerable distance from the Conjurer, or even if the Conjurer themselves are not aware that they have yet to be dematerialized. Conjured objects can have special abilities imbued into them, such as a shield that reflects the force behind an attack back at the attacker.
Manipulation is another category Bastian uses with his tridents, though it is not his natural category. Abilities belonging to Manipulators allow the user to control living or non-living things in a certain way, named for the method of 'manipulating' one's enemies. However, doing so often requires some type of 'medium' to be used, such as needles or simple physical contact.
Specialization is the odd category out, as Specialization is anything that doesn't belong into the other five categories. Therefore, it is the most vague category out of all six, but arguably also the most unpredictable. He has cited examples like fortune telling, stealing other Nen abilities, or stealing a person's available aura and taking it for your own.
Bastian has also stated that there are special techniques Nen-users must learn in order to control their aura properly; however, I wasn't able to ask him much more about them before he had to leave. I will send another letter detailing these techniques once I am able to ask him.
Your precious student,
Twilight Sparkle
This was a long letter, Celestia noted, but it certainly helped shine a bit of light on the nature of Bastian's abilities. She wondered if ponies could potentially learn to use aura and Nen like Bastian could, and what it would mean for Equestria as a whole. With a whole new field of magic like this, Earth ponies and Pegasi might be able to develop abilities similar to a Unicorn's latent magic!
Then the darker thoughts rolled in - not all of her ponies were completely harmonious. What if they chose to use Nen for their own gain, or to harm others? What would it spell for Equestria if races like the dragons or the gryphons learned it?
These thoughts continued occupying her head as she stared into her cold soup.
Author's Note
Yeah, I was lazy and copied large chunks of this chapter off of the Hunter x Hunter wiki.
Anyway, I know this chapter isn't that great, but I felt like posting something since I was so bored. At least it advances the plot a little...
Author's Note
I'm happy to announce that the contest to see who could guess where I got Bastian's power from has been decided! The winner is... drum roll please... Lorddarkrai2000 ! Congratulations on winning!
Also, I would like to thank Texus for their comments. Constructive criticism is always welcome!
Anyway, this chapter was mainly just filler. I didn't really have a plan while writing this, outside of expanding on Whisper a bit. I know it's short, but I didn't have a lot of time to write, what with preparing for my next year at college and all.
Some Time Later...
It had been almost two months since Bastian's arrival in Equestria; Twilight occasionally asked him for some more notes on Nen and his homeworld, he'd sped up the Apples' harvesting season by several days, and he was currently helping Rarity sort out her inventory. At the moment, he was actually regretting the decision a bit.
"No, no!" She exclaimed as he moved to put down a bundle of fabric. "That one isn't white, that's cream! That goes in the other box!"
Bastian inspected the fabric; so far as he could tell, there was barely any difference. How the hell was he supposed to know what went where? With a sigh, he set it aside and picked up the next one to move it to the correct box.
"No, that one's dark navy blue, not black!" Rarity cried out as he started putting it away. With another sigh, Bastian pulled it back out. This was going to be a long day...
By the time Bastian left, he was at the point of taking deep breaths and counting to ten. Resolving to never sort Rarity's inventory ever again, he headed on back to Twilight's for some more research she wanted to do.
Along the way, he subtly checked out the rooftops, wondering if his shadow was still there. His En came back positive, confirming it.
He'd discovered the spy's presence a few days after his meeting with the diarchy; turns out his suspicions were correct, they were keeping tabs on him. He'd pretended not to notice; it wasn't like he was doing anything, after all. Besides, if he did point out the spy's position, it would confirm for the spy that he'd been looking for unwanted tails and would likely indicate he had something to hide by trying to make the spy's job harder.
Still, he had to give this pony credit - he hadn't seen hide nor hair of them since he first realized they were following him. The only reason he'd even noticed in the first place was because they happened to be in range of his En during his morning warm-up, when he'd exercise his Nen in order to ensure he hadn't lost his touch. He didn't know what they looked like, or what species of pony they were, but to get up there they were likely either a Unicorn or Pegasus. An Earth pony climbing up the side of a building would be a very inefficient way of following him like this one had been. A pegasus, meanwhile, could fly from roof to roof, while a unicorn could teleport.
He stopped using En and refocused on his journey.
Whisper continued watching the target as he wandered away, scribbling down some more notes.
Day: 56
Subject entered Carousel Boutique to help owner with something. Appeared agitated after reemerging several hours later.; judging from conversation from inside said Boutique, Subject was apparently helping 'sort inventory.' Will attempt confirmation at a later date.
Sticking the note back into her saddlebag, Whisper began to follow him. He seemed to be walking back to Princess Twilight's castle, taking a route through the market. He waved and said hello to a few townsfolk as he passed by, who smiled and waved back.
Whisper made a few more notes about these ponies; if Bastian did turn out to be evil, he could have co-conspirators.
She ducked down when Bastian looked into a shop window across the street from her, seemingly studying the objects inside.
Bastian subtly checked the rooftops from the window's reflection; still nothing. He idly wondered if there was some sort of invisibility spell for unicorns as he turned away and began walking again.
Deciding to try and spot the spy another day, he headed back to Twilight's for a few more experiments.
Author's Note
So... in the last post, I posted a small challenge in the Author's Note at the end asking you all if you wanted to guess what Nen category Bastian falls into. Judging by the complete lack of response, I can only guess that either nobody read it, or nobody cared.
Oh well. My life in a nutshell, anyway.
Anyway, if you are interested in answering, go ahead and post a comment stating your answer. If someone can guess correctly, I'll post the next chapter as soon as I notice.
More Research
Bastian once again sat in the chair as Twilight hooked him up to her modified machine.
"Alright, I've increased the measuring system to be able to take up to 350,000 MU; that's over three times as much power as the Princesses can put out! There's virtually no risk of anything going wrong!" She declared as she strapped some more wires to him.
"'Virtually no risk?' Yeah, I feel very reassured." Bastian chuckled. "Anyway, just let me know when you're ready to begin and I'll apply a normal coating of Nen. Once that's done, I can try using Ko."
"Ko?" Twilight asked, confused. "What's that?"
"A technique used by Nen-users when they need a lot of defense or offense." Bastian explained. "Essentially it's focusing all your available aura into a single point in your body. Still, I'm not sure even this machine could take that much..."
"Nonsense!" Twilight declared, checking several readouts. "I guarantee you, you won't be able to break this machine!"
"Well... if you're sure. Anyway, ready when you are."
"Alright, let me just get this set up... and... done! Alright, you're good to go!"
A thin coating of Nen appeared around Bastian's arm, just like before. Just like before, the MU result was 85,000. This time, however, Bastian slowly increased the amount of Nen covering his wired-up arm, the needle rising more and more.
"Alright, this is a normal coating of Nen, at least for me." Bastian said, stopping the increase.
Twilight quickly scribbled down the result before doing a double take - Bastian's 'Normal Coating' read 150,000 Mana Units! His 'normal' was beyond even that of the princesses!
"Do you want me to use Ko?"
Twilight considered her options. This level of power was unprecedented, but still... she was curious to see how high it could go... not to mention the machine was more than likely to take it. She made up her mind.
"Alright, go for it."
The glow around Bastian's limb abruptly multiplied in size as the Hunter used Ko. A moment later, the machine started to spark and sputter, error-ridden printouts beginning to spew from the machine as it was quickly overloaded. Bastian quickly shut Ko off, the Mana Unit levels quickly dropping back down to the safer levels of the scale. Twilight couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief; from the sounds of it, the machine couldn't have taken much more.
"So... guess you might want to modify the machine again." Bastian stated, stopping the flow of Nen as he began removing the wires. "Anyway, I told Applejack I'd go and help her with her apple stand, so I've got to go."
Twilight gave a distracted 'Hmmm.' of confirmation as she stared at the measuring machine - how much higher would she have to raise the bar to receive an exact estimate of Bastian's power?!
Bastian stood behind the counter, handing out individual, bags of, and even a barrel or two of apples while Applejack supervised the jar that she used as her cash register. He was just handing a customer their freshly-bought apple when a Pegasus stallion with a mask suddenly jumped at Applejack, holding what looked like a club over his head before swinging downwards toward the now-just-noticing mare.
Applejack gasped as the club came closer and closer. She wouldn't be able to dodge, there wasn't enough time! How was she supposed to-
Her thoughts ground to a halt as the club stopped inches from connecting with her forehead, so suddenly it was as if time had frozen. Judging by the surprised gasps from the spectators, however, that wasn't the case.
Following the limb that had stopped the weapon cold, she found Bastian glaring at the thief with a look so cold, the Crystal Empire during Sombra's reign would have seemed like a warm day at the beach.
"W-wha-" Was all the stallion got out before he suddenly found a fist smashing into his underside, lifting him up, before Bastian spun and kicked him clear into the center of the stunned crowd, who quickly cleared out when he landed. Bastian stalked forward, Nen surrounding his body.
"I may not be a resident of this world, but I sure as hell hate the idea of a criminal like you ruining such a peaceful place. Now then... surrender ." Bastian ordered, his Nen flaring up. The stallion struggled back to his feet, raising the club again.
"Well then, if you won't surrender..." Bastian's smile twisted into a cruel smirk as he raised a hand blazing with Nen. "I suppose a demonstration is in order."
To the shock of everypony around, what looked like blue tridents appeared in the air surrounding the human, each one simply floating in the air before Bastian's hand twitched. The bandit's wings flared as he jumped back, avoiding one of the tridents suddenly shooting forward and spearing itself into the ground with ease. His eyes widened as the remaining eleven tridents quickly surrounded him, even from above, leaving no escape routes.
"So here's what's going to happen." Bastian said, the smirk still in place. "Either you wait here for the local authorities to come along and arrest you... or we do this the 'Other Way'. Your choice."
The stallion, trembling in fear, dropped his weapon and huddled in a small ball, beginning to cry. Seeing that his opponent surrendered, Bastian's cold and dangerous look disappeared, replaced by a calm look of indifference as the tridents vanished. After a moment of staring at the traumatized bandit, he glanced around at the silent mass of stunned ponies and chuckled a bit, rubbing the back of his head.
"Sorry you all had to see that; I was a Blacklist Hunter back home, which meant I tracked down criminals on a daily basis. I told this to Applejack the other day. Sorry for not mentioning it sooner; could have sworn I'd said that during the meeting."
The ponies just continued to stare, some of them backing away a bit at his gaze.
Bastian sighed, his shoulders slumping a bit. "Great... another town is scared of me now. Freakin' fantastic."
