Hoof To Hoof

Chapters

Chapter One: A Teacher
Chapter Two: A Partner
Chapter Three: The Dangers of Competition
Chapter Four: Origins

Chapter One: A Teacher

Hoof to Hoof
Chapter One: A Teacher

It was getting a little late in the evening and Rainbow Dash was laying down on a cloud, having taken the evening weather watch she was keeping an eye out for any errant cloud. Truthfully it was one of the most boring jobs for a weatherpony. Below her stretched out Ponyville, the town becoming sleepier as she sat there just basically waiting for her shift to end so she could go home. Celestia, sometimes I hate my job, this has got to be one of the most boring things, ever. Looking down she spied an old stallion, making his way into town off of the main road, he appeared frail and tired, wearing a straw hat, moving slowly towards the center of town. I never want to get old, to be stuck with old joints and older wings, unable to properly fly anymore, she thought to herself, seeing the way that the old stallion moved, almost meanderingly towards the town square. Thinking about the prospect of growing old she almost missed the dark alley that the old colt took a turn down. Obviously he was lost, but the situation took a turn for the worse when a pair of dogs, Diamond Dogs by the look of their clothing, stepped out from behind a corner that the old pony couldn’t have seen, Rainbow seeing this had a quick alarmed thought, oh no, that pony is completely defenseless against those dogs, I should do something. As she thought this she flew down and roosted on the roof of one of the buildings adjacent to the alleyway. I can’t and shouldn’t do anything until one of these dumb dogs does something, for all I know they could be trying to give the old coot directions. The dogs took a step forward and the bigger one extending his open paw forward gruffly demanded, “We want gem, you give us gem?” Rainbow looking down took the moment to note that the old coot had one honking big emerald attached to a necklace dangling from his neck. The stallion replied with a smile, “This emerald is a tigers-eye emerald, quite rare, and this one does not wish to part with it, would you please tell me where the inn is, for this one needs a place to sleep.” The dogs, confused by the way the pony was talking, thought to clarify, “now we not ask, you give us gem!” With this the dog extended his paw forward. Rainbow’s body arced and she prepared to pounce, I am not going to allow some old guy to get beat up on my watch. What happened next came as a complete surprise to Dash. As the dog reached for the gem the stallion caught the dog’s paw in his front left hoof, “This one will not part with it,” the old pony said as he twisted the dog’s paw, this forced the dogs elbow across the center line of his body, flipping him end over end sideways into the dirt. The other dog, visibly startled, brought his paw down to swipe at the older pony. The pony replied to this by side stepping and grasping the dog’s wrist, holding him in this manner the dog was caught off balance, his own weight working against him. The pony dragged him forward straight down to the ground. The other dog at this point had regained his footing, and proceeded to kick as hard as he could at the pony, the old stallion reared up on his hind legs and, once again using the dogs’ momentum against them, grasped the dogs leg, taking a step back forcing the dog into the splits. Rainbow, who had stopped herself as soon as the stallion began to defend himself, sat on the roof with her mouth agape, that was one of the coolest things I have ever seen! The older pony who had begun to dust himself off looked up over to the roof that Rainbow Dash was sitting on, still smiling he said, “you, rainbow pegasus, come down, this one would like to talk with you!” Surprised that she had been seen, she obliged. Swooping down over the incapacitated dogs Rainbow Dash landed next to the older pony, where she got a better look at him, the pony had a wise and weathered presence, and he seemed to have this slight smile permanently glued to his face, looking further she found that his cutie mark was a myriad of symbols, none of which she could understand. This combined with the long white beard and mustache which draped down off his face, his straw hat and beautiful emerald which hung from his neck, gave him an exotic look, he was probably dashing in his younger years. His eyes were slightly slanted, and she had already observed his strange accent and manner of speaking. Rainbow was about to ask him something when he cut her off, “This one seeks the inn, would you help me find it?” Rainbow quickly replied, “Absolutely!”

Having found the inn both the ponies were sitting and enjoying a meal, Rainbow was telling the older pony about the town and the sights, further explaining who she was and what she did, both for a living and as a sport. Rainbow who had been talking almost non-stop for a good deal of time, asked her first question to her new companion, “so who are you and where are you from?” The older pony’s reply was cryptic, “this one is from far away, and this one’s name is of no import.”
Rainbow was disappointed with these answers, and pushed another one, “alright you don’t want to talk about yourself, but can you answer me this one question, where did you learn to do what you did to those dogs?”
“This one was trained in hoof-to-hoof combat many, many years ago, it is part of this one’s special talent,”
“So your cutie mark, it means fighting?”
“No, it means balance,”
“What does balance have to do with that crazy grabbing and dragging stuff you did?”
The older pony chuckled at this statement, “balance is the cornerstone of success to anything, and a good balance is needed to do what is in your heart, knowing your center is necessary to knowing yourself.” Rainbow hadn’t expected such a deep answer, which made her next question seem all the more childish, “where can I learn to do that?” The stallion’s face grew serious and his answer came out more grave than their idle chit-chat from before, “why would you want to know these things?” Rainbow suddenly aware of how important her answer would be to this stallion’s perceptions of her mumbled out a reply that she almost immediately regretted, “because it was awesome, and you looked cool doing it!” The older stallion looked away, appearing somewhat concerned. Answering back he said, “That is not a very good reason.” Oh no what have I done? Rainbow thought to herself, noting that the stallion’s smile, which hadn’t left his face up to this point, vanished. Stumbling to correct herself Rainbow reiterated, “It would also come in handy I guess,” her voice shrinking to almost a whisper as she finished her sentence. This piqued the colt’s interest as he turned his face back to her, gazing solemnly with a stare that rivaled Fluttershy’s, “Why would these skills be useful to you?” Rainbow, shrinking under the weight of his gaze replied, “Well my friends and I repeatedly find ourselves in situations that have us in danger, some times for the princess, sometimes for the safety of the town, hay sometimes I end up just trying to save my friends, like this one time, my buddy Spike,” cutting her off the stallion made a statement, “You do these dangerous things to defend your friends, and your town, you are quite a loyal friend indeed, you asked this one’s name, you may call this one, Sensei,” Sensei then asked a question, “Are you sure you wish to learn these things?” Rainbow perked up at this question, “Yes absolutely!”
“You are one hundred percent certain? It is very difficult and the strain on your body will be great.”
“Yes Sensei I think I am up to the task,” she spat back with a smirk, slightly regretting her somewhat sarcastic tone,
“Then we begin tomorrow, do you know somewhere we can train, a big wide open place, preferably outdoors, would be ideal.”
“Sure, yeah I do, but where are you going to stay? I mean this place is kind of a dump, and since you are not a pegasus you can’t stay with me, I live on a cloud,”
“This place will do, it is fine,”
As he said this the proprietor of the inn, Berry Punch, stumbled over to their table with the check, saying somewhat drunkenly, “Here ya go, I can’t remembersh when yous got in here, I’ma go lie down now, leavemah money on tha table.” She made it maybe four steps before collapsing in front of the counter
“No, this will not do, you need a nicer place,” Alright, so he can’t stay with me, Fluttershy is too shy to have someone over, Twilight lives in a library with one and a half beds, Pinkie is renting a small one room apartment above Sugarcube Corner, and Rarity doesn’t even like having her sister over, it was at this moment that Rainbow Dash had a surprising moment of clarity, who did she know that had a spacious property, plenty of rooms, and was known for her undying hospitality, Applejack!
Standing excitedly Rainbow beckoned the older pony to follow her.
“Where are we going?”
“To my friend Applejacks!”
They raced off into the ever darkening evening.

“Gee I don’t know R. D.” Applejack stated sitting down at the table with Sensei and Rainbow Dash. “I mean I hardly know him, hay you hardly know him, for all we know he could be some psycho loony from Celestia-knows-where tryin’ to run some ole scam. You remember the last two ‘visitors’ don’tcha?” Applejack was of course referring to Flim and Flam, the two ridiculous sales ponies from last cider season, “Yeah of course I do, but does Sensei seem at all like them, I mean, you should have seen the way he handled those two Diamond Dogs,” Rainbow replied excitedly. This made Applejack even more worried, “so you’re telling me that I should accept into mah home a complete stranger who is capable of fightin off two Diamond Dogs single hoofedly? I’m sorry Rainbow but I just can’t take that risk.” As she finished her sentence a different voice rang out from up the stairs, Granny Smith had heard the group talking, and had decided to interject herself into the conversation, “Rainbow izzat you? Why I have words fer you, that last storm almost completely blew the roof off tha barn! You and yer ridiculous flyin’ and a cloudchasin’,” she cut herself off as soon as she made it down the stairs, at which point her view rested solely on Sensei. Animating in a way that Rainbow and Applejack hadn’t thought possible for someone of her advanced age she bolted to the table in a style that was usually attributed to Pinkie Pie, coming to a rest at the table she spoke to Applejack, “well now, AJ you didn’t tell me that you were expectin company! If I’da known I’da made him some pie,” “It’s okay Granny they was jus’ leavin’,”
“Oh, now that won’t do, they look ta ‘ave just got ‘ere”
“Granny, Rainbow was just asking if her friend here could stay over for a few days, I was tellin’ ‘em no,”
“Applejack, how many times I gotsta talk to ya about hospitality, Rainbow of course your, handsome friend, can stay ‘ere.” Doing her best not to snicker under her breath, Rainbow looked over to Sensei, who for the first time since meeting him seemed visibly unnerved. “Thank you Granny Smith, Sensei I will see you in the morning,” Rainbow said as she made her way out the door, “Rainbow Dash, remember first light, meet me here outside the farmhouse," Sensei stated before being dragged up the stairs by a clearly infatuated Granny Smith “Now Dearie, come this way, we’s gonna put ya in the room right next ta mine!” As they departed Applejack turned to Rainbow Dash and stated, gravely, "This better work out for the best, Rainbow." "Oh I think it will, I mean look at Granny Smith," Rainbow burst out laughing as soon as she was far enough away from the Apple family home.

The Diamond Dogs hadn't moved from the alley, Lefty, the smaller of the two was just waking up after having his face slammed into the ground, while Grumbles, the larger, was sitting on his rear trying to massage his legs, which had been injured in his impromptu splits, Grumbles noticing that Lefty had awoken stated angrily, “What that? We dogs, and we had tail kicked by old, OLD, pony,” “And we no get gem!” Lefty added in as Grumbles finished speaking. “So what we do?” Lefty asked pointedly, “We get revenge!” Was Grumbles’ reply.

Chapter Two: A Partner

Hoof to Hoof
Chapter 2: A Partner

It is early in the morning, well before sunrise. Rainbow Dash awakes and begins her morning routine, wake, brush teeth, groom, all the while her anticipation grows, I don’t know what I’m getting myself into, do I? Sensei said it would be hard, but I’m a world class athlete! How hard could it be? Tapping Tank on the head as she walked out the door, she stepped off her balcony and flew off into the early morning.

Sensei awoke early in the morning, just as the sun was rising, and no sooner was he awake then was Granny Smith all over him, talking his head off about the farm and the surrounding town, where she came from who she was, by the time Sensei made it to the breakfast table he had heard and digested half of the history of Ponyville. Once he was seated, she began to pile plate after plate of apple themed treats before him, “And this is our world famous apple fritters! Our tantalizingly deeelightful apple pies!”

The old stallion simply nodded his head, slowly trying every one of the various treats, he finished his meal maybe a minute later, he ate astoundingly little of the food that had been presented him, nowhere near enough to sustain an adult pony. The moment he had finished eating he was set upon by Applebloom, “Yer beard is weird mister!”

This elicited a smile from Sensei, “This one’s beard has been growing for many years now,”

Applebloom continued unheeded asking question after question of Sensei, only to get cryptic answers in return. Meanwhile Applejack and Big Macintosh, having roused themselves, were standing in a corner of the room discussing their strange new visitor, well Applejack was. “I just don’t like it, we don’t know who he is or where he is from,”

Applejack, speaking quietly so as not to alert their visitor looked up at Big Mac, “I mean he seems nice and he hasn’t done anything to rub me the wrong way, but there’s too many unknowns.”

Big Mac, as direct as always replies, “I think you may be worrying too much, I may have never lived in a city or really been much of a social type, but I don’t read nothin’ wrong with this one, he seems like a kindly old pony,”

“You’re a hundred percent sure ain’t ya,”

“Eyyup”

When Applejack looked away from Big Mac she was surprised to find that Sensei was standing right next to her, with his strange, warm, smile looking her right in the eye, “This one understands your concern, if a better living situation arises this one will take up on it,”

Applejack, startled by Sensei’s sudden appearance barely managed to stammer out an apology, “Ahm sorry mister Sensei it’s jus’ that you haven’t said nothin’ bout who you are or where yer from, and Rainbow kept talkin’ up yer fightin’ skills and I jus’ cain’t help but be a lil’ worried,”

Sensei, his happy expression barely changing, “This one completely understands, however this one believes that your opinion may change,”

As Sensei was walking away Applejack couldn’t help but feel that something was off about the old pony, Strange accent, strange behavior, hardly eats, wheres he from? Sensei walking to the door, bowed his head in Granny Smith and Applebloom’s direction before ducking out of the house.

Sensei found Rainbow Dash pacing back and forth in the field, “Ah you made it, and just before sunrise too,”

Rainbow, looking up over her shoulder to notice that the sun was rising, didn’t let on that out of nervousness she had been there waiting for about a half hour, “Yeah of course I did, I said I would be here right,”

“There is no need to be nervous, this one saw you perform at the royal wedding, physically you are more than capable to do what this one will teach,”

Rainbow Dash, surprised asked a new question of Sensei, “Wow you get around dontcha?”

“This one travels a lot,”

“Wait so you were in Canterlot for the Changeling invasion?”

Sensei’s smile grew wider, apparently reminiscing about the day, “Yes, this one saved a young couple from abduction that day,”

The more he spoke of past events the more mysterious Sensei seemed and while Rainbow Dash reflected on this she also thought of other things she saw in him, wow, every time he opens his mouth he just gets more awesome, he’s seen me perform too? “Follow this one, into the orchard,”

While they walked Rainbow asked him about the places Sensei had been, he remained cryptic but spoke in more detail about the incident in Canterlot, “This one was in Canterlot, trying to make way to Fillydelphia, this one had to stop for supplies in the city, and hadn’t heard of the extra security in the city, but this one was not perceived as a threat to the city, and so was let in. The city was busy, and it was late so this one stopped and found a place to bed, this one awoke to find that the wedding was to begin, having nothing else better to do, this one decided to attend, and upon arriving this one immediately saw the bride, this one couldn’t place a hoof on it, but something was off.”

Sensei stopped and his eyes grew distant, “been many years since this one has seen a Changeling, if this one had seen it sooner, would have tried to help,”

Rainbow Dash thought of how much easier the fight to get the elements would have been with someone like Sensei backing her and her friends up. He continued his story, “This one scattered like the rest once the truth had been revealed, the Princess was captured and this one was running down to the alley where this one had found rest, this emerald and this one’s other belongings were there. As this one made way back to the alley, a young couple was spotted, hiding behind a dumpster, cornered by four changelings, this one saved them, and helped them save their child.”

Sensei stopped and looked around, they were surrounded by the apple trees. The little vale they were standing in was wide, and had plenty of space, but somehow at the same time it felt close and private, like standing in a large room that lacked a roof. Sensei looked over to Rainbow Dash and removed his saddle bag and straw hat, revealing a white topknot manecut. Lastly he removed the green tiger’s eye emerald necklace from around his neck. Without any of his accessories the stallion’s wiry frame showed through, his light brown coat appeared to drape over thin and very athletic muscle, he appeared at once ancient and strong. He looked over at Rainbow Dash, who had allowed herself to stare for an uncomfortable amount of time, Holy cow! This guy is something else! He set his gaze on Rainbow Dash, his eyes in full view for the first time since Dash had met him. Dash shrank under the weight of these eyes, which despite Sensei’s advanced age appeared clear and unobstructed; his voice, when he spoke next, seemed to make the very trees around them stand still, “This one needs you to promise, and this is of utmost importance, to always use these skills either in self-defense or to protect others, outside of training this one hopes that what is taught never sees use,”

Rainbow, taken aback by how deathly serious Sensei’s voice had become, replied, “I promise,”

Sensei’s eyes and voice resumed their usual pitch and timbre, “Thank you, Rainbow Dash, this one has taught before and had bad outcomes to those that did not take that promise seriously, and this one can see that you will never use my techniques abusively or offensively,”

With this Sensei turned around and spoke to the trees, “Now Applejack, can you make the same promise,”

Rainbow watched as Applejack stepped out from behind the tree and walked over to the middle of the vale, surprised that she had followed them, She must really be worried about him, she never does stuff like this. Applejack when she got close enough to speak without yelling, frustratingly spoke out “Confound it, how’dja see me?”

“Very old technique, now this one would like you to answer the question, can you make the same promise?”

Applejack, confused, asked, “Why me? I mean thanks all told, ahm honored you’d ask me, but why ya want to train someone who jus’ followed ya through the woods,”

Sensei smiled, “Of the stories rainbow has told this one, you and her are the most physical, she needs a partner, and it is not hard for this one to see that you do not have a good outlet, you are tense. When this one looks at you this one sees nothing but tension and confusion, martial arts’ training is one of the best physical, spiritual and emotional outlets one can get.”

Applejack thought it over, Well he is right, there hant been a disaster ‘round here since the wedding, ahm gettin’ complacent and the work in the field ain’t been getting mah mind of mah problems, if what Rainbow said about this guy is true, his trainin’ may come in handy too. While she thought it over, Rainbow had a different thought, Why is Sensei offering training to Applejack of all ponies? I mean, he’s seen me perform, why would he need another student, that settles it, if she trains with him, I’m just going to need to train harder, I’ll just have to beat her in this in every way possible.

Applejack looked up, determined, “I promise not to misuse yer teachin’s, and I will train with ya.”

Sensei smiled even more, “Good, now to begin this one will explain the basics of the training, we will begin every session with mental training, which is half of what we will do, to do this we will meditate, join this one, and sit, empty your mind to emotion and thought, only then will you achieve balance. Once you two are balanced we begin the physical training, the techniques I teach at first will be basic and will grow from there, you will learn to react and to act decisively with force,”
With this the old stallion sat, crossed his hind legs and placed his front in his lap, he beckoned for Rainbow and Applejack to sit with him, “Sit, join me, we will meditate.”

The two friends sat on both sides of him, when he provided a final instruction, “while not necessary, closing one’s eyes makes it easier to focus on emptying the mind,”

With this they began to meditate.

Around twenty minutes after they had begun meditating Rainbow began to get annoyed, This isn’t what I thought it would be, this is boring! I can’t take staying still for so long, I wonder if Applejack has stayed still too. Rainbow opened her right eye slightly, and looked out over to Applejack, and was surprised to find that AJ had done the same, it was at this point that they both looked at Sensei, who was floating maybe a foot off the ground. The two of them jumped back, startled, “Gah! What are you doing? How are you doing? Your flying!” Rainbow yelled out as she jumped back

Applejack was struck speechless, as Sensei lowered himself to the ground and stood, “A mind free of negative emotion, and from thought is as light as the air beneath ones wings, a truly free state of mind allows one to tap into the magic around them, this is what true mental balance is, to be free from worry, do not expect to be able to do this for some time, if ever, the turmoil of life is hard to get away from if you are young, as an old pony, this one can simply tune it out, such is the benefit of age.”

Motioning for the two of them to stand, Sensei made a stance, his front left hoof placed at ninety degrees at the knee, placing his front right at an angle going out and away from him, his back two standing strong, speaking to Applejack, “Assume this stance,”

Applejack, shrugging, made a move to imitate the stance, when Rainbow went to imitate it as well Sensei motioned for her to stop, “You are Pegasus, and as such have extra appendages to work with, your individual training will be different, different styles are necessary and will complement your different personalities, Applejack you will learn the standing bull, and will learn to shrug off an enemy’s’ offenses as if they are rain crashing onto the roof of a sturdy building. Rainbow Dash, you will learn screaming griffon, and such will learn to overwhelm and subset an enemy’s defense with rapid strikes and daring acrobatics.”

This pleased Rainbow Dash, I was worried that he wouldn’t have anything for wings! And that sounds so awesome! At this point Sensei had moved to Applejack’s side. He took his hoof and gingerly poked her in the side, she toppled over legs sticking out stiff as a board. Rainbow immediately snickered at this, Sensei turning his attention to Rainbow makes his first request of her, “Can you do a backflip?”

Rainbow, smirking, proudly affirmed, “Of course I can! You’ve seen me perform, of course I can!”

With this Rainbow using her wings launched herself into the air, going into a graceful backflip and landing with a quiet thump. Sensei, still smiling looks to her and asks again, “Try to do it without the assistance of your wings.”

Rainbow’s smirk quickly disappeared from her face, “I can’t do it without my wings, I don’t know anypony who can.”

“The flip is done with your legs, allowing you to focus the power of your wings into the kick that goes along with it, doing this properly one can render all but the most thick of skulls unconscious,”

Rainbow, grumbling, says “Fine, I’ll try it.”

Rainbow Dash, readied herself, took a few steps back and launched herself into the air on her legs, landing flat onto her back, Applejack still focusing on her balance and trying her best to work the stance Sensei had taught her almost fell over laughing.

Sensei looked to the both of them, “Now this one wants the two of you to try again, there is a lot of training ahead of you.”

They worked well into the evening.

Grumbles and Lefty were wandering through Ponyville, Lefty was sniffing the air, doing his best to find the scent of the pony that had beaten them up the night before. Grumbles was impatient, unable to think of anything other than the pony and his beautiful gem! He wanted that thing, bad, terribly bad, so when they had made their way to Berry Punch’s inn and stopped outside the door, Lefty looked up to Grumbles, and spoke, “Scent stops here, maybe he stay night in inn!”

“Or maybe Lefty lose scent, we need check here anyway, pony not from here, mean no home, mean he stay at inn!”

With this grumbles went up to the door, he checked the door and when he found it to be locked, he knocked. No sooner than he was done knocking did a loud and annoyed voice come out from behind it, “BY CELESTIA! WHAT DOES IT TAKE FOR A PONY TO GET SOME PEACE AND QUIET!”

At that the door fell off its hinges, Lefty and Grumbles, his fist still raised to pound on the door again looked to each other and then to the door on the ground, “Something not right here,” Grumbles muttered to himself.

Berry Punch was leaning on the counter; her eyes were bloodshot and swollen. The dogs looked around, noting that one of the inns windows had been blown in, and that the tables and the chairs in the café were overturned, it also seemed that someone had taken and thrown all of the food that was on the tables up onto the walls. When Lefty and Grumbles made their way to her she looked up and said, “Oh, dogs! That’s great, I’m sorry boys but the Inn is closed,” motioning around she added, “for a while.”

Lefty looked up at Grumbles, an incredulous and curious look on his face that spoke what was going through his mind loud and clear, This pony is hung over, and it looks like a tornado came through here. Grumbles nodded, and then asked Berry Punch, “U’hh we looking for old pony, went off with rainbow pony, late afternoon, yesterday?”

Berry Punch looked up at them and scratched her hoof on her unkempt mane, “I won’t lie to you I drank a lot last night, and I don’t remember much, between the drink and the ruckus that Twilight and Fluttershy caused this morning, but I do remember some old guy sitting, oh I don’t know over there,” as she pointed over to the almost demolished café, “with Rainbow Dash, when they said something about Applejack or her farm or something,”

Grumbles and Lefty, looking to each other again, turned on a heel and left the Inn. When they got outside Lefty spoke, “I know farm, it name Sweet Apple…. something….”

“Acres, it name Sweet Apple Acres, these same ponies that swindle dogs out of gems with awful whining,”

Lefty, shuddering at the memory, asked Grumbles, “What next move?”

Grumbles, an evil grin forming on his face, “First we get pack, then we burn farm!”

Chapter Three: The Dangers of Competition

Hoof to Hoof

Chapter 3: The Dangers of Competition

Sensei, Rainbow Dash and Applejack were standing in the clearing. Sensei was off to the left of the other two, who were staring each other down. Their heads lowered the girls slowly circled each other, matching each step the other was taking. The air was tense and soon the tension would boil over. Rainbow Dash charged, dusting off with her wings. Since Rainbow Dash was literally flying at Applejack, Applejack’s next move was almost instantaneous. She reared onto her hind legs, catching Rainbow’s kick with her front hooves. Rainbow, having collided with Applejack, leaned back into a backflip. Rainbow landed not too far away from Applejack, who spins quickly in an attempt to buck at her. This was their second week of training.

Rainbow, surprised by AJ’s quickness, dodges with a back hoofspring, rapidly getting out of the way. Sensei smiles, “This is good, this one is impressed, the both of you are doing good work, Applejack continue working on your speed. Rainbow, focus on accuracy, aim your kicks better. Anticipate your opponents movements, feel their actions, look for their tells.”

Rainbow grimaced, I know this, AJ's just too darn sturdy. Looking up she noticed that Applejack had a slight smirk on her face and she was chuckling under her breath. This struck a chord deep within Rainbow, Why that smug…. Applejack continued to smile as she went back into her fighting stance, OHH IT’S ON NOW. Growling slightly, Rainbow Dash charged forward, launching into an acrobatic flurry of kicks and strikes. Some of them landing square on Applejack’s head and sides. Applejack, sturdy as she was, couldn't block all of them and when they began to hurt a little more than a little, she started to get worried, She’s hittin’ me far too hard fer a sparrin’ match, she’s angry, gotta be. Rainbow spun, twisting into a side flip, and struck AJ hard across the face with her wing. The strike had produced a small cut on Applejack’s face that bled slightly. Applejack was starting to get angry as well, That’s it, I’ma whoop her rainbow colored flank. Applejack grabbed one of Rainbow’s many blows, taking her by surprise, and flipped her through the air.

Rainbow hadn't expected Applejack to be able to grasp one of her kicks, and she was reminded of just how skilled they were getting as she caught herself in midair. The moment of clarity that came with being tossed into the air suddenly passed and Rainbow was at once very angry again. Landing on the ground she took a moment to ready herself, and proceeded to charge at Applejack as fast as she could. The pegasus was a rainbow colored blur by the time she skimmed by Applejack, swiping at her with one of her hooves. Rainbow’s agility was legendary among the fliers of Equestria, and it was in full display here and now. She, without losing a touch of speed, managed to circle around a tree and come back to strike at AJ again, this time with her wing. This strike caught Applejack on her right shoulder, producing another small cut. Applejack was furious, and began to anticipate Rainbow’s actions, spinning around at just the right moment to buck, hard, at Rainbow Dash as she was passing. The kick caught Rainbow right in the stomach and she collapsed onto the ground in a heap. “Oh no,” Applejack sputtered out as she raced to her side.

When she got there Rainbow Dash leapt and tackled Applejack, beginning to strike her wildly. Applejack upon realizing that her friend was not hurt began to retaliate in kind. Sensei, who until recently had been silently watching the fight unfold, jumped to his hooves, yelling for the two of them to stop, “This one insists that you stop the fight at once!”

Applejack struck Rainbow in the face hard, catching her off guard and distracting her momentarily; she then rolled so that she was now on top continuing to strike down at Rainbow. Sensei yelled once more, “Enough! Stop the fight!”

Realizing that the two of them were not going to stop anytime soon, the old stallion leapt forward, doing a flip over top of the two ponies rolling on the ground. Mid-flip the stallion grasped Applejack, finishing the flip and throwing her off of Rainbow, “You are too strong to be kicking like that, and Rainbow you do not lose control, to lose control like that allows you to not only injure yourself but injure your partner.”

Rainbow stands, still seething she glares angrily in Applejack’s direction. Applejack stood and scowled in a similar way, angrily she began to let Rainbow have it, “She started it, she was hittin' too hard, an’ she used ‘er wings, I thought we weren’t s’posed ta do that.”

Rainbow came up with arguments of her own, “Oh yeah, so I cut you a little bit, you could have killed me bucking that hard, I’ve seen you knock down trees with that kick of yours!”

The two of them walked closer to each other, eventually getting into each other’s faces, their bickering had devolved into a shouting match. Sensei watched, his face growing more sober the more the friends yelled at each other, until finally as it seemed they were about to come to blows again Sensei yelled, “ENOUGH!”

The startlingly loud yell was completely different from the old stallion’s usual amiable manner of speaking, this was direct and confrontational, “You two have been training hard every day for more than two weeks, you are both far too skilled and far too strong to lose control this way, collect yourselves!”

Casting his gaze down angrily he added, “And there will be no training tomorrow.”

This caught the feuding friends by surprise. Rainbow was quick to challenge the order, “Why? The only way we are going to get better at this is if we keep practicing,”

Applejack added in curtly, “Yeah and how you figure a break’ll help us learn this stuff.”

Kicking the dirt in front of her she furthered, “Ah mean you told us that since we’re doin’ so well, you’ve stepped us up from what yer original schedule was, and heck outside’a this lil’ spat we ain’t done nothin’ wrong!”

The two of them continued to protest, Sensei held out a hoof, immediately they stopped barking, “Training, while good for the mind and body, is straining when done for long durations, this one believes that you two should find something else to do, something to take your mind off of the conflict between you,”

The girls argued a moment longer, finally quieting down when Sensei raised his hoof again. Rainbow spoke, somewhat reserved, “Well, I guess I could go read a book or something, I haven’t read the new Daring Do book yet,” I’ll have to get it from Twilight though, she thought to herself as she spoke.

Applejack then chimed in, “Well, I suppose I could go sell some apples n’ town,” Since Big Mac n’ Applebloom ‘ve been outta town we’ve been too shorthanded t’ go sell she thought momentarily.

“Good,” Sensei added, the threat retreating from his voice, “Rainbow Dash will go read, while Applejack spends the day in town. We will take tomorrow off. However this one still wants you two to practice your forms and meditate for at least a half hour tomorrow, do you understand?”

“Yes Sensei,” the two mares answered together.

Rainbow Dash was walking to the library; she nursed her chest and stomach, which were bruised and very sore, Applejack’s kick had thankfully not broken anything. As she walked she thought about what had happened regretfully, Wow, I really lost it there. Further she reflected, I think I’m beginning to understand why Sensei is always so mellow. Everything he knows, he’s got to be dangerous angry. She then started trying to imagine what an angry Sensei would look like, shuddering, she continued walking.

There was a slight dip in the road. Rainbow, lost in thought, hadn’t seen it. So when her hoof landed wrong causing her to stumble a light stinging pain shot up her side. The training over the past two weeks had been one of the toughest things she had ever done and the more she thought of it, the better she thought of Sensei’s break suggestion. She stretched out her wings, the cyan feathers were out of line, they needed to be groomed badly, and the muscles along her wings were incredibly sore. She thought to herself momentarily as she continued walking, I am so beat! I’m going to have trouble getting home at this rate. Looking up she found that she had come close to the library.

Rainbow came into the main room of the library and found Twilight neck deep in some experiment; test-tubes, various books, and a number of strange shapes drawn on large butcher paper littered the library. Rainbow was fairly confused, but brushed off her curiosity, Twilights always doing something I guess. She scowled, shaking off some of the muscle pain she was experiencing, and asked Twilight, “Hey Twilight, where is that new Daring Do book?”

Twilight jumped, obviously startled, “GAH RAINBOW! When did you come in?”

Rainbow chuckled slightly, she was freaking out over something again, “Just a few seconds ago, do you mind telling me what you’re up to?”

Twilight’s eyes darted back and forth quickly, “Nothing, nothing at all really, okay umm, I’m studying…. Squirrels! Yes squirrels and their habitats,”

Rainbow looked at the drawings again, one of them was a pentagram with a large circle drawn around it, and looked back to Twilight, Well if she doesn’t want to tell me, right now I’m too tired to worry about it. “Whatever Twilight, where’s the book?”

Twilight, already returning to her work, pointed her hoof to a large pile of books in a corner of the room, Rainbow picked up the book and made to leave, saying goodbye to Twilight in the process. As she walked out the door she collided with Fluttershy, who managed to stammer, “Oh hi Rainbow! Sorry I can’t talk now bye!” She practically shoved Rainbow out the door.

Applejack was sitting behind her applecart, doing her best to act engaged, really her mind was remembering the fight, Now what in the hay was Rainbow thinkin’ she coulda hurt me, she coulda hurt herself! Applejack looked around at the deserted square. It was almost empty but for an errant pegasus, Thunderlane. Applejack put on her best show-man’s smile and waved. Thunderlane looked up at Applejack and flew over, “Hey Applejack, you selling apples?” he asks curiously.

Applejack nodded and pointed to the variety of apples on her cart. Thunderlane made his selection, buying two dozen apples. “Thanks, Thunderlane, come by th’ farm sometime!”

As Thunderlane departed Applejack sighed, and complained under her breath “I always get the short end o’ th’ stick.” Her mind returned to the fight, I guess I overreacted too, I did kick her a lil' too hard. Ah heck, I kicked her way too hard! What was I thinkin'! I really coulda hurt her! Grabbing a newspaper she began to read to distract herself from the depressing thought, at this point she was basically one of maybe five ponies in the square. She continued to read the paper, skimming the headlines reading aloud in her head, Black Light crashes Fat Cat’s party in Manehatten, Flim and Flam formally prosecuted in Las Pegasus on fraud charges, Changelings still being hunted after Canterlot attack, weather factory workers in Cloudsdale on strike, “same old, same old,” she mutters under her breath.

She looked up just in time to see a pair of Diamond Dogs wander into a dark alley. Remembering the story Rainbow had told her about Sensei’s arrival she convinced herself, Maybe I’d better follow ‘em. Applejack threw a tarp over top the apple cart, and followed the dogs down the alley. The pair wandered for a while, and started talking to each other. The larger of the two dogs looked to the smaller and started asking questions, “How many we have?”

The smaller looked up to the larger, “fifteen, we have fifteen dogs,”

“Need more, maybe five or six more,”

“Why you so worried? Was only one pony beat us, we have fifteen dogs, fifteen good number,”

“Remember last year, whiny pony with five friends?”

“Those ponies beat us, so what?”

“One of those ponies owns farm, rainbow pony from that night also one of other six, they dangerous, we need more dogs,”

The small dog relented, “Fine we get more dogs, they probably be here tomorrow,”

“Good, we get them here, then we burn down farm.”

As the dog finished his threat Applejack bolted back across the square, headed for the farm.

Applejack busted down the door to the house, she was winded, sore, tired, and worried, and the last thing she expected was a candlelight dinner waiting for her at the farmhouse. On the table was a hardy and romantic dinner, between the plates was a large candelabra with lit candles. The lights, as low as they were, created a very romantic atmosphere. Sensei was sitting opposite Granny Smith, his hair neat, his beard combed, and wearing a look that bespoke a content and happy pony; a look that disappeared the moment that Applejack busted down the door, to be immediately replaced with a look of mild embarrassment and a tone to match, “Applejack! This one thought you would be in the market all day!”

Granny Smith quickly added in, “Confound it AJ caint ya jus’ do as yer sayin’ fer once?”

Applejack was also embarrassed, she quickly shook it off, too much on edge to stay embarrassed for long. “Granny Smith, may ah borrow Mr. Sensei fer a moment?”

Sensei’s face grew concerned at Applejack’s expression; turning to Granny Smith he voiced, “Sorry, this one needs to go talk to Applejack for a moment,”

Granny Smith, sensing the tension, motioned for them to go. They stepped outside, and not a moment later was Applejack throwing out accusations, “I knew lettin’ you stay here’d be a bad idea! Them dogs ‘re comin’ ta burn down mah farm! If’n we don’t do nothin’ about it, mah families gonna be run out a Ponyville, we lived here fer generations, we need ta do somethin’” Applejack was practically in tears now, so bad was her worry not much of what she said came out the way she thought she said it, she was blubbering when Sensei rested a hoof on her shoulder. What Sensei said next came as a humongous comfort, “Applejack, this one needs you calm, this one will help you defend, we must gather your friends, where are they,”

Applejack, bit her lip, trying to keep the tears back, “Rarity n’ Pinkie Pie ‘re out a town, Twilight an’ Fluttershy’re goin’ ta have ta help us,”

“We also need Rainbow, she is one of best hopes now to defend your farm, where is she?”

“She said she’d be readin’ she does that at home ta keep eyes off ‘er, she don’t want ponies seein’ her as n’ egghead”

“Since neither you nor this one can fly we need to find a pegasus to get her from her home,”

“Ah know jus’ tha one,” Applejack said, her eyes growing determined.

The two of them walked into the post office, they had just been to both Twilight’s library, and Fluttershy’s cottage, neither of them could be found; this was strange as they were usually home, since their jobs were at their homes. “Alright we need ta get Rainbow,” Applejack remarked as they looked around the office, “You were right Sensei, Rainbow’s now the best and only hope fer savin’ mah farm, an’ we need a pegasus, one who’s good at deliverin’ messages,”

Applejack pointed across the counter to the walleyed pegasus, Derpy, “She’s the best at deliverin’ messages,”

Sensei was incredulous, and he remarked while looking at her cross-eyed expression, “This one is unsure of using this pegasus, couldn’t we ask another?”

Applejack replied, “No, Derpy’s tha fastest at deliverin’ packages, an’ shes the best mailmare tha’s ever come inta this post office,”

As she spoke Derpy had placed a large box of letters onto the counter. Derpy, grasping a dozen or so letters in her mouth, threw them over her shoulder without looking; miraculously they all flew into individual boxes on the wall behind her, perfectly sorted. Sensei raised an eyebrow, “She is quite dexterous, for one whose eyes are improperly aligned”

The reply Applejack gave was a little less praising than the one before, “Yeah, she’s good with tha mail an’ all, but for whatever reason, she’s not all that agile, dexterous,”

She stopped trying to think of the right word, “Or perhaps competent otherwise.”

Derpy, realizing Applejack was in the post office, waved. As she did so, her hoof knocked the box of letters off of the counter spilling the contents all over the floor of the post office. Seemingly without realizing what she had done she spoke, “Hi Applejack, how are you doing today,”

“Good Derpy, now listen we ‘ave a very important message for ya to deliver, to Rainbowdash’s house, we need her at the farm immediately,”

Derpy’s face grew comically serious, “I’m on it,” she said, as she flew out of a jagged hole in the roof.

Sensei looked up at the roof, asking curiously, “Has that always been there?”

“Nah, they jus’ stopped fixin’ it once they realized what was causin’ it.”

A short while later, Applejack was at the farm, when Rainbow Dash knocked on the door, “Anyone mind telling me why Derpy just crashed through my roof to tell me to come here?”

Applejack replied, a solemn look on her face, “Them dogs’re comin ta burn down mah farm.”

They spent the next several minutes explaining the situation to Rainbow Dash, when they began to discuss strategy. Applejack began the discussion, “We need to find a way to outsmart these dogs, ain’t no way we can fight all twenty of em straight up,”

Sensei replied, “This one would not be so sure of your inadequacies, however a better strategy presents itself,”

The old pony stood and began pacing the kitchen, talking as he walked, “You two are becoming quite capable, and there is no doubt in this one’s mind that you could handle these dogs with ease. However neither of you are in a rested state and so are in no condition to do this on your own. This one will assist, if this one can take down the two leaders of the pack, the rest will retreat, keep them distracted while this one works,”

Rainbow Dash nodded, “I guess this is the best plan we are going to get,”

Sensei smiled, “Get some rest, you both have a big day tomorrow.”

The next morning came quickly, and the sun rose red over the farmhouse. The duo of newly minted martial artists and their instructor stood in a line on top of a hill, the twenty-something Diamond Dogs approached. The pack of dogs were angry, some were carrying torches, others just shaking their fists. The leaders of the pack stepped forward, Lefty and Grumbles, and roared to the three standing at the top of the hill, “Give us old pony and we leave in peace,” as the larger finished yelling, the smaller chimed in,

“You don’t we burn farm and all apple trees!”

Rainbow, the veritable queen of smack-talk, yelled back, “You gonna bark all day little doggie? or are you gonna bite!”

The dogs charged, barking and hollering as loud as they could, the insult from Rainbow Dash had sent them over the edge. Rainbow Dash and Applejack charged forward as well, when the two groups collided the two ponies leapt into action. Rainbow Dash launched into a flurry of acrobatic kicks and wing clips, the dogs repeatedly tried to get around her, but they couldn’t keep up with her speed. The dogs dropped one by one, in close proximity to Rainbow. As she made her way through the crowd of dogs she looked up to see Applejack. The cow pony was grabbing and throwing the various dogs, literally launching them up into the air, her tremendous strength doing wonders to slow them down. Glancing the other direction Rainbow Dash saw Sensei, slowly making his way to the center of the chaos. With the fight roiling around him the old pony looked calm, in front of him were Lefty and Grumbles.

Both dogs were fuming, the anger dripping from their voices, “No one fight dogs and win!” Lefty roared,

The littler dog charged, bringing down his left paw in a swipe, time seemed to slow. Sensei visibly exhaled and relaxed then sidestepped the swipe. The old pony then jabbed at the dogs arm, a very light jab. When the jab connected the dog's arm went limp, the pony maneuvered around his back and continued with a series of jabs along the dog’s back. Lefty mumbled, “Me feel funny,” and slumped, unconscious, to the ground.

Sensei stood as time returned to normal over the unconscious dog, and spoke using the full measure of authority that his voice allotted, “This one and this one’s students have beaten your dogs, this one suggests you run, your pack Is beaten. Let go your strife, leave now and never return.”

Grumbles looked down at the unconscious Lefty, and then up at Sensei, all of the dogs in the field were watching him. They all looked down at the inert dog, many started running right then, carrying their wounded and unconscious comrades. Grumbles took a second to collect Lefty, and began running as fast as he could away from the farm. Applejack and Rainbow Dash had stopped fighting to watch the old pony duke it out with Lefty and Grumbles, when the dogs began to retreat, Rainbow cheered while Applejack just watched them leave.

Sensei turned to the girls, curtly speaking, “Now if you will excuse this one, he has a date to return to.”

The dogs had returned to their cave, they wanted nothing more to do with ponies, many had returned to digging for diamonds in the caves. Grumbles looked to Lefty, who was lying on a bed they had made for him. The feeling was starting to come back to his body, he was twitching his left arm, trying to move it. Grumbles’ worry over his companion lessened as he watched him move, “Lefty, I go get you some water okay,”

As he stepped out through the opening to this section of the cave a loud thump was heard, and the dog was sent flying back into the room. As he landed a red dragon with large leathery wings, bipedal, standing almost a foot and a half taller than Grumbles walked into the room. Stepping over Grumbles the dragon looked to Lefty, addressing him he spoke with a menacing and dangerous voice, “I am Hóng long, and I am seeking my old teacher.”

Chapter Four: Origins

Hoof to Hoof
Chapter 4: Origin

A couple of days had passed since the fight. The sun was high in the sky as Applejack and Rainbow Dash walked back to the barn, both were drenched in a thin layer of sweat. Their skills were improving and at this point Sensei trusted the both of them to behave responsibly with the training. He had taken the day off to focus on meditating and relaxing. They found him in front of the barn levitating a few inches off the ground, his face stern. A strange mood had come over him in the days since the fight, he talked less than before and his eyes grew distant whenever he did. This exacerbated the fact that Applejack and Rainbow Dash hadn’t truly discussed the fight with him, with him talking less the topic hadn’t managed to creep up in conversation. Rainbow Dash had a few burning questions for Sensei, thinking back on the fight she remembered the strange way he had fought Lefty, He barely touched that dog and he knocked him out; they all ran after that, what did he do?

Applejack’s thoughts mirrored her friend’s, Some strange mystical hoo-ha w he pulled th’ other day, he gits stranger and stranger. An’ it seems the more ah know ‘bout ‘em the less sense he makes, what in th’ world did he do to that dog?

Sensei lowered to the ground as the two friends approached, a large smile on his face. The two returned the expression in kind, when Rainbow begins speaking, “We ran through our forms, and got in some light sparring today.”

She smirked looking over at Applejack, “I got my flank beat!”

Applejack snickered, sarcastically remarking, “Yeah, right, ah beat you up. You got th’ leg up on me! I ain’t never seen a pony that can move ‘s fast as you can,”

As Applejack finished Rainbow added in shyly, “Well yeah, but I mean I’ve fought everything from changelings to dogs at one time or another, but I have never fought anypony or anything that can even come close to you.”

Sensei’s eyes sparkled as the two talked, they had regained and solidified their friendship. He went to sit and meditate again when Applejack started talking about the fight a couple of days ago, “Yeah you too, ah mean you remember how ya was flippin’ around those dogs? Looked like ya was in three er four places at once!”

Rainbow Dash started floating in the air, waving her hooves excitedly as she spoke, “Oh yeah! And I remember dogs being thrown left and right, you actually picked them up and set them down, hard!”

They continued discussing the fight, commenting on each-other’s skills. They talked for several minutes slowly going through the fight, remembering where they were and what had happened. When they neared the end of the fight Applejack spoke of the way the fight ended, her voice trailing off as she finished, “And then they all ran away, I didn’t get too good a look at that, did you see what happened?”

Rainbow Dash concentrated on her memories, “Yeah, Sensei just touched the little dog, one of the ones that was in charge, in a couple of places on his arm and back. The dog just fell over, and Sensei warned them to go away and never come back,”

Applejack nodded, “I thought that was what happened, ah mean I didn’t git a good look at it, but I heard Sensei an’ saw ‘em runnin’”

Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked at each other, able to tell what the other was thinking right then and there. They both turned to Sensei, Rainbow asked, “What did you do to that little dog?”

Sensei, who had returned to trying to meditate, opened one eye. Sighing forlornly he said, “This one incapacitated the dog.”

Applejack wouldn’t accept this answer, “You did more than that, we saw ya jus’ touch em an’ he fell over. Ah mean Rainbow an’ I knocked out a couple of em, but we hit them, you just kinda… I don’t know poked em a few times. What was that?”

Sensei spoke quietly, opening both eyes and standing “This one believes it is time to tell you two where this one came from, can you get us some privacy?”

Applejack quickly replied, “Of course, let’s get inta th’ barn, quietest place on th’ farm.”

They made their way inside, Sensei motioned for them to sit, “It is a long story and this one will tell all of it, the two of you will be more comfortable seated.”

He spoke, telling his story with a lingering melancholy that struck deep into the duo’s hearts, “This one was not always so friendly, so amiable, there was a time when this one was an entirely different person.“

“This story occurred many, many, years ago and this one cannot forget what has been done. It all started, oh so long ago, in a faraway place this one’s homeland. The ponies there do not know happiness like the ones here in Equestria, this one’s home did not have a fair and equitable system of governance like the one here. The realm was instead ruled by a terrible and tyrannical emperor. This one knows not if he is still in power or what the current situation there is, as it was left long ago. There, from the day of birth, young foals are groomed and trained in whatever direction the emperor demands. Under this system many do not discover their one true talent, and they go their entire lives without knowing what their special place in the world is.”

“This one was, until long after leaving, similarly unlucky. This one was trained how to combat in hoof to hoof combat from a young age, and as a hot-headed young stallion rose in the ranks of the military to become a general in the glorious emperor’s army. This one committed many acts of war in the emperor’s name, and this one regrets them all. Another important part of this land is that there was an abundance of dragons. These dragons are quite unlike the dragons of Equestria, and do not grow to the monstrous sizes that the ones here do. They are of a much more, agreeable, size and temperament. There are so many of them that they intermingle with the general population of ponies. They are no different there than you are from any other pony in town. They are mail-dragons, bakers, librarians and keepers of scrolls. Many of them find love and companionship with the ponies as well. The fruit of these unions creates earth ponies, all of them with extraordinary strength and tactile ability, perfectly suited to the martial arts.”

“Many ponies assigned for duty in the emperor’s armies are from these unions, all of the top generals were, this one included.”

A pin-drop would be as thunder in the silence that followed. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were awestruck, their teacher was half dragon. Rainbow opened her mouth to speak when Sensei raised a hoof solemnly stating, “This one will answer all of your questions in time, please allow this one to finish,”

Rainbow Dash closed her mouth, and resumed listening intently, “This one was doing his duty, performing as expected, when rumors of a startlingly strong and powerful dragon arose. He was ruthless, cunning, and worst of all completely driven by ambition. His eyes were always set on the next goal and he lived his life out of tune with the needs of others. His name was Hóng Long.”

“Selfish and proud he was, these qualities were at the time hidden from this one’s eyes. All that this one saw was a good recruit, and he was taken in to the fold. This one was commanded by the emperor to teach the dragon everything that he needed to know.”

“His training was not unlike yours, rigorous and difficult; however there was a greater dedication to it. Unlike the two of you his only purpose in the emperor’s eyes was to train and to learn to be the best and most effective tool he could be in war. This one and he trained day and night, for several years. The time was also spent fighting the enemies of the emperor. Numerous, long, heart wrenching battles, all of which left memories as black as a moonless night, these days were some of the most turmoil ridden ones in this one’s life, and it was in these hours of darkness that a spark of brilliance came.”

“This one developed a new technique over the course of training Hóng Long. After months of intense study this one discovered that the vital points on the bodies of all living things can be struck, manipulated or shut off. This one learned how to do anything from knocking an enemy unconscious, to stopping their hearts. It is a powerful technique, one that can be used to fight dozens of enemies at a time. This one hasn’t had need to use this ability for several years, until the other evening.”

His eyes became cold, terribly cold, as he resumed speaking, “It is strange the providence that is found in a name, many of us long before discovering what our purpose is in this life need only look to their names to catch a glimmer of the future. Take you Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in Equestria, or you Applejack, making a living on a farm of apples. It saddens me to think of it but, before this one forsook it, this one was named Dim-Mak, the Death Touch.”

“Long discovered this technique by observing this one performing for the emperor. He wanted to learn it, to use it to sow discord and destruction amongst his enemies. He dogged me for months, and try as he I would not teach it to him. This one did not want his student to surpass him; this one did not want to be out done, for this one knew that as soon as Long got ahold of such a powerful ability, he would use it to take this one’s place.”

“The emperor however saw Long in a different light, to him the dragon was the most feared and respected soldier in the land, qualities he sought in his commanders. This one had maintained silence for as long as possible, but there is no resisting the emperor’s command. This one taught Long his technique, and he learned it quickly. Impatient, Long was unable to master it in the time before he struck. Long moved in and callously crippled or otherwise removed several military commanders, they were unable to best him in combat with the use of my technique, becoming de-facto leader of their troops. He used this to take many different villages and areas in the realm. Unlike this one, or any of the previous generals, he dispatched his goals with ruthless efficiency, carving a way from one end of the Dragon Lands to the other.”

A single tear rolled down Sensei’s cheek and his voice became shaky, “This one has never seen such wonton destruction, such needless violence. Villages burned, lives destroyed and the children…”

His voice trailed off as more tears welled up in the stallion’s eyes. Rainbow Dash, for the first time seeing her teacher get emotional, moved to his shoulder with Applejack following suit shortly afterwards. They comforted Sensei, while he quietly cried for several minutes. When the tears stopped, he resumed speaking, “This one saw what had been done and he complained to the emperor. The macabre sight that the Dragon Lands had become had all come at the hands of Hóng Long, and by extension, this one. The emperor merely looked at it as a successful military campaign. This one couldn’t accept it, and in the dark of the night, left the lands. This one had for his entire life believed in and trusted the emperor implicitly; this broke this one’s faith in him, and revealed him as what he truly was.”

“This one is sure that his services are sorely missed by the emperor, while Long is ruthless and efficient, this one was much more tactful and capable in actual conflict. This one does not miss that life though. This one forsook his name, and now this one refuses to acknowledge himself as anything but a tool to defend. This one vowed to never, ever use any technique but for the defense of others. That is this one’s story, this one is glad to have told somepony after all of these years.”

The stallion finished speaking, the barn grew eerily quiet. Applejack was the first to break the silence, “It don’t matter what you done all those years ago, you did me a huge favor the other day. You saved mah farm, you saved mah family’s livelihood, ah can never repay ya.”

Rainbow Dash continued a teary eyed smile coming to her face, “You have also taught us skills that we are going to use to right the wrongs that come our way, you have done a lot of good here, and we appreciate you so much.”

The three friends hugged and exited the barn, Granny Smith had a pie waiting for them inside.