Return of a Hero

Chapters

Begin Again
Meet the Ponies Part One
Meet the Ponies Part Two
Demons and Darkness
In it for the Long Haul

Begin Again

Chapter 1: Begin Again

"Kodai! Hurry, I cannot keep the gate open for much longer!"
Huh? Where am I? Oh yes. Locked in combat with my mortal enemy:

The Ninetails.

I look over to the Guardian. Behind him was a swirling vortex of light, and in front of him was a massive eight-headed dragon-serpent at least 20 times his size. The serpent breathed fire, wind and poison all at once. This was Orochi, Grand Master of all demons.
I feel a flat of a sword strike my side as I am flung backwards. The Kyuubi shoots me an irritated glare.

"Fight back," it growled, "I grow tired of this constant spacing out!" My eyes narrow as I dash at it at top speed and slam into its masked face with all my force in my elbow. I hear a sickening crack. Ninetails is flung back and lands on the dark ground, groaning in pain. My diamond-edged knife was already at its throat.

"Kodai! We need to go!" The Guardian's shouts were desperate. I wasted no more time. I lifted Ninetails off the ground and over my head, and tossed it at the Fire head of Orochi. The body of the Kyuubi hit its neck. The distraction served its purpose. The Fire head launched a volley of fireballs twice my size right in my direction, while I ran out of the way, ending up at the Guardian's side.

"Go," I yelled, "Worry not about me! I'll handle this one!"

"As well as you handled me 500,000 years ago," growled Orochi, "Face it, you sand mite. You were never powerful enough to keep up with me, and you never will be."

"Maybe not," I retorted, "But I cannot allow you to stop me, either." I gathered the six elements- Fire, Water, Earth Stone, Air and Ice- and pooled them in my palms. The energy was a blinding white light, as I hurled twin beams of power at Orochi. This stalled Orochi before.

I hope it will again.

The crystalline protodermis formed on its necks. But I could already see the cracks as it was attempting to break free. The Guardian was already through the portal. I felt the power from me being drained.

Oh, I do not think so. You cannot leave.

Not until I have taken all I can from you.

You will become part of the void.

You will join me...

I shall destroy you.

That voice. It was him, the Shikyo no Kuraikami. I can hear his deep, fear-instilling voice as my power is being drained. I jump through the portal and end up...

Where the hell am I?

Princess Celestia trotted throughout the halls of her castle. Normally she'd be hounded by ambassadors and listening to the incessant chattering of uptight nobles, but today was thankfully a day-off from all of that.

I wonder where Luna is... After her sister's return, Celestia had been intent on spending as much time with her as possible. But today, of course, on the one day the princess had off, she couldn't find her. Perhaps he sister was in the Palace Library, catching up on recent history. Celestia wandered the halls until she stopped at the closed entrance to the Library. She raised a brow as she opened the door.

She must not want any- her train of thought was immediately interrupted by a pale of water dumping its contents on her, followed by the pale landing on her head. She heard the loud, but pleasant, laughter erupting from her sister's mouth.

"Gotcha," Luna managed to say triumphantly in between fits of laughter. Celestia smiled smugly as she dried herself and gathered the moisture above Luna's head. It was Celestia's turn to chuckle as the water dumped itself on Luna's head, causing the grayish blue mare to be soaking. Her chuckling became more intense as Luna shook herself dry, he coat and mane all puffed up and frizzled. A pout appeared on the Lunar Princess' face as she straightened her mane and coat.

"Gotcha," the Sun Princess echoed as she nuzzled her sister, who was a bit peeved her practical joke backfired. Nevertheless, she returned the embrace, expression softened.

"I was wondering if we could spend some time together Luna," Celestia offered, "Like old times…" Luna smiled brightly and tackled her sun-controlling sister.

"Oh yes! Yes, yes YES!!" She got off of her and stared into the older mare's magenta eyes. "Where should we go first?"

"Why don't we go for a nice stroll? It's a start." But before she could say more, they saw a distant explosion of light in the sky as two silhouettes fell from it battling as the two seemed oblivious to the ground below.

"Or is that a better start," Luna asked smugly. Celestia could only stare at the distant spectacle.

By the Sun…

Kodai and Ninetails traded blows constantly, daggers clanging with swords, fire countering ice.

"Give up, Kyuubi! You can't defeat me outside of the Realm of Shadows!" The kitsune simply laughed a hollow laugh and swiped at the human with its claws.

"Give up? To a filthy human?! You must have snapped!" It prepared another slash before Kodai adjusted his weight so the kyuubi was below him. Shifting his center of gravity to his legs, he slammed into the fox's back, driving it further down, at a pace too quick for it to react properly.

"YOU'RE FINISHED NINETAILS!" His cry of victory reached the kyuubi's ears over the wind.

"I cannot die! Not again!" The explosion that followed was tremendous. Light and Darkness intertwined as the duo hit the ground, causing the Sun to fade away, replaced by a completely black sky. No stars or even a moon graced the heavens.

Ponies everywhere went into a deranged panic. Cities shut down, villages gathered supplies, and the twin princesses declared a state of emergency. Neither one could raise the Sun or the Moon. However, they still wanted to track down the person responsible for the unseen phenomenon on their own. Celestia and Luna soared across the skies, searching for some kind of conflict.

This is bad. If we don't figure out who's doing this and why, Equestria is finished.

"I'm getting to old for this crap," muttered Kodai crossly. He had lost track of the Ninetails hours ago. The sky overhead was black as Orochi's heart, starless and moonless. Kodai limped throughout the forest, scaring off any incoming creature in hopes of a meal with a mere glare. Anger was welling up inside of him. If he did not locate the Ninetails quickly, it would wreck the world and bring it back to the Dark Ages. The blackened heavens began to crackle and thunder. Kodai gazed heavenward and saw the sky was covered in reddish-black darkness.

No… it can't be…

Now it was really insane. In the two thousand years Celestia has been alive, she had never before seen this. She could sense the fear of her people as they all anticipated the apocalypse. In truth even she was frightened to her core, chilled at this sight of pure darkness and death.

Luna, however, openly showed signs of fear. She slowed down much, trying to comprehend what was going on, but was close to having a heart attack. She had felt fear like this 1000 years ago… she had felt this just before she became the wretched Mare in the Moon. But this time the whole world was in the shadowed haze.

"Celestia, hold on," she said almost inaudibly. The Sun Princess turned around and approached her sister.

"Is there something wrong, Lulu?" Luna shook he head and then hung it low.

"We have to stop. This is far beyond our ability. We are powerless, but we must wait…"

Celestia could not believe what her little sister had told her, but there was truth in her words. They both could sense the Elements of Harmony being used, but they were all wasting their time and energy. It couldn't be Nightmare Moon or Discord…

So who was it?

Kodai fell to his knees in terror. The only thing he feared… and it was here. He could feel his darkness… the Shikyo no Kuraikami. It meant "The Dark God of Death" in a different language. He was not speaking to the ancient human, but Kodai could sense he was goading him. The darkness overhead was just weak enough for him to dispel.
However it would mean…

He did not have a choice.

He gathered all six of his elemental powers and unleashed them into the heavens in a beam of light. This would take everything he had.

Celestia and Luna stared at the pillar of energy. Whatever it was, it was breaking apart the darkness. They glided towards it, hoping they'd reach the creature that was causing it. But they both felt like they should already know…

As Kodai unleashed all of his power at once, he could feel six spheres of power separate themselves from his body. It felt like his heart was being torn out. As he expelled the last of his power, he could feel the warming rays of sunlight and see the blue sky. The spheres were the elements that he controlled, and he lost them. Feeling faint, he dove into the nearest cave before anyone could find him. But as he rested, he could feel a pair of ominous eyes watching him. Kodai whirled around, only to find a strange colored creature looking at him angrily. It was huge, at least 60 feet in height and 38 feet in width.

"Shit…"

Twilight Sparkle could be having better, less exciting days. It was up until a few minutes ago that the sun had ceased to float in the sky, and Ponyville went into a state of chaos as bad as when Discord wrecked the place. No one knew if it was hours or days that passed, but all were equally thankful for the return of day. Pinkie Pie announced that a party would be thrown at Sweet Apple Acres (with the reluctant acceptance of Applejack) in celebration.

And the fact that one wasn't thrown for a whole month.

However, she decided to whole up in her library; she was sure there was an explanation for the phenomenon, and the unicorn was determined to figure it out.

Hopefully something that can be handled she thought. Twilight opened the door when a small green and purple form slammed into her.

"Spike," she said dizzily, "What's wrong?" The young dragon was still dazed, but he could still speak his point.

"Urgent…letter… princess," he managed to say. Twilight gasped lightly and quickly lifted and unraveled it with her telekinesis. She read the letter silently and slowly.

Dear my faithful student,

As I'm sure you're well aware, the sun had disappeared from the sky some time ago, only to return. I wanted to let you know I had no idea what was going or how it happened.
Neither did my sister. We are both fine, though.

However, I feel a certain… presence, if you will. One that is familiar and unfamiliar at the same time…

But I am rambling. I feel now is the proper time for you to be aware of something…

Discord was not the first to be. Many hundreds of thousands of years ago, there was a different race that inhabited this world. What I have sent along with this letter is the last record of this history. Share it with no pony, not even your friends.

Princess Celestia

Twilight stared at the words for a few minutes before galloping inside the tree house to find this record.

"Now where would Spike…" she saw a golden book lying on the stool, with a peculiar symbol etched upon it. She lifted it and set it on the floor and sat down, opening the cover. She began to read it, and she was shocked to read this.

Long ago, the world was very much different from what it is. It was prosperous, and the dominant creatures were known as humans. While humans possessed no magic or wings, they were intelligent beyond comparison, and were highly technologically advanced. For a time, they led the 'Age of Myths', the true golden age.

However, not all was peaceful. One day, a great and terrible demon descended upon the planet. It was a terrifying eight headed serpent of large proportions, powerful beyond belief. It wrecked the planet, ridding it of vegetation, and robbed it of weather, seasons and even the day-night cycle. And all humans perished.

Except for one.

The last human was skilled in many fighting arts, and was powered with six natural elements himself. He discovered six mighty artifacts, the Elements of Harmony. Using their power, he challenged the demon to a battle, the winner taking hold of the world. Though he put up a strong fight, the demon was far more powerful than him, and tossed him around like a rag doll. His power exhausted, he unleashed one final attack. Combining his power with the Elements, the human banished the demon from the planet. The world was in ruins, but he unleashed the last of his power and revitalized the world, bringing it back flora and fauna.

Records of what happened to him are lost to time. However, it is said only he could bring out the true power of the Elements of Harmony, and that one day he would return. For now, the Elements remain hidden, only to be summoned in the most desperate of times.

Twilight closed the book and trotted off to her balcony. She stared off dreamily into the sunset, wondering about what she just read. But why reveal this to her now? And why only her? The unicorn knew the twin rulers kept many secrets from their subjects. But the notion that there was a world more advanced than their world before Discord was an unheard of mention. But was it possible that the presence Celestia had felt was that of the Ancient Hero? And could be there was truth in this legend that the hero would return? There were so many questions that Twilight Sparkle knew would be unanswered for a long time.

It's probably best not to think about it. Right now, the unicorn mare had a party to attend.

"Argh! Why, you bleeding waste of energy!" Kodai never had this much trouble in battle, not before at least. Although granted, he did have his powers then. As of this moment, he had only two things: telekinetic control and a dagger. His opponent, an overgrown purple energy bear, was swiping at him with its claws. On one or two occasions the dagger collided with its palm, causing a bad gash and allowing blood to leak. The beast wailed as the third collision went in deeper. It backed off, pained. Kodai took the moment to activate a special lens in his right eye, which scanned the creature and its genetic structure. Since it was a new beast, it took some time.

"Recording to Logbook: Ursa Major. Data tracks indicate this creature is a fairly new evolution. The young are known as Ursa Minor, and are already of immense size. Ursa Majors are far larger and stronger. However they are quite slow, which can be used as an advantage. However, if upset, the only way to still an Ursa Major is to terminate it, as it is impossible to calm."

Great, he thought, I have to kill it. I'm normally against such things, but it may cause much more harm alive. The beast lunged at him with ferocious intensity and sent him flying out of the cavern. It lumbered out and followed. Kodai whistled shrilly into the air, as a call to any woodland creatures: Get out with your lives. As the cloaked human stood against the massive Ursa Major in a standoff, he muttered one thing:

"I have returned."

Fluttershy was getting her pet bunny Angel to bed when she heard the whistle. The rabbit seemed to recognize it and hopped into the heart of the town square. However, the yellow Pegasus, concerned about the shrill whistle, gathered all the courage she could muster and began tracking it down. She was afraid, but she flew above the trees of the Everfree Forest to lessen it. However, she saw something that she wished she did not. A massive beast, an Ursa Major, was clawing at something. And it looked very angry.

Oh no, if an Ursa Major gets mad, nothing can calm it down! She soared like a jet back to Ponyville to warn the villagers.

The town was again in an uproar. Animals were absolutely everywhere. Fluttershy tried her best to ignore this and scanned the streets for a friend. Twilight! She dove down and landed beside her friend. Twilight noticed this.

"Hey Fluttershy," she began, "why are all these animals in the town?"

"Well," started the Pegasus. She took a deep breath. "There was a whistle and Angel ran but I didn't go after his so I went after the source of the whistle and saw an angry Ursa Major heading this way!" Twilight could only comprehend three words: angry Ursa Major.

"Are you serious?! Oh no-no-no, WHAT SHOULD WE DOOO??!!" Twilight Sparkle was having a full-blown panic attack. Fluttershy looked away dejectedly. This was not good. Not at all.

Kodai jumped and flipped out of the way of the Ursa's claws several times. As soon as an opportunity presented itself, he ran up the arms of the giant bear and on to its head, sending it down with a burst of telekinesis. Its head smashed against the forest floor, the blood flowing from it wounds steadily increasing. The beast was beginning to realize it was in over its head. If the legends were correct… then it would die, then and there.

Noooo… must kill…

The town was almost completely evacuated. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were directing them to the train station, so they could head for Appleloosa. Twilight was trying as best she can to coordinate the process, but she was more afraid then anyone. Pinkie Pie and, Rarity along with some others were getting all the valuables, and Fluttershy was directing the animals out of the forest.

"Everything is almost done…" She heard a scream, and then heavy footsteps. Twilight Sparkle turned around to find a massive Ursa Major heading in her direction. She was about to run away, but upon closer examination, she saw the most unlikely of things. A brown-cloaked creature was battling with the Ursa. It was at least 6 feet tall, strong bodied, and incredibly swift and agile. But most shocking of all was that it was winning against the Ursa Major.

No not 'it'… he! Could he be the Hero? Could the prophecies be coming true?

"Twi!" yelled a voice. The pony known as Rainbow Dash landed in front of her, and she glared hurriedly into the unicorn's purple eyes. "Are you crazy! You are gonna get smushed! C'mon!" Twilight mumbled something and pointed at the Ursa Major. Rainbow cocked a brow and turned around, only to have her jaw fall further than her chin. She saw the brown cloaked being as well.

Kodai could feel the strength of the massive creature weakening. The bear was clawing at him in the air, but its agility was nothing in comparison with the smaller human. It swiped once… twice…

Now! Kodai landed on its arm and sped up it, charging up as much raw power as he could. Once he reached its shoulders, he leapt as high as he could into the air. The Ursa lifted its head and saw the human, but it was too late. As it had predicted, it was dead. A stream of power erupted from Kodai outstretched arm and collided with its head, as more raw energy engulfed its insides, as it was burned from the inside. Its arms went limp and fell to its sides. Using one last bit of power, he teleported the dead creature to a far-away place. The act done, it disappeared in a flash of light. The aura that developed around the hero Kodai faded, as he fell to the forest floor.
But then, as if a divine hand was holding him, he was engulfed by white energy. He could feel his bone structure being redefined, his muscles becoming broader, his body becoming smaller. He could feel wings grow on him and a small stump on his forehead. As he hit the ground, he could see a hoof instead of a hand.

Twilight Sparkle galloped as quickly as she could to match Rainbow Dash's flight speed. They both saw what had happened, like everyone. They saw him fall down unconscious and saw the white glow engulf him. But Twilight told Rainbow to follow her and for her friends and townsfolk to stay. Once they reached the clearing, they saw the brown-cloaked creature had changed. Instead, he was a maroon colored pony, larger and tougher looking than even Big Macintosh. His mane and tail were true black, and around each hoof was a stainless steel ring, with a blue gem embedded and centered in the ring. The pony also possessed wings, albeit strange ones. But it also had a horn, although it was broken off. But that made him an alicorn. Rainbow and Twilight looked at each other in astonishment for a moment. But they shrugged it off and once they got the maroon pony on their backs, they ran in sync to Ponyville. He needed immediate medical attention…

All Kodai could see around him was blackness. So was this death?

If it is, it's rather dull. He looked his body over. Still human.

"You are not dead, Kodai. I made sure of that." The hero turned around to find the Guardian standing tall behind him, staff in his right hand. His green eyes were glowing with relief.

"How," replied Kodai, "I fell 68 feet. I know I can't survive that." The Guardian chuckled.

"You alone cannot. But with my assistance, you survived… but when you wake, you will find things to be much different."

"Excuse me? Find what different?" Kodai was clearly suspicious.

"That is not pertinent right now," said the Guardian quickly, "What's important is that your world is inhabited by sentient ponies now. If you are wondering" Kodai cut him off.

"I know that already. I know who's responsible. Don't you recall who was left alive after I was captured?" The Guardian smirked in amusement.

"I do. But when you awaken… be patient."

Slowly, he could feel his eyes opening. His vision was growing less blurry as he blinked. After the tenth blink, his vision was clear. Kodai was looking up at a white ceiling. He lifted his arm, but at the end he found a hoof instead of a hand. Then he noticed his maroon fur.

So that is what he meant by different. I'm a pony now. He touched his forehead and felt a jagged stump. He had a broken horn. He felt wings on his back, and also found his bed was simply made from three smaller ones. He was a rather large horse. Kodai sat up. He was still somewhat sore, but it was nothing major. I suppose it could be worse.

"Oh good, you're awake!" The voice was feminine and soft. He looked to his right to find a mare much smaller than he smiling at him. She had a light pink mane, white fur, and pale blue eyes. She wore a stereotypical nurse's hat. Kodai smiled back, figuring the trouble this… hospital, he supposed, had gone for him.

"I guess I am, Miss..?"

"Redheart," she replied brightly. "Nurse Redheart." Kodai nodded.

"I am Kodai. No last name, just Kodai. Now, as per a typical question you'd get from a coma patient- how long was I out?" Nurse Redheart showed signs of sadness.

"You were out for 8 weeks." Kodai's eyes widened.

"2 whole months?! How extensive were my injuries?"

"Your bones in your front legs were fractured, and it seemed you had lost a lot of blood," she replied compassionately. "It was by luck alone you made it here." She brightened up again. "All that aside, we've never had an alicorn patient. Are you related to the Royal sisters?"

"I assume they are alicorns as well?" Nurse Redheart nodded. "No, I'm not. I didn't know they existed until you told me. I'm from… someplace else." She nodded.

"Well, your vitals are checked out, your wounds healed a month ago… but you need to stay here for some time." Although he clearly wanted out, it was best to listen to the nurse.

"I won't argue. But can I leave when I desire?"

"I wouldn't recommend you to leave now, but we can't stop you." He nodded and laid his head down on a rather plush pillow.

"Then I'll remain here." Nurse Redheart nodded and gave him one more smile before she trotted out of the room.

"I heard you were out for some time. Are you better?" He turned his head to the side to see a grey furred mare with a light yellow mane smiling at him. She was also the same size as Nurse Redheart. Her eyes went in two different directions though. But Kodai has seen far, far stranger.

"I suppose I am. I'm Kodai, as you may have overheard," he said. The grey mare's eyes focused briefly for a moment before returning to their original state.

"Name's Derpy Hooves, Kodai."

"Well, Derpy Hooves, it's nice to meet you. I don't know anyone else in…"

"Ponyville. You are in Ponyville." Kodai chuckled.

"Ponyville, how original," he said. Derpy Hooves giggled.

"I know. I ask the mayor why it was named that all the time. Not even she knows." They could hear Nurse Redheart enter the room.

"Ms. Doo, you can go now. You only needed to be here for a day." Derpy Hooves leapt out of bed and stretched her wings. Kodai noticed a picture of bubbles on the side of her flank. And despite her eyesight, she walked perfectly. He made a decision then and there: time to leave. He got out of his makeshift large bed and said.

"I will reconsider. I'll leave as well." Nurse Redheart looked surprised, but she nodded.

"Then let me show you to your things."

Once the two left the hospital, Kodai was back to having his cloak and steel bands, plus the barely visible lens. His jet black mane blew in the wind. Derpy Hooves was beside him.

"So why did you leave," she asked with a smirk. Kodai remained calm.

"I felt clustered. Besides, I want to get to know this place." Derpy's expression brightened and her eyes were again focused.

"I'm the town's mailmare! How about you travel along my route with me? I can introduce you to everypony!" Kodai smiled brightly.

"That would be nice. Thank you, Derpy." Ditzy blushed briefly and said

"My pleasure." They both took to the skies in sync, Kodai lagging slightly.

"Where to first?" Derpy Hooves checked her mailbag.

"Sweet Apple Acres is first. You'll like them. Most down to Equestria ponies you'll ever meet."

"First, can we get some sort of hat? I don't need anyone else to be alerted to my… rare status." She smiled.

"Sure. We can get the delivery for Carousel Boutique done first. Then we can start on the regular route."

"A boutique?"

"Yeah. The owner can make you anything! She made me this mailbag." Kodai nodded.

"Okay then. Let's go!" They changed directions and soared towards the southeast. Kodai felt content. Being a pony is not bad at all…

Meet the Ponies Part One

Chapter 2- Meet the Ponies Part One

Derpy Hooves and Kodai were still in the clear blue skies above Ponyville. Originally, the pair was in a rush. But the grey mare, who normally kept close tabs on her shifts, remembered her route time begins 30 minutes ahead. Kodai had amusedly halted in mid-air, his eyes smaller than needle points. Ditzy giggled and apologized. They flew in relative silence then, until Kodai brought up something that had been eating at him.

“When was this village founded?” Derpy stopped in mid-flight. The Pegasus pony whirled around with a look of puzzlement.

“What do you mean by that?” Kodai’s eyes lowered into a bored position.

“I mean, when was the village made?” She rubbed her chin quizzically.

“I don’t know. I don’t think there is anyone living who remembers that. You could ask Granny Smith when we get to Sweet Apple Acres.”

“Who?” She waved a hoof.

“Meh, don’t worry about that right now. You’ll see.” He was not entirely satisfied with her answer. But still…

I remember this place… why do I remember this landscape?

The grey mare quickly descended to the ground below, and Kodai followed downward. The mailmare landed lightly, but seemed to wobble slightly, her amber eyes rolling. Kodai landed with a powerful slam, still getting used to the flight mechanics. It resounded throughout Ponyville, causing the denizens to look around. Derpy shrugged to herself. She began to walk towards the door and knock, but a new mare opened it. She was a unicorn, whose coat was pure white. Her eyes were lined with light blue eye shadow, while her irises were azure. Her mane was purple, and well styled with royal curls. Without a doubt she was beautiful, Kodai would give her that.

She takes great pride in her appearance, he guessed correctly.

“Derpy!” She exclaimed. Her voice sounded like that of a high-class civilian woman from Kodai’s time. “I believe you are here to deliver my fabrics?”

“Indeed I am.” The grey mare picked her way through the mailbag and pulled out a medium sized box. Kodai looked at her quizzically. The unicorn’s horn glowed blue, and the package gained a blue aura.

“Oh, marvelous! These fabrics are so hard to come by! As soon as I heard they had a stock in Bermane, I just had to purchase. These top-quality materials would surely do my dresses justice!” Derpy Hooves nodded.

“I brought a friend with me.” She stepped out of the way as Kodai walked up to her.

“Call me Kodai, Miss...?”

“Miss Rarity, darling.” She looked at him flirtatiously quickly. “And my, I had no idea Derpy had such handsome friends.” Kodai blushed very slightly. “Where did you two meet?”

“At the hospital,” said Derpy, “He had recently woken from a coma.” Rarity looked back at him in surprise.

“So you must be the pony who saved the town? I hope you’re all right.” She gasped quickly and but a hoof over her mouth. “Darling, whatever happened to your horn?!” Kodai gave a sidelong glance.

“I… lost it in the fight. Snapped clean off,” he lied.

“Oh my. But… with the horn and the wings… Are you related to the princesses?” He breathed deeply. Time to fabricate a story.

“No, Rarity. I hail from a land far from here. Because of my status, I was wondering… Derpy said you made her mailbag. I was wondering, if you also make dresses like you said, do you think you could create a hat for me? I’d rather have my status be kept… low key.” Rarity brightened.

“Oh, of course darling! As a matter of fact, your current wardrobe needs some work. I’d be happy to help you, absolutely free of charge. Consider it my thanks for rescuing the village.” Kodai smiled in gratitude.

“Derpy, you need to be on your way. I’ll catch up.”

“Okay. But how will you?”

“Do not fret. I shall.” Derpy Hooves winked at them.

“Play nice, you two.” She took off. The duo stared after her. Rarity began to walk back inside the boutique.

“Come inside, Kodai.” The new stallion nodded and followed. He entered the boutique to find several fabrics lying on tables, and mannequins of ponies adorned with dress designs. In the middle of the floor sat a young unicorn filly, with a white coat, a two toned mane and olive green irises. She looked up at the newcomer, puzzled.

“Sweetie Belle, this is Kodai. He’s new here in Ponyville. Kodai, my little sister, Sweetie Belle.” Sweetie Belle looked up at him. He looked down, smiling warmly.

“Hello.” The filly stared at him for a moment or two, then smiled gleefully.

“I should introduce you to my friends! Maybe we could be travel guides. That could be our talent!” She bolted out the door at mind-boggling speed. “Bye Kodai! Bye sis!” He stared after her, completely dumbfounded.

“By Amaterasu,” he said lowly, completely inaudible. Rarity laughed lightly. “You’re sister has some energy.”

“Sometimes, it is difficult to keep up with her,” said Rarity while rummaging through a closet, “If I leave her in the design room for even a minute, all my precious fabrics are strewn about the boutique. She means well, though.”

“I’m sure,” replied the stallion, eyeing the boutique carefully, taking note of all entry points. It was a course of habit. Rarity continued to bore through her supplies, until

“Splendid! I have it!” She turned around with a black hat of moderate size floating in front of her. “This is a fedora I made some time ago.” She used her telekinesis to place it on his head, over his broken horn. “Darling, you look so wonderful! It goes perfectly with your coat and mane! Let me add you look quite… studly with it.” There was peculiar emphasis on that last sentence. Ignoring it, he looked at the fedora strangely.

“Do you have something less… haute corture?” Rarity seemed to brighten up even more; surprised he knew his fashion terms.

“It’s either this, or a top hat.” Kodai quickly placed the hat back on his horn.

“This.” Rarity smiled in satisfaction.

“Now, let’s get this ragged, dusty old cloak off you. I’m sure I can do something about this.” Once she lifted it, the unicorn noticed his cutie mark on his flank. It was an infinity mark, surrounded by six stars, a sun in one loop and a crescent moon in the other. But instead of having color, it was a lifeless gray. “You have quite the odd cutie mark, darling. What does it represent?” Kodai shook his head.

“I don’t know. I have… never known,” he lied again.

The Guardian should know.

“Interesting. As you can see, my three diamonds represent my sense of fashion and the ability to locate any type of gem.” Kodai smirked.

In my day, you would have been enslaved for the former. Gems were worth a quite a bit. Rarity noticed his silence.

“Is their something wrong, Kodai?” The maroon alicorn shook his head. “Mm. Anyway, you should be fine with the fedora. Your cloak may take some time to spruce up, and you mustn’t keep Derpy waiting. Come around in, say, an hour?” Kodai smiled.

“Are you positive you don’t want anything in return?” Rarity waved a hoof at him.

‘The thought is preposterous! Why, I should owe you more. You saved everyone in Ponyville.” Kodai smiled

“Thank you so much, Miss Rarity. I really must be off.” He opened the door and was halfway through. “Thanks again for the hat. I’ll see you soon.” The “pegasus” took off.

“Don’t be a stranger,” she called after him.

Kodai took little time to track down Derpy. His lens had more than one use. It was a tracker, a hacking device, and a recorder all in one.

He scanned the land below. It was acres upon acres of apple trees. Even in his lifetime, no apple farm contained so many trees maintained by one family. I think… He spotted Derpy and an orange pony exchanging a few friendly words. He smiled; pleased he found his friend and that his lens was still in tip top shape. Besides, I doubt these ponies would have technology advanced enough to repair it if need be. He hovered above them for a moment before calling out.

“Derpy!” The duo looked up. Derpy and the orange pony smiled. Figuring he must have been mentioned already, he descended downwards, holding his fedora over his broken horn. Once he was on the ground (with a slightly softer thud), he got a better look at the farmer. She was orange… earth pony, he decided. She had a far more simple appearance then the Rarity, much more robust. Her irises were green, and she had white freckles on each side of her face. He mane and tail were yellow and tied by a red band. Lastly, she wore what seemed to be a cowboy hat from the olden time. She was attractive nonetheless. It feels odd thinking this about a horse, when I’m truly a human, he realized. When the pony spoke, she possessed a deep southern accent.

“You mus’ be that new pony Ditzy was telling me ‘bout!” She held out a friendly hoof. The disguised maroon alicorn extended his own but once he reached the orange pony’s hoof, she shook it rather vigorously. “Mah name’s Applejack, but mah friends call me AJ!”

“Kodai,” he said in a low but surprised voice. He managed to break off the hoof-shake as politely as he could. I’m going to be feeling that in the morning, he thought, noticing a slight soreness in his lower right foreleg.

“Well I’m pleased to meet y’all. On behalf of the Apple family, welcome to Ponyville!” He nodded once.

“Thank you. If I may inquire, who owns this farm? Its quite well maintained.” Applejack turned to look over the vast plains of apple trees.

“The deed is owned by mah granny, but me and mah brother harvest these trees.”

“You have a brother?” The farmer pony turned back to him and nodded.

“Yeah, and a little sister. Mah brother, Big Macintosh, is around the farm, and my little sister, Apple Bloom, is out with some friends. Now if I can ask, where did y’all get that fancy hat of yers’?”

“I met up with another pony, a white unicorn named Rarity,” he responded calmly. Applejack cocked a brow but smiled.

“Rarity? Figures, I guess she would give you somethin’ flashy.” When Applejack saw Kodai’s questioning stare, she immediately understood. “I know Rare’ because she’s a close friend of mine. Generous to a fault.”

“True. She’d given me this fedora free of charge, and the cloak that I had she offered to repair it.” Applejack winked at him quickly.

“Well, you two must be busy. I don’t want to hold up y’all.” Derpy Hooves, who had remained quiet throughout the exchange, nodded, her irises rolling in two different directions.

“Yeah, I need to be on my way. Kodai, there is still so much more to see!” The grey pegasus checked her mailbag, scanning for the letter that would take her back on her route. “The next stop is Sugarcube Corner.” Her expression brimmed with new excitement. “Great, I can get my daily muffin snack while I’m there!” Kodai cocked brow but waved off his confusion. Applejack chuckled lightly.

“Sugarcube Corner? You’ll be meetin’ with another one of mah friends. ‘Er name’s Pinkie Pie.” Derpy was already on her way in anticipation of her snack as Kodai turned to follow, but paused for a brief moment.

“How will I know who she is?” The farmer pony winked once more at the stallion.

“Trust me, you’ll know.” Kodai took her word reluctantly and soared off in order to reach his guide.

Kodai was in the sky with his guide as they began to lower to the ground and this time, he landed gently. He was still getting the hang of flying and landing. What he saw in front of him was a toddler’s paradise: the bakery actually seemed as if it were constructed of confectionary treats. He was slightly apprehensive to enter the bakery. But because Derpy was his guide, he had little choice but to follow her in. Inside was rather impressive- it was brightly painted in the colors of different candies and other goods. It was extremely festive and cheerful. The “pegasus” stallion stood behind the mail-mare as she rung the bell on the counter. Kodai heard bouncing coming from the other side, presumably where the kitchen was. Out from the door hopped a bright pink and pink-maned earth mare, with an audible sproing. Her mane was frizzy and poofy, and she looked cheerful and carefree. She stopped moving forward at the counter and turned to face the duo.

“Welcome to Sugarcube Corner! How may I-“ She suddenly stopped short and her mouth hung open as she stared at the maroon stallion. Kodai cocked a brow as the mailmare stood there nonchalantly, daydreaming. She gasped and jumped in front of and around Kodai. What ensued for the next ten seconds confused the pony to his core.

“Omigosh I’ve never seen you before which means you must be new here because I know all the ponies in Ponyville and I mean all the ponies here are you two friends how long did you two know each other where did you get that cool hat and you know what we should throw a huge party for you!” When the pink pony stopped, Kodai’s cobalt eyes rolled around in his head, much like Derpy’s. When he focused again, he regarded her with some apprehension.

“You must be Pinkie Pie, I take it.” Her eyes became as wide as saucers as she gaped at the maroon ‘pegasus’.

“Are you psychic or something?” Before she could go off again, Kodai replied to her.

“No I am not. A farmer mare named Applejack told me who you were. She said you worked here, and that you are a close friend. And as for the other question about the hat- I received it from a pony named Rarity.” Pinkie Pie grinned when he mentioned their names.

“You know Rarity and Applejack! Wow, you get around. Rarity’s really giving and AJ can spot a lie a mile away!”

“Only because I have a good guide, right Derpy? Uh, Derpy?” The grey mare was totally lost in thought. Kodai looked to Pinkie Pie for assistance. The pink mare shrugged and laughed a little.

“It’s just Derpy being derpy, that’s all! Actually, she always comes at this hour for her mid-afternoon snack!” Pinkie went behind the counter and got a tray of warm blueberry muffins. The scent reached the mail-mare’s nose as she was broken from her trance.

“Muffins,” she squealed excitedly. Kodai lowered the fedora over his eyes in embarrassment as Derpy happily scarfed a few down. “Can I get these in a bag,” she asked as she handed a few golden coins to her. Kodai could see them clearly.

What in Amaterasu’s name is with these ponies?! They are tossing around gold and jewels as if they were nothing! By the Gods, what happened while I was gone?

Later, the duo was strolling through the town square as Derpy Hooves happily munched on her snack of muffins. She had offered her friend one as well, but he turned down the offer, not feeling very hungry, even though he had not eaten in weeks. Well, millennia, he corrected himself. As they walked, Kodai noticed the mares give him flirtatious and sometimes even sultry looks. The maroon stallion was confused as to why so many were doing that. Surely there were more stallions around?!

“Derpy,” he began in a hushed tone, “Why are they all”

“Staring at you? It’s not like I can’t see with these eyes.” Kodai nodded inscrutably. “Well, if you want my honest opinion- we don’t have that many stallions around Ponyville. There are a very high number of mares. The stallions that we do have are somewhat scrawny to say the least, except for Big Macintosh, Applejack’s brother. Then you arrived. You’re larger and stronger then him, not mention more… attractive. You are the desirable stallion in Ponyville as of now.” She paused her speaking for a moment to let that sink in. Kodai questioned her mindset- her little swings first. Then he questioned the legitimacy of her statement, and it was probably true. For the first time he felt something he had never felt in his entire life, and probably never will again.

He was feeling exposed. Though he hid it well, this was not a good situation, not to him at least.

“By the way, it’s not helping that they are able to stare at your plot as you walk.” He froze for a second before following her. There were at least a hundred curses going through his head.

This town is crazy.

Meet the Ponies Part Two

Chapter 2- Meet the Ponies Part 2

Derpy happily scarfed down her last muffin. She did not know why she loved them so much. They were sweet, soft, buttery… she wished she had ordered more.

“Kodai, you should’ve asked for one,” she chided. However, once the grey mare turned around, she saw the brave pony with his head kept low, his cheeks flushed. He didn’t react to the news very well. Derpy approached him and put a hoof on his shoulder. “Hey, don’t worry about it. You should consider it a blessing! That way, less ponies would be wary of you.” The maroon “pegasus” actually didn’t consider this. He had been so used to acts of heroism or just hiding in the shadows. But he needed this population of ponies to trust him, otherwise he feared for the safety of them all once the Ninetails recuperated.

If that means I’ll need to use this methodology, I guess it is good enough. Willing himself to stand tall, he sped up his pace to catch up with her, when a loud voice called

“Look out below!” Something cyan and rainbow slammed right into his back, sending him hurtling several feet. When the stallion broke out of his daze, he lifted himself off the ground, checked his hat and started searching for whatever creature slammed him in the back. What he found was a cyan-furred and rainbow-maned pegasus mare, who was already back up. “Urgh, my head,” she groaned. She whirled around to face Kodai, and he found her irises to be colored cerise. “I’m sorry for hitting you like that,” she began to explain, “it’s just that I’m looking for” she stopped dead mid-sentence. Her eyes trained up and down his body, then his wings. She sputtered, realizing how blind she must have been. “I’ve been looking for you.” Kodai eyed for Derpy carefully, who had left with her confections.

“Me,” he replied, wearily. Rainbow pulled out a rolled up, slightly crumpled paper from her mane and held it to him. The 'pegasus' took it from her, and swiftly unraveled it with his hooves. It was his hospital release form, carrying his description and name. Okay, so she was looking for me… “But why,” he asked.

“I was part of the pair who saved you,” she replied, “When I heard that somepony recently checked out of the hospital, I had this nagging in my head that told me it was you. And after you saved the entire town from an over-sized bear, I wanted to meet that pony.”

“And here we are,” he finished. A silence passed between them for a moment. “So, I never told you my name formally. I am Kodai.” The pegasus perked up.

“I'm Rainbow Dash. You must've heard of me by now.” The Hero cocked a brow.

“Should I have,” he asked. Rainbow Dash smiled. She flapped her feathered wings and flew around Kodai at a speed great enough to surpass the technology of his day. When she stopped in front of him, her arrogant smirk would have put the Ninetails’ to shame. “I’m only the fastest pegasus in Ponyville, if not Equestria,” she claimed proudly. “And future captain of the Wonderbolts!” Kodai looked at her, dumbstruck.

“And who are the Wonderbolts?” It seemed like an innocent question. Innocent until Rainbow’s jaw fell instantly.

Another egghead? I sure hope not…

“You’ve never heard of the Wonderbolts,” she burst out, “They’re only the most famous fliers in all of Equestria! Everyone who gets out once in a while knows who they are.” Kodai’s eyelids lowered, not amused.

“I’ve never heard of them because rumors of them never existed. I live outside of Equestria, miles away. Miles and miles…” His eyes wandered toward the east. My demon sense is tingling… and I never thought I’d think up that phrase. Rainbow Dash simply looked at him strangely, who was off in his own little world by this point.

“Um, hello,” she said calmly. The stallion shook his head quickly and smiled in embarrassment.

“I’m sorry. Got lost in my thoughts,” he said quickly. Rainbow rolled her eyes.

“I can tell,” she said under her breath. “By the way, what’s with the hat?” Kodai’s eyes turned upwards, as if looking at the hat.

“Oh, this? It was a gift from a white unicorn, a mare named Rarity.” Rainbow Dash's eyes widened ever so slightly at her name.

“Rarity? Oh she’s a friend of mine, but we aren’t all that close. Different interests, y’know?”

Yeah, I’ll bet, he thought. Suddenly, Rainbow had suspicious look on her face, as if remembering something important.

“Ah, yeah, that’s what I was forgetting! Where’s your horn? You had a broken horn! It even says so in the report!” Kodai made a move and put a hoof over her mouth.

“Be careful what you say out loud,” he whispered harshly, “From what I can gather, ponies with wings and a horn are extremely rare, as a matter of fact there should only be two of them as far as I know! As long as I do not let the world know, I can avoid publicity! Don’t tell another soul, outside of Rarity and Derpy!” He took his hoof off of her mouth.

“But why them?”

“Derpy I met in the hospital, and remember it was Rarity who gave me the hat in the first place.” Rainbow nodded once.

“Okay. Nopony else. Got it.” Kodai nodded back.

“Thank you Rainbow Dash. Now I need to be on my way, my tour with Derpy is not over yet.” He was on his way, when Rainbow spoke once more.

“Maybe another day we can hang together,” she said. Kodai turned around to look at her with a soft smile.

“That would be nice. Until next time, Rainbow!” He spread his wings and flew off, tracking down Derpy once more. While in flight, he was feeling uncomfortable. Something is amiss here. It can’t be pure coincidence I’m making friends with ponies who all know and are friends with one another, and I’m sure those four all know one another. Someone is manipulating fate, or another force is at work... but how is all of it connected? His thoughts were interrupted when he spotted Derpy by a house with a yellow furred and pink maned pony. He waved, called out her name, and landed beside them, coming to a soft landing. The yellow pony immediately shied away, hiding her face slightly behind her pink mane. Derpy looked at him in what appeared to be concern.

“I guess you’ll have to introduce yourself…” she said quietly. Kodai took a few steps forward. The yellow pony did not move, but lowered her head, as if she were afraid.

“Sorry, little one…,” he spoke softly, soothingly. This was a situation not unfamiliar to him. “I did not mean to scare you. Please, tell me, what is your name?” The pony muttered something, inaudible to all.

All, except for him.

“Fluttershy? That's a nice name.” The yellow pony, named Fluttershy, looked up at him, her cyan eyes staring right into his cobalt ones. Never, not once in her life, did anyone catch her name the first time she told them. Derpy looked shocked, her eyes totally focused.

Oh my Celestia… she thought. Fluttershy, almost compulsively, gripped him in a hug. Kodai was surprised, but he did not mind. Fluttershy immediately let go, startled by her own act.

“Oh I’m sorry, I just don’t know what came over me… I just, well… you’re the first pony who has ever heard me. Your hearing must be really good… if you don’t mind me saying.” He voice was soft and sweet, and was pleasant to listen to.

“It was not a problem, not at all,” he said, “It’s not your fault. Perhaps some just don’t take the time to really listen. I’d probably do the same if the positions were reversed.” Now that she had her head raised and he could see her whole face, she was absolutely, positively, the most adorable thing he’d ever seen. If cuteness could be used as a weapon, she would most definitely be the strongest one. “Tell me Fluttershy… what is it that keeps you busy on the outskirts of town?” Fluttershy raised her foreleg and had a blue bird land on her arm.

“I just take care of the animals outside of the forest. The poor little things need somepony; it's just so dangerous in there.” The stallion winced. The animals… could not take care of themselves? His power was not enough then!

Orochi… the bastard demon, he took away everything!! “Tell me,” he started, “about the forest.” It was Fluttershy’s turn for wide eyes.

“Oh my… well, it just isn’t natural. You see, all of Equestria is taken care of by ponies. The weather, animals, plants; all of it is finely regulated.”

"The weather is taken care of by the pegasi, the plants and animals normally taken care of by the earth ponies, and the government ran by unicorns,” added Derpy, who had remained silent.

“All of that is true. But in the Everfree forest, all of the plants and animals take care of themselves, and weather moves on its own. It was then some of the other ponies realized nature could take care of itself, but”

“But you did not want to lose all of this.” Kodai trotted past her. “I can’t blame you. Without these regulations, per se, a large amount of the population loses a job. And then the purpose of their life is gone as well, grim as it sounds. Your kingdom is stable, why bring such a change?” But in his heart, he knew why. Orochi obliterated nature. Even if they tried, it would not work. Nature would stop dead at the edge of the forest. That’s why someone has to take care of the plants, the animals, even the weather. Then the day and night cycle, which Orochi took as well… hold it! “Fluttershy,” he began turning back to her, “this may sound like a very stupid question, but who controls the day and night?” Fluttershy looked surprised.

“Oh, I um, though everypony knew, even the ones outside of the kingdom, like griffins or zebras… but I guess that’s okay. It’s controlled by the two ruling sisters. Princess Celestia controls the day, Princess Luna controls the night.” Kodai relaxed.

“What are they like?” Fluttershy blushed; no one has really asked that question.

“Princess Celestia is bright and warm as the sun itself. She is the negotiator, the peace maker between us all. She never raises her voice, and is very subtle and persuasive. Princess Luna is very different. She is very direct, and is more mysterious than the moon. She is not too keen on planting ideas with words, and says outright what is needed. But the dynamic creates a harmony like no other, one that has been effective for centuries. They are the wisest, strongest, and I guess prettiest ponies in the world.” Kodai nodded.

So they’ve been alive for hundreds of years. But they are only ageless, not immortal. If they were gods, I would sense it. There have only been sixteen divines, and it is likely all of them are dead. At least I know fifteen are…

“Um, Kodai... are you alright?” The maroon pony gave her a blank stare before responding.

“I, erm, I’m fine. I’m just fine.” The hell I’m not. He felt something small poke at his back leg. He looked behind him, then down. He saw a small rabbit, which looked apprehensive about his presence. Fluttershy quickly went around and got it on her back

“Oh. I’m sorry. It’s just my pet bunny, Angel.” Kodai’s expression softened. If there was one thing he liked more than anything, it was wildlife. And it was good to, for it was a reminder of his past… his home. “Would you like to pet him? I mean, if that’s okay with you…”

“Just set him down,” he replied, and Fluttershy lowered to the ground to make it easier for Angel to hop off her back. The stallion lowered his head to get a better look at the rabbit. Strangely, they locked eyes for a long moment. Angel slowly had and expression of pure disbelief. What is going on in his head? Then, the unthinkable happened twice today-

Angel whistled.

He whistled loudly, calling any animal that could hear- mammal, reptile, bird, amphibian, fish- then creatures that defied classification- creatures of myth- a cockatrice, a manticore, and others. When it all subsided, they all focused their eyes on the stallion. Kodai met their gazes with a fearless one. Fluttershy and Derpy Hooves just looked at the massive myriad of creatures, completely shocked, which was an understatement.

Surely somepony’s attention will be caught by this, thought Derpy. Then, slowly, rows upon rows of animals bowed their heads. They knew who it was. They knew what this stallion was, and what it meant for the world.

The Hero of Myths has finally come home.

At last, they all returned into the forest, except the ones already by Fluttershy’s gardens. Angel leapt on her back, as if nothing happened. Derpy just sat there for moment before shaking her head.

“I think I need to turn in. I need to pick up my daughter.” Kodai looked at her and trotted up to her with a smile, wrapping one foreleg around her neck in a grateful hug, which she returned. After a moment, they broke the hug.

“Thank you, Derpy. For everything.” Derpy smiled.

“You’re welcome. Maybe another day we can talk, preferably without all the animals.” The maroon ‘pegasus’ laughed in response.

“Yeah, hopefully,” he replied. Derpy lifted off and flew, surprisingly straight, for the other edge of town. Kodai watched her leave, and then turned back to Fluttershy. “I think I have to consult a book about what just happened.” Fluttershy beamed at his words.

“Oh, there’s a library near here. Just look for a big tree with windows, you can’t miss it.” Kodai nodded.

“Thanks, Fluttershy. I'll see you later.” Before he could fly, the yellow pegasus caught him with a question.

“Where did you get that fedora? If you don’t mind me asking…” Kodai rolled his eyes, back turned towards her.

I’ll never escape that question…

Later, the maroon pony scanned the area for this Tree Library, all the while in thought. I think I’m getting a good idea of who's doing this… the Guardian has many questions to answer. Once he found his destination, he made dive for the area around it. He landed, thankfully, right in front of the door. He walked up, opened the door, and heard a bell ring. There was a lavender unicorn mare, reading a large book. She had a deep purple mane and tail with a stripe of pink running down each of them, and her eyes were violet. Once she heard the bell ring, she looked to him initially with confusion, but then her expression changed into one with a smile.

“Oh, hi! You must be that pony Pinkie was talking about. Well, allow me to welcome you to Ponyville.” She got up and closed her book, memorizing the page number, and then trotted up to meet him. Kodai decided not ask about Pinkie, already foreseeing how that conversation would end.

“Yes, thank you. What’s your name?”

“Twilight Sparkle,” she answered, “And yours?”

“Kodai.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Twilight had this nagging in her head. Something about him is familiar… Doing her best to shrug it off (and ignoring the hat), she looked behind her, then back at him. “I assume you came here looking for a book?” Kodai nodded once.

“Two actually- one on Animal psychology and another on legends,” he informed her. Twilight nodded, then turned towards a set of stairs leading down.

“Spike,” she called, “I need your help!” A younger voice replied.

“Comin’ Twilight! Just gimme a second!” The one who the voiced belonged to was the third surprise today- a dragon, presumably a hatchling, had come up the stairs. He had green spines running down his back and tail, a green belly, and the rest of his scales were purple. His eyes were green and snake-like. He ran up to join a place beside Twilight. “So you’re the guy Pinkie was talking about! Nice to meet ya! My name is Spike.” Kodai responded with his own name once more. Twilight wasted no more time, and got right down to business.

“Spike, find me all the books you can on Animal Psychology. I’ll look for legends and myths!” With that, the two got to work. Spike used a ladder to search two separate sides of the library, while Twilight looked picked out books with her levitation magic. Kodai noticed the horn and object glow magenta. Within ten minutes, the duo each gathered a pile of books. Twilight used her magic to set one down on the table, while simply used what the maroon stallion assumed to be a massive amount of strength to set down the other pile.

“There. Feel free to check them all out if you want.” Kodai was stunned at the number of books present before him. In less than ten minutes, she gathered piles of books bigger than the library he had as a child.

“I… um… well, I’ll look through them all.” Twilight smiled.

“Don’t worry, take your time.”

A few hours later, Kodai has scanned through the entirety of both piles. The animals’ strange behavior was caused by evolution it seems- they all shared a common tongue, thus explaining the incident at Fluttershy’s cottage. But as for the legends… he found nothing. Nothing there explained why they did what they did. The legends did not date back far enough, it seems.

“Twilight Sparkle,” he spoke. The lavender mare was right at his side.

“Yes, Kodai? Is there something wrong?” He turned his head sideways.

“Nothing wrong,” he replied, “It’s simply that these mythology texts do not date back far enough. I’m looking for something far older…” Twilight blushed. She had one… but the princess told her not to share it with anyone.

“I-I only have those few,” she stammered, “I’m sorry.” The stallion raised his brow. Something was wrong.

“Twilight,” he said, getting up from his place at the table, “Are you alright?” Twilight smiled and nodded. A moment of silence passed where Kodai read her expression, searching for some kind of giveaway. But he found none. “Okay then. I really must be off, there's something I need to get.” He began his trot towards the doorway, when something clicked in Twilight’s mind. The stallion… maroon… Ursa Major… cloaked creature… the hospital…

That’s it! “Kodai, wait a second,” she practically yelled. Twilight levitated towards her the golden book with the strange symbol on it. But the symbol was not unfamiliar to the hero. In fact, it was easily recognizable. It was the kanji for god- 天.

Why would they imprint that symbol? Twilight practically shoved the book in his face.

“Please, you must read this!” The stallion did as he was told. He took the book under his foreleg, and sat down at the table. Slowly, he opened its golden cover.

And it was what he was looking for. There it was. A recount of the entire ordeal- and specifically, the Battle with Orochi, but it did not mention the demon by name. Twilight looked on.

“I saw you fight with the Ursa, and your fall. I admitted you to the hospital! You had a broken horn.” Kodai sighed. He whipped his head, causing the hat to fly off of him, revealing said horn. “Now, tell me that isn’t you!” A long silence fell in between them. When he broke it, his answer was earth-shattering no matter what.

“No.” Twilight stumbled in shock.

“B-but I thought,” she sputtered.

“But nothing,” Kodai snapped, “That hero died a long time ago! How can I be one if all my people died! I don’t deserve this! And now look at me! I’m the laughing stock of my enemies! I was never a hero, and I never will be!” There was a flash of light, and all of a sudden, the five other ponies that Kodai met were in the room, along with two newcomers- a dark blue furred and a pure white furred alicorn. The white one was dressed in gold regalia, and her mane and tail was literally flowing like a wave of pastels, along with magenta irises. She was tall, taller than he was. The other had black regalia with crystal blue horseshoes, and her mane was flowing like the former, but it sparkled like the night sky. These must be the twin princesses Fluttershy was speaking about… I must admit, they are far more impressive in person. He looked around the room. Everyone had an expression of absolute surprise. Then, the two princesses approached him, hoof steps in sync. When they were directly in front of him, they bowed their heads in respect.

“It’s an honor to finally meet you,” spoke the white alicorn, presumably Celestia. The other, Luna said nothing, she simply looked in his eyes, searching for something. They locked gazes for a time while the rest of the group spoke.

“Princess,” began Twilight, “How did- I mean how did you know?” Celestia simply smiled warmly at her.

“Simply put, Twilight, I didn’t. I warded the book with a spell that would notify me when you shared the book with somepony. All I had to do was hope that you presented to the right stallion. In this case, him.” She flicked her eyes toward the Hero.

“Hold up a sec, your highness,” interrupted Applejack, “I thought there were only two ponies with a horn and a set of wings!”

“I’m not sure about that. Whatever transformed him is magic I’m totally incapable of performing, because the magic that did it was old. Older than I and my sister combined.” Celestia turned back to the maroon alicorn, still locked in a gaze with her sister. “Forgive my rudeness. We never properly introduced ourselves.” Kodai broke eye contact with Luna and looked at Celestia. “My name is Princess Celestia.”

“My name is Princess Luna. And thou?” Kodai almost smiled at the use of old English.

“My name is Kodai.” Celestia motioned for everyone in the room to sit down. Doing as they were told, once seated, Celestia spoke again.

“I assume at this point all of us know one another. So, may I request Kodai, that for those of us who do not know the tale of the Hero, perhaps you could recount it..?” He nodded, but not before saying

“It’s not the tale of a Hero. It’s the tale of a man who failed at saving the lives of countless people.”

“500,000 years ago, there lived a civilization with technology and philosophy that was envied by the rest of the universe. The human race once flourished on this Earth, and I was its leader. We were at the height of the golden age.” His tone darkened.

“But that all changed one day. An eight headed serpent which controlled elements to devastating proportions came upon my race. We fought wars with it and its hordes of demons until all humans were obliterated, like it promised, and then it proceeded to rob the planet of plant life, animal life, weather, season, even the day and night. I was the only one left. My guilt and anger being the only things keeping me alive, I set out to find six artifacts- the Elements of Harmony. And once I found them, I engaged in a battle with the dreaded demon master. But it was too powerful. Using my elemental powers that I was gifted with, I combined them with the Elements of Harmony and banished the demon away. But the world was dying. I used whatever power I had left to bring back the flora and fauna- but no humans. And in my heart, I knew I failed. But the demon had a master- a powerful Dark God, whose powers were more than enough to erase universes, even time, from existence, captured me in my sorrow. He trapped me in a realm of darkness, where there was no light, matter or even antimatter, just a realm of nothing, as is his essence. And there I remained for 500 millennia, until now.” He stopped speaking, allowing the words to sink in. It was finally Luna who spoke next.

“If it was formerly thou who controlled the Element, and now it is them six, then is there a connection?” Before Kodai could respond, he heard a deafening roar, a familiar roar. He burst through the door, the other eight ponies right on his tail.

I know that roar. But he can’t be here! What he saw chilled him to his core. A serpentine body made of pure darkness like the kind that covered the sky two months earlier was in the center of town. It waited there, scaring off ponies with a mere twitch of its dragon like head. Kodai landed in front of the specter. It turned on him, bringing its head a few inches away from his face. The stallion stared at it with cobalt eyes that conveyed anger. Finally the demon spoke, in a deep, dark voice.

“Kodai.”

“Orochi.”

Demons and Darkness

Chapter 3- Demons and Darkness
“How are you here? How can you be here?!” Kodai was furious and afraid all at the same time. The eight mares behind him did not know what to say, or were too chilled to speak. This was beast that destroyed everything 500 millennia ago… and Kodai named it. The name of the dreaded demon was Orochi. It finally spoke.

“I am here because I have willed it. You escaped from me before, but not today.”

“But why are you here? Why return? You already caused me enough pain!” Orochi cackled, a horrible sound akin to the sound of breaking bones.

“I don’t think you understand my intent. I am the master of all demon hordes. Do you really believe any amount of suffering is enough to satisfy me?” Kodai didn’t respond. It was a stupid question, in hindsight. “You have been alive for too long. Time to die!” Orochi reared his head back and unleashed a beam of dark energy, which the hero barely evaded.

“Get out of here,” he yelled at the others, “Leave before it kills you! You have no idea how to fight it!” Celestia was about to say something in response, but stopped short. This was the Hero, after all. How much did she really know about him? But then, if they retreat…

“No. I don’t think so. I’m sorry, but you aren’t as powerful as you were all that time ago.” Orochi stopped mid-attack. Kodai watched its movements carefully. The head turned towards the group. Most of them were too afraid to set a step forward. Luna felt sick… it was familiar…

This must be the reason why I became Nightmare Moon. But she herself was too chilled. When she was Nightmare Moon, she heard voices… voices that sounded similar to the voice of Orochi. Was that its last act of vengeance upon Kodai? To torment the world with its darkness? The specter slithered toward Celestia, bringing its head a mere centimeters from hers.

“Interesting,” it breathed, “I sense the bloodline of the Great Goddess flowing within your veins… So you are the next Okami… Amaterasu would be proud.” Leaving Celestia to be confused at a name she did not recognize, it brought its head up to Luna. “You… are even more impressive. I can feel the darkness that once plagued you. Alicorns… such inferior creatures.” Then it brought its face up to Kodai’s once more. “And look at you now. You were right… you are the laughing stock of us. But that does not mean we no longer believe you are a threat. Even without your six elemental powers, you’ll find some way to stop us…” Orochi seemed to be motionless. But Kodai felt something was wrong… he felt dazed and tired.

The Hero fainted. Luna was about to go and assist him, but a glare from the demon kept her frozen in her place.

“What hast thou done to him,” she growled. Orochi gave a low, guttural snarl.

“Simple. I placed him in a stasis field. A special and useful talent… plus another 41 on top of that.” Orochi’s head rose and reared back. “And this is yet another one.” It lunged forward, but not to grab one of the eight, but to unleash a deadly Power Scream. The force of it was enough to send the group hurtling backwards, through a building, leaving them dazed and stunned. Orochi deduced that, since they were still animals were descendants of non-sentient horses thereof, ergo it activated the power of animal control, so when they rose, they would not move as per its command. The Grand Master of demons returned its attention to the stasis locked Kodai. “I was far too arrogant when I fought you the first time,” it spoke darkly. Preparing a blast of dark energy to end his life for good, a lightning strike to its head immediately distracted it. Whirling this way and that to locate its source, the demon master had failed to notice the stasis field surrounding Kodai shatter like glass, and his control over the Princesses and the other six ponies broken.

“Up here, you fool!” The serpent did exactly that, looking up into the evening sky. What it saw made it truly shocked. A bipedal, biomechanical creature floated high in the air above the stirring hero. It has silver armor, and in certain spots the armor glowed with orange light. Its masked face had eyes of pure lime green, clawed hands and taloned feet. There was a curved blade pointing upwards from the back of each arm. It glared at the specter with an expression somewhere in between amusement and anger. “Did you really think I was not watching,” said the creature. The other eight ponies, even freed from Orochi’s control, stayed back. The demon master roared in what seemed to be anger, but was really fear.

“This is not your battle! Leave at once!” The silver being quickly silenced any further protest with a beam of light, which the demon just barely dodged.

“I don’t think so. If I recall correctly, I’m the one who was talking.” The being lowered to be on eye level with it. “Now, I suggest you leave, before I make your day far worse,” he warned. Orochi snorted.

“Or what,” it replied sarcastically. The creature smiled.

“This.” Twin beams of pure energy lanced out at the demon, one hitting him in the head, the other in its center. Kodai, finally awake but still on the ground, saw the source of the attack- Princess Celestia and Princess Luna launched a dual attack. The result was rather overwhelming. The specter of Orochi exploded into bits, leaving an echo of an enraged roar. The being lowered to the ground and placed a clawed hand on the hero’s forehead.

“Guar…dian,” he sputtered, before falling asleep.

“Rest now, my friend.” When he rose and turned around, he was staring at the assembled group of ponies. “I owe you eight some answers, right,” he said. Celestia took a few steps forward.

“Yes. Yes you do,” she said calmly. “Who are you and what was that?”

“I am known as the Guardian,” he answered swiftly.

“Guardian,” repeated Rainbow Dash, “Of what?”

“Simply the universe around you- space. I try my best to maintain order and matter. Though as of some events completely out of my control, my ‘beat’ became much, much more limited.” Before Rainbow could ask why, Twilight quickly interrupted.

“How did you know that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were going to attack Orochi?”

“Precognition,” he replied, “A small, if useful, skill. And before one of you asks, which I believe Applejack was about to…” The mare in question was stunned. “I know all of your names- Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Rarity.” Now they were suspicious.

“How did ya know each one o’ our names,” said Applejack in a curious tone, “Were y’all mind readin’?”

“It’s a bit deeper than that. Memory searching was what that was.” Before another trivial question could be launched at him, he stopped them with a raise of his hand. “And to answer the second part of Celestia’s question: that was Orochi, the demon that brought incredible destruction and extinction to the land 500 millennia ago. All of Kodai’s story was true- he stopped Orochi temporarily enough to the point where it would need to recover before launching another strike. But now that dreaded hell-spawn has, and the protector of this planet had to return.”

“Then why turn the hero to an alicorn,” Luna interrupted, “Surely keeping him as a human would be more…familiar to him.” The Guardian shook his head.

“When he defeated the Ursa Major, his body was badly damaged. The only way to salvage him was to transform him into a creature familiar to the area. An alicorn was the choice because no other kind of pony would be able to contain the elemental energy he once wielded.”

“One last question,” spoke Celestia, “Who is Amaterasu?” The Guardian’s expression turned sad somewhat.

“An old enemy of Orochi,” he sighed, “And an old friend of mine.” He drew a circle in front of him, which solidified into a circular, runed stone with a mirror on the back. Flames circled its edges as it swirled in the air and landed upon Celestia’s back. Looking confused, she glared at the Guardian. “That is a weapon called Divine Retribution, be sure to give it to Kodai when he wakes, and tell him this- the Elements shall guide you.” Celestia nodded, and floated Kodai with her telekinesis onto her back.

“Let’s go.” The princess made her way towards Twilight’s library, the six ponies following suit. Princess Luna, waiting till her sister and the rest of the group were out of earshot, trotted up towards the Guardian.

“Guardian,” she began, “I have a question for thou. Recently in the night sky there appeared a red star. I could neither move nor banish it. What is this star?” The Guardian smiled, knowing full well what it was.

“A story for another day, your highness.” The Guardian disappeared in a flash of light before Luna could question him further. Luna sighed, and galloped towards the library to catch up with her sister.

The Ninetails made its way on the bridge towards a dark, gloomy island fortress, black smoke billowing from the peak of the mountain, lava flowing down its sides into reservoirs. Lesser demons stood at attention as the Kyuubi made its way to the topmost platform. A sense of nostalgia flowed through its mind.

This where I fought the Sun Goddess, and lost embarrassingly. Its eyes were drawn to the glowing orb in the center of the platform, with the kanji for air etched upon it. Ninetails grinned a toothy grin. The Hero has lost his elemental powers, making him an ant to be crushed in my claws… A voice entered his head, a voice recognized by it to be Lord Orochi.

Do not be so arrogant, Kyuubi. He is still plenty dangerous.

Worry not, Grand Master. I almost defeated him once before when he was at full power. Now that he has none, it will be practically effortless.

I see my days of being weakened have allowed your arrogance to grow. I warn you, Ninetails- there is more at stake than your pride. The final human must die, whether it is at your claws or my fangs. Even so, prepare. I have no doubt he will seek you eventually. Oni Island cannot stay hidden from him forever. You remember what you did during the genocide of his race… nothing like that would be forgiven by mortals, so he will come seeking you.

Yes. Oh, their blood tasted like sweet syrup, and their flesh like perfectly ripe fruit. Ninetails laughed with glee at the memory. And soon, Kodai’s head shall be served to me on a silver platter.

Fire. All Kodai saw was a blazing fire engulfing the world. He saw people being burned alive. He saw demon hordes tear apart human beings, shattering their bones with clubs, and dicing them with their blades. And in it all, the center of the flames, he saw the eight headed monster. It saw him. He tried to run, but he could not outrun the beast. It lunged at him, readying to devour him whole. One thought raced through his mind in his last moments.

I’m sorry…

The stallion awoke with a start. His breaths were heavy and quick. It was only a nightmare, he reassured himself. But the guilt that had plagued him since his imprisonment came rushing back to him like a high tide. So many people died that day… No. All of them died that day. He found himself on a bed. How did I get here? Oh wait, the Guardian placed me under sleep. And then the others probably placed me here.

“Good, you’re awake.” Kodai heard the young voice and looked to his right. Spike was sitting in a wooden chair a few feet away from the bedside. “The girls are waiting downstairs. I volunteered to keep an eye on ya.”

“Yeah. Thanks, I suppose.”

“It sounded like you were having one heckuva nightmare. What was that “I’m sorry” all about?” Kodai got himself off the bed, and without another word, he trotted down the steps. The baby dragon looked at him strangely, but then shrugged and started to place Twilight’s bed back in order.

Kodai reached the foot of the steps and upon that moment, all eyes in the room were focused on him. There was a long silence. Finally, the stallion broke it.

“Is everyone okay?” Applejack tipped her hat.

“Actually sugarcube,” she began, but Pinkie cut her off.

“We’re fine. I mean we were all really scared of that big snake thing, and we were all like ‘ahhh’ when we saw ya on the ground, the we were all like ‘owww’ when the snake guy shouted really loudly, but then this really silver tall guy appeared out of nowhere kinda like how I do and was all like ‘stop this now’ and then the Princesses blasted him and made him explode. Then we talked with the silver guy, and we came home. Well, specifically Twilight’s home! Or library, or foyer or” she stopped short to catch her breath. Applejack sighed.

“Well, Ah think y’all know we’re all good.” The Hero sighed in relief.

“Good, very good, in fact. But what was this silver creature Pinkie had mentioned?”

“He said he was called the Guardian,” Twilight spoke up, “And that he guarded matter and space.” Kodai smacked his forehead with his hoof.

That question was relatively pointless. “Well, that is true. He is a friend of mine, and he was the one who got me out of my prison. But what did he say?” Princess Celestia stepped forward.

“He told me to give you this.” The stone circle with fire surrounding it lifted off from her back and placed itself on Kodai’s. “He called it”

“Divine Retribution,” he said in awe, “A divine instrument, and a tool of the gods. Amazing. I never thought I was worthy of such a gift.” Celestia gave a small smile.

“Well, he thought you were.” Luna spoke up next.

“The Guardian also told us to relay this message onto thou- ‘the Elements shall guide you’.” Kodai looked confused for a few moments, before a light dawned in his eyes.

“Luna, you told me that these other six mares wielded the- wait a second, why are they wielding the Elements of Harmony in the first place?” Everypony in the room aside from royalty shuffled their forehooves nervously.

“I-it’s a long story,” squeaked Fluttershy.

“But the Elements would not have accepted new avatars unless…” He paused for a moment when the light of realization dawned on him again. “Oh, that’s sad. Not even they believed I was returning. Well isn’t that just peachy. You know it’s very rude to lose faith in a man!” Celestia quickly interrupted before his monologue could continue.

“Well, you’re back now. Wouldn’t they recognize you?” Twilight raised a hoof.

“Sorry to interrupt, but it seems as if the Elements are sentient? That’s not possible, aren’t they just magic?” Kodai shook his head.

“I’d have expected better from an academic like you Twilight Sparkle,” replied the stallion, who left a stunned Twilight Sparkle to contemplate just how insightful she actually was. Luna again spoke up.

“In her defense, I also was not aware of sentience within the Elements.”

“To answer Twilight’s question, the Elements were created with minds of their own. They choose their vessels wisely. They choose only the ones that best represent them, and from that, they allow access to their full potency.”

“Huh,” said a very confused Twilight, “But the book described”

“The Book isn’t wrong. But remember one key detail- not only did all six Elements choose me as an avatar, but my natural powers over six aspects of nature- fire, water, air, earth, stone and ice- were combined with the elements. They are just as devastating offensively as defensively. Not all hugs and kisses.”

“So you’re basically”

“Everything that the elements thought I was. 500,000 years of imprisonment has not changed that.”

“Then how come they didn’t just fly straight back to you,” asked Rainbow.

“I’m guessing the reason was threefold: one, they lost faith in my return, two, they found new vessels to keep them alive and three, my powers are gone.” Now this was surprising- the powerful Hero in the storybook had no power? What happened?

“Whaddya mean your powers are gone,” exclaimed the cyan pegasus, “What happened?”

“Apparently my jailer didn’t agree with the fact that I possessed such gifts,” he grumbled, “So he ripped them from my body- not a very pleasant feeling mind you-and scattered them into the wind.”

“Can y’all get them back,” asked Applejack, not bothering to disguise the hope in her voice.

“I was getting to that before I interrupted myself,” he responded, “When I wielded the six elements, they became connected the elemental energies contained in me: my powers over nature. If I reconnect with them, they should lead to my powers, one by one.”

“How come your 'jailer' didn’t destroy them outright,” inquired Twilight. Kodai winced, as if disgusted.

“He likes to toy with his victims. He’s giving me a chance. I can still sense their existence, but I don’t know where they are. So, Applejack, could you st- erm, trot forward?” The orange mare looked confused.

“Why would ah need t’do that?” Kodai sighed, and instead he trotted to her, bringing himself only a few inches away from her. Applejack now got a good judgment of his height. He was taller than Princess Luna, but shorter than Princes Celestia. Kodai put his forehooves on both sides of her face, closing his eyes.

“Close your eyes,” he ordered, and the earth pony did so. “Now, my mind is going to reach into yours. You may feel uncomfortable, but it’s normal.” Kodai’s horn glowed with white light like that of the sun, and it was accented with red. His mind was now connected with hers. Even though he was tempted to search through her memories for the ‘long story’ Fluttershy was talking about, he quickly rejected such an invasion of privacy. He bypassed all the memories, thoughts, worries and hopes, trying to reach the raw power that she hid. He saw the light of the Element she possessed. The purifying light of honesty… and it showed him exactly where the power of fire was being kept: in a mountain with billowing smoke, a volcano, and a fiery serpent which emerged from the magma inside. Applejack could also see into his mind, though she encountered a mental block that could not be broken, but she saw the volcano as well.

Mount Lava Ridge… Kodai let go of her face and they both opened their eyes.

“We both saw the mountain," he said, expecting a name for it.

“That was a volcano called Mount Lava Ridge,” she replied, “It’s a way’s away, but it’s the closest one.” The stallion smiled.

“Excellent. We haven’t time to waste. I shall give you six the rest of the night to prepare. Meet me back at the library. We set out tomorrow morning.” Celestia’s motherly instinct immediately kicked in.

“Why do they have to come with you,” she said a bit loudly.

“Because it would be massive waste of time if I go back and forth, and they probably won’t let me go alone. Celestia, I know you think it’s dangerous, and believe me, it is, but there is an entire planet at stake here. I will not allow Orochi to repeat his actions!” She nodded in understanding. She faced the group.

“My little ponies, be safe and be strong, and go prepared for anything. Like he said, the stakes have never been higher. The entire planet will be ridden of all life if Orochi is not contained.” They all nodded.

“We will stop him princess,” began Twilight.

“You can count on us your majesty,” added Rainbow Dash. The lavender unicorn opened the door with her magic, and the five ponies saw themselves out. Twilight herself, after closing said door, retreated upstairs, leaving the three alicorns.

“Kodai, one final question,” said Celestia, but he cut her off.

“If it’s about my jailer, I refuse to speak of him,” he said forcefully, but there was a hint of hurt in his voice. Celestia understood.

“I’m sorry. Good luck, Hero.” The duo teleported out of the room in a flash of light. Kodai put a hoof to his head and sighed, and left the library.

This time, Orochi, I’m not alone.

Rarity entered her boutique, and found that Sweetie Belle was sitting on the floor, apparently waiting for her.

“That took you a while,” she said, trotting up to her sister, “What happened?” Rarity averted her eyes to anywhere but her little sister.

“I’m going to be traveling, Sweetie. I’ll call up mom and dad. They’ll be here by tomorrow afternoon.” The little foal looked up at her in confusion.

“Huh? Where are you going?” Rarity sighed.

“Don’t worry about me,” replied the fashonista, “I’m just traveling far away, like a camping trip.” Sweetie Belle frowned.

“You’re going on a quest aren’t you?” Rarity groaned in defeat.

“Yes, I am. I’ll be leaving in the morning. Right now, I need to get some beauty sleep.” She went up the stairs.

“Rarity!” The mare turned around, looking at her little sister straight in the eye. She smiled at her, warmly. “Be careful, you got it?” The older unicorn returned the smile, and retreated to her room.

Applejack entered the main house, only to find Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom and Granny Smith glaring at her.

“And where have you been,” said Granny sternly.

“Ah’ve been with mah friends, and their majesties,” she replied casually. “They sent me and mah friends on a quest, to save the world.” Apple Bloom looked up at her in surprise.

“You’re kiddin’,” said the filly, “Another one?” The orange mare nodded quickly.

“This time, there really is a world at stake.” She quickly went upstairs. “Ah’ve gotta go and get ready.” Big Mac smiled.

“Eeyup. Just know that if yer hungry, there’s food in the fridge.” She nodded and went back up. They watched her go.

“Ah hope she’ll be okay,” muttered Apple Bloom. Granny Smith looked out the window and into the night sky.

“I hope so to, Apple Bloom.”

Pinkie Pie quickly loaded several cakes and other treats into her saddle bag. Mr. and Mrs. Cake watched her go back from the kitchen to her saddlebag several times.

“Uh, Pinkie,” said Mr. Cake, “Are you sure you need all that?” Pinkie rolled her eyes.

“Of course I do. We need food, right?” She quickly went back into the kitchen.

“What about other supplies,” asked Mrs. Cake, becoming strained from looking back and forth.

“Oh, don’t worry. That’ll go in the other pouch!” Mrs. Cake was about to say something, but Mr. Cake stopped her.

“It’s Pinkie Pie. Don’t ask.” Mrs. Cake nodded sagely.

Rainbow Dash kicked back on cloud, relaxing and getting her much needed sleep.

Besides, I have a feeling that I won’t getting any afternoon naps for a while.

“HEY RD!” The cyan pegasus looked around and above her, recognizing the voice. She finally looked down, and saw Scootaloo looking up at her with heavy concern.

“Hey, squirt! What are you doing out so late?” Scootaloo’s eyes seemed to be focused on anything but her.

“I-I heard your conversation with Applejack. She was talking about a quest.” Rainbow looked down at her with surprise.

“It’s a quest,” she said nonchalantly, “No big deal!” The foal looked at her in concern.

“Yes it is a big deal! I heard everything! She said there was life as we know it on the line! And knowing Applejack, I don’t think she’s exaggerating!” Rainbow returned her glare with one of confusion.

“Okay, that’s true. Yes there is a lot that are on my hooves. But I don’t—”

“Rainbow, it sounds really dangerous! As in, life threatening! Have you even considered that?!” Rainbow now fully understood why Scootaloo was so scared. She didn’t want to lose her. It was understandable. The leader of the weather team lowered herself to the ground, trotted up to the flightless pegaus and put a hoof around her.

Is Rainbow really hugging me, she squealed in her mind.

“Listen, kid,” Rainbow said softly, “Don’t worry about me. Never worry about me. I promise I will come back in one piece. I am Rainbow Dash after all!” She broke the hug, and Scootaloo trotted away. She gave her idol one last look before moving on.

Fluttershy was busy packing when she felt a tug at her hoof. She looked down to see Angel with an angry expression on his face.

“I’m sorry, Angel,” she said softly in her sweet voice, “But I can’t not go. There are ponies out there who need me. But I know you can handle yourself.” Angel looked down, giving up on getting her to stay, not for his selfish wants, but because he was genuinely worried about her. Whether he liked it or not, he loved her to bits, like a mother. So the little rabbit did the one thing he could: he jumped up and wrapped his arms around Fluttershy’s neck in an embrace. The yellow pegasus was a bit surprised, but she set the bunny down and nuzzled him.

“Don’t worry Angel,” she said soothingly, “I’ll be okay, I promise.” Angel made a face along the lines of ‘you better be.’ She smiled and returned to her saddlebag. She also looked up to Luna’s moon. This is it. For the world.

Twilight Sparkle was preparing the last of her materials, going by a checklist she quickly compiled.

Water, check, clothes, check, encyclopedia, check, Spellbook, check, Golden Book, check, food, check, map, check. I think I got everything I really need. I should probably go down the list a few more times.

“You know Twi, you’ve went down that list at least 10 times.” Spike only looked at her with a very unamused expression clear on his face. She didn’t bother to look at him, too busy reading over her materials.

“I need to be absolutely prepared, Spike! I can’t go blundering in with too little or too many supplies! You should be asleep anyway.” The purple dragon stood a little straighter now.

“There’s a reason why I’m not sleeping,” he practically growled.

“Why,” she asked, looking back at him with worry written all over her face.

“Why do you think, Twilight Sparkle?!” She inhaled sharply. He never used her full name unless he was really scared. “I saw everything that happened from the window!” She looked down at her hooves shamefully.

“Oh…”

“Listen to me, Twilight. Whatever that thing was, I’ve never felt more afraid for you than I have until now! At least when you stood up against Nightmare Moon and Discord I knew you’d still be alive even if you screwed up! Now I’m not even sure of that!”

“So what would you have me do,” she snapped back. Spike sighed, and went down the steps, all the way down until he reached the underground lab. Twilight followed closely. What’s down there, then? The baby dragon walked towards a corner of the room, opening a small, almost unnoticeable latch on the ground. A small portion of the floor came lose, and Spike lifted it and tossed it to the side. Placing his arms in the compartment, he rummaged through a few items before lifting up a mahogany wood box. It was old, at least as old as 100 years. “Spike… what is it?” He opened the box and lifted a glowing purple gem. And Twilight recognized it. ‘Spike, that’s a—”

“A Life Shard. I know what it is.” Life shards. They were gems that were rumored to be hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions, of years old. They were extremely rare, and finding one often came at the cost of the searcher’s life. Twilight had only read about them, but had never seen one in person. But its magical powers were said to be terrible and magnificent. But no one knew what it did. “Spike, how in Equestria did you obtain that?!”

“Princess Celestia gave it to me, because dragons are the only ones who can use them. And you know why that is. Look at my diet.”

“Spike, do you even know what that does?!”

“Do you,” he raged back. He took a deep breath and continued. “No one knows what they do because no one has ever seen it in action. No one but—”

“Princess Celestia,” she finished, in shock. “She knows?”

“Yeah, she does, and she gave this to me because I’m the only dragon that's a citizen of Equestria. I wouldn’t think or even dream of using this.”

“But what does it do?” Spike looked at the gem sadly.

“When a dragon consumes it, his or her life energy is controllable by force of will, and can be directed to bring back anyone or anything to life. Normally, a dragon would need to sacrifice his or her whole self to bring back another, but with this gem,”

“You could bring us all back if we died.” Spike shook his head.

“That’s true. But it comes at a cost.” Twilight didn’t want to say it. She couldn’t even bare to think of her little brother doing something like that for her. “I’ll die if I use this. Just know that if anything happens to you, that even in death, I’ll be there. For all of you.” Twilight gripped him in a bone crushing embrace.

“Spike…I-I don’t even know what to say…”

“I do,” he said, tearing himself from the embrace. “You can promise me that I’ll never have to use the Life Shard.”

“But why would you even,” she started, but began to choke up, “Why would you even show me this? Why sacrifice yourself?”

“Why do you think,” he replied a bit coldly, ascending the stairway. “My life doesn't really matter. The world needs you six. It doesn’t need me.”

“I need you. We all do.” The desperation was practically oozing from her voice

“Oh really,” he said, his mood changing. “Then why don’t you look at a certain picture on my wall, and tell me if you, or anyone else, needs me?” He left with those very hurtful words, and a very melancholic Twilight Sparkle.

Kodai watched the town bathed in moonlight on a high ledge. He couldn’t sleep on his own terms, since he has not been able to for 500,000 years and counting.

It all feels so new, he thought. He missed home, even now. Everyone that he knew died. Even though it was a long time ago, it felt like yesterday to him. The guilt never left the hero. His nightmare made that clear. He looked up and gazed upon a familiar twinkling star that appeared on the day he gained all six Elements of Harmony. I never deserved that star. I’m no hero. I’m just a really old failure.

“I thought I sensed someone familiar.” He turned around to find Princess Luna trotting up to stand beside him. “Dost thou remember me?” He smiled, though it was an ironic one.

“Of course I do, Luna. I don’t tend to forget faces.” He looked back up at the night sky. “You’ve done an excellent job with the night sky. Not even in my day was it this mesmerizing.” Luna didn’t take her eyes off of him.

“I thank thee for such kind words.” He looked back at her, meeting her eyes for the second time that day.

“Why do you look so concerned?” The princess of the night had an expression of pure vexation.

“When I looked into thine eyes, I saw more than just orbs of cobalt- I saw into thy memories. The pain that I felt was brief, but it was like a torrent of melancholy in thee. I wanted to say how sorry I was, even though it won’t do any good.”

“Thank you, Luna. You’re the only one in a long time to be brave enough to say that to me. During my imprisonment, I wept and wept until there were no tears left to shed. I had lost my people.” The alicorn looked down at the town. “But now, seeing all this new life, I won’t let that happen a second time. I failed once; I don’t intend to let that happen again.” Luna felt she should say something else, but she found no words that were appropriate. She just looked down at Ponyville with him. Finally, Kodai decided he would lie on the grass.

“May I join thou,” she requested.

“Certainly.” She sat down beside him, both their gazes returning to the stars. There was a long silence between them.

“Kodai,” she began, nervously shuffling her hooves. “But those weren’t the only memories I saw. There were also so many wonderful things. Would thou carest to talk about it, even for a little?” She finished with a small smile. He looked at her, his eyes shining with starlight.

“I’d love to. What would you like to know?” Luna began with all sorts of questions, and the hero graciously answered every single one fully, their conversation continuing until dawn.

Author's Notes- So many references! And if anyone really knows thier fandoms, they should be able to figure out who my OC's 'jailer' is from Orochi's dialogue. But here we're getting into the the more Okami elements of the story. If anyone can name all the references, I'll give them an internet cookie.

In it for the Long Haul

Chapter 5- In it for the Long Haul
Twilight stared quizzically at the golden book, eyes running through its words and symbols with an academic process. She wasn’t sure what she was trying to find, mostly because a few things of Kodai’s story did not add up. How did he ‘discover’ the Elements of Harmony? More importantly, how do they even forget he existed?

Then there was the matter of this ‘Divine Retribution’ and ‘Divines’ motif. Gods, in the purest sense of the term, do not exist! The closest ponies have are the Princesses and Discord, but even they are fallible. They can be killed. They can be hurt. Then this ‘Hero” shows up and cause the whole planet to drown in hysteria!

So then why do I feel like I can trust him? If the Elements truly were sentient, then they must have felt his presence. Likely it was a side effect of the ordeal, an effect her friends surely must be feeling. However, it cannot control my mind. I will get to know the entire story, he’ll open up eventually. She stared out into the night sky, wondering just how much had gone on before recorded history.

She wondered what it would take this time to stop a powerful evil from destroying the world.

The sun barely peaked over the land of Equestria as the six ponies gathered in front of Golden Oaks. Twilight eyed each one of her friends in turn, trying to get a sense of what they must be thinking. If her hypothesis were correct, then it was anxiety, to the very same degree. But the silence only amplified it.

“So,” she began casually, “What did everyone bring?” Pinkie, naturally, was very eager to offer her share.

“Well,” she dragged, “I brought a bunch of cakes and other foodstuffs and water and boots and a pickaxe and” Rainbow Dash cut her off.

“How did you fit a pickaxe in your saddlebag?” Pinkie waved her hoof dismissively.

“They’re bigger on the inside.” Rainbow opened her mouth to say something more, but instead moved on to her saddlebag.

“I don’t have many worldly possessions to bring, so I just stuffed a collapsible tent in here.” Rarity was practically giddy that she was about to show off her latest designs she brought. She opened her saddlebag, however, and brought out a black tarp lined with silver thread. It was at least big enough to function as a cloak. Twilight was confused.

“Um, Rarity, what exactly is that,” she inquired eyeing the tarp analytically.

“Oh, well, when our new friend dropped by with Derpy, I told how much of a mess his current garment was! So, he then agreed to allow me to improve it for him. But I spent far longer thinking of a good color to match him!” Rainbow Dash started chuckling.

“It took you a “while” to come up with a color the same as his mane,” she said, a snarky tone creeping into her voice. Rarity huffed, her chin up towards the air in contempt.

“Well, he has the most unique color scheme, and well” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

“Sheesh Rare, I was only kidding,” she said dismissively. "Fluttershy, what have you brought?” The timid mare had more than just her saddlebag. There was a large, rolled up sleeping bag on her back as well, though she showed no signs of strain.

“Oh, well I only brought the bare essentials. Just some water and bit of food that won’t spoil for a few months at least. I also brought a few matches for lighting a fire.” She hid a bit behind her mane, hoping no one judged her for being to light when preparing. She of course did this instinctively. Applejack stepped up next.

“Well, Ah brought some rope fer climbin’, a hatchet fer kindlin’, and a machete for clearin’.” Rarity looked at her strangely.

“Darling, how did you acquire a machete?” The orange earth pony shot her a bemused glare.

“Rare, Ah live on a farm. Ah think it’d be safe to assume Ah’d have these here tools?” Before anyone could say anything more, the maroon alicorn hit the ground with a resounding thud. He looked at them each in turn.

“Are you all set?” They all nodded. Rainbow Dash followed with a salute. The Hero cleared his throat.

“All right. This is not going to be easy. The trek will be long, arduous, and most likely fatal. We will defeat Orochi, or we will die trying.” Twilight stepped forward unraveling her map.

“Okay. According to the map, the volcano is 80 miles east. We’d have to cut through the Everfree forest to reach it, though.”

“That shouldn’t be too much trouble. Okay, let’s roll.” He turned and trotted right in the direction of Everfree forest. Everyone was silent, no words fit the mood they were feeling right now. Except for Rarity, who had stopped and called.

“Darling, wait just a moment!” Startled, Kodai turned back around. The alabaster unicorn brandished the black cloak. He seemed surprised, but pleased. “I told you I had to repay you. And considering you saved our lives twice, I for one think you’ve more than earned it.” She placed it on his back with her magic.

“Thank you very much. This will most certainly do.” He adjusted the cloak to fit over his large frame perfectly. “Very well. Now that I look more like a hermit,” he joked, earning small smiles and giggles from his compatriots, “We should get moving.”

Once they reached the edge of the forest, he turned back to them.

“This is the point of no return. Beyond the edge of Everfree, you cannot return. If you are wise, you will turn back. But if you are courageous, you will remain by my side.” The six mares all exchanged glances with one another. They were scared, this was certain. But they were still the same brave heroines that defeated even the embodiment of chaos itself. This was nothing they couldn’t handle.

“I think I speak for all of us,” Twilight began, “when we say that we won’t leave. The Elements of Harmony never abandoned you.”

“And we won’t, either,” finished Fluttershy.

“They’re right, sugarcube,” added Applejack, “We’re in it fer the long haul.” Kodai smiled.

“Never in my years did anyone show me such tolerance and kindness. Your race is truly one of a kind.” With that said, he made his way into Everfree Forest. Each mare followed suit, all exchanging one final glance at their home for a long time to come. Twilight was the last to follow, sharing the longest stare.

I’ll be home soon, Spike, she thought somberly, and when I get back, I promise I’ll make it up to you.

She managed to catch up with her friends. Kodai was in the lead, Divine Retribution glowing like a sun in the dim forest. Fluttershy was both reassured and frightened by this. On one side, this provided them with much needed light to see. On the flipside, this was a beacon to any scary monster that lurked in the trees. She began to cower close to Rainbow Dash, who eyed her with concern.

“You okay, ‘Shy?” She shook her head meekly.

“I’m worried. There are so many dangerous monsters, and I don’t know if we’ll be able to handle them!” Rainbow rolled her eyes, but she smiled confidently.

“Fluttershy, there are seven of us. We have numbers, not to mention weapons this time around. We don’t even have to fight! I’m sure we can scare them off.” The yellow Pegasus, while not entirely secure, appreciated her friend’s vote of confidence.

Some ways behind them, Applejack and Twilight were engaged in a lengthy discussion.

“Twilight, all Ah’m sayin’ is that it’s a bit strange we all trusted ‘im when we just met ‘im? Surely you of all ponies would notice?” Twilight shot her a glare comparable to Fluttershy’s stare.

“Of course I noticed,” she hissed, “And I think I know why, too!” Applejack looked at her strangely.

“Then why?” Twilight looked in Kodai’s direction. If he were listening, he was doing a good job at hiding it.

“The Elements of Harmony are imbued with a mind of their own. I think that when he met us, the Elements were reacting to their former avatar. It also means that our trust is implicitly in our minds. But I won’t truly trust him until he proves it.”

“Um, Ah don’ want to bust your theory here Twilight,” began the orange farmpony, “But I think he has earned it. He practically sacrificed his life for us twice! Don’t you think he’s earned it now?” The purple unicorn turned away from her.

“I know. But forgive me for being skeptical. It’s hard for me to accept so easily.” Applejack smiled at her kindly.

“It’s okay. Ah understand, we’ve all been there. Just give him a chance.” Twilight’s purple eyes shifted from the forest floor to just ahead of her.

“But that’s not all.”

“What else is wrong, Twi?”

“AJ, he lost everything. His home, his friends, his people. I don’t know how stable he is. For all we know, he could just turn around and snap!” The orange mare shook her head.

“Ah don’ think that’s very likely Twilight. If he was that unstable, don’t you think our Elements would notice?” Twilight’s eyes widened. Her friend had a point. They were the avatars of the elements, and thus protected by them too. If Kodai was unstable to the point of blind murder, they would be less welcoming of him.

“Thanks Applejack.”

“Just doin’ what any friend would do Twi’.”

The Hero himself kept his eyes completely ahead of him. Little did they know just how many strange beasts actually were tracking them. He’d know, of course, mostly because of how many of them he frightened. He was glad that he was able to defend himself simply by glaring at these creatures.

Thank you, Grandfather. In truth, he was scared. He had not anticipated that these six mares would accompany him on his journey. He was not sure if this was going to make the trek more difficult or otherwise. Either way, he thought, At least I won’t be lonely.

He began to hear a flute some distance away. The flute was playing a chilling, ominous song, one that dared them to come closer. The alicorn turned to his companions.

“Stay close, and stay behind me.” They seemingly complied, forming a close circle a few inches behind him. Up ahead there was some brush covering their tracks. Kodai peered through the dense thorns and vines.

“Hey, Kodai,” piped up Rainbow Dash, “Do see that? I think there’s a fire up ahead.” The rainbow-maned Pegasus was correct. There was indeed a glowing flame at least fifty meters up ahead.

“AJ, I assume you’ve got something for this?” The orange mare pulled her machete from her saddlebag.

“Way ahead of you,” she said, gripping the hilt in her mouth. She stepped in front of Kodai and slashed at the vines, allowing them to part and clear a feasible path. She spearheaded the group while hacking away at thorny vines, also keeping her efforts silent. As they got closer, the maroon alicorn and the orange earth mare could see four distinct forms.

Two of them were green and ape like, playing a duet with a flute made from bone. The other two were red in coloration, and played their guitars with great skill. The group stopped and gaped at the sight.

”Kodai, do you know those things,” asked Twilight. The Hero’s cobalt eyes narrowed into a fierce glare.

“Those abominations are lesser demons known as imps. The slaves to the Yamata no Orochi.”

“Sooo, they are dangerous,” uttered Rarity.

“Alone, they barely qualify as a nuisance. However, four may prove troublesome.” He motioned for them to remain behind.

He stepped quietly for them not hear. However, even as silent as he was, it was not enough. He was tackled quickly by one of the green Imps and violently tossed into a tree.

“Get him,” it screeched. All four imps alert, they surrounded the Hero and prepared to strike. Thinking fast, he struck one of the imps down with his back legs and swung Divine Retribution at the other three. The fallen imp noticed the six mares, and they all were prepared to down this one.

“Oh no you don’t!” Kodai grabbed him by the throat, swung the imp 180 degrees, and slammed his hoof into its jaw. As it fell backwards, Applejack landed a powerful buck to its midsection. It was vaulted into the other imps, knocking them over like bowling pins.

“Yee haw,” she shouted enthusiastically, “That’ll show ‘em to mess with us.” Kodai smiled thankfully at her, then he proceeded to fly upwards and land in the center of the injured ring of imps. In one swing, he struck all four with the full fury of his Divine Instrument. The group of imps, unable to withstand the power of this weapon, fell to the ground. They lay there, motionless.

“Now what,” said Rainbow Dash, staring at the fallen demons. Kodai smirked and held his hoof up.

“Wait for it…” Almost immediately after he said that, the four imps exploded in a circle of flowers, making the whole area seem a bit brighter. In fact, it looked as if all of Everfree forest lit up with new light. Twilight began to wonder if they were the reason why Everfree was so dangerous. Perhaps now, the animals that lived in the forest would be less aggressive.

“Ah, there we go. I should’ve known the hostility was caused by these monsters.”

“So, why do they explode into flowers,” asked Rainbow Dash. Pinkie finally decided to speak.

“Maybe its because they have troubled souls,” she concluded. Kodai looked at her as if she had suddenly grown a second head. And considering her nature, that seemed like a likely possibility.

“She’s right. Demons are the troubled, tempered souls of the dead. By striking and killing them with divine weapons, their souls are purified, which grants them the way to the Celestial Plane. Or Heaven, as it were.”

“So then what happen if you killed Orochi with one of these,” probed Rarity, “Does his soul get purified?” Kodai shook his head.

“Orochi was born from the blood of a fallen Devil. His soul is blacker than the umbra of a shadow.” Twilight somehow managed to piece together everything he said, and infer the rest, to conclude

“We can’t kill him.” Everyone turned to her. Kodai stared at the ground. “That’s what you neglected to tell us, isn’t it? That we’re fighting the impossible fight?” Her tone was more solemn than accusatory.

“You are correct, Twilight Sparkle,” he said sadly. “Orochi cannot be killed, in a sense.”

“Elaborate,” she pressed.

“He can be hurt, he can be banished. His essence can even be separated from his body. But utterly ending his soul? Not possible.”

“Then why are we trying to kill him,” she badgered. Kodai glared at her with the intensity of an angry Manticore.

“I never said we are,” he countered, in chillingly calm voice. “What we are trying to do is banish him for another 500,000 years. If I did it before, I can do it again.”

“Then we are fighting a perpetual conflict,” she exploded, “We have to keep this up over and over!” Her friends watched their heated exchange with worried eyes. They wanted to stop them, but they didn’t know how.

“There is another way…” Twilight calmed down, her curiosity piqued. “In the past, the Gods used the power of the Celestial Brush to seal away Orochi and prevent him from ever returning.”

“And what is this Brush? What does it do?”

“It grants you the power to manipulate nature as if it were a canvas. You can cause trees to bloom, fires to spout somewhere else, or even slow time itself. It’s power can counter Orochi’s easily.” A certain cyan mare was deeply excited by this prospect.

“That’s AWESOME,” she exclaimed, “Where do we get it?”

“It’s power granted by the gods to the worthy,” he replied, “And sadly, I don’t think I qualify.” It was then that the sky darkened, allowing the stars to glow brightly.

“Oh my,” squeaked Fluttershy, “How pretty!”

“Maybe it’s a sign,” projected Twilight.

“OR it’s a extraterrestrial party,” shouted Pinkie hopefully. “I even brought my helmet for the occasion.” She procured a round, white helmet and promptly place it on her head, her mane’s poofy style covering her eyes. Rainbow gave her a stupefied glare. “What, I come prepared for all kinds of parties!” Kodai began to notice a pattern among the stars. It made the shape of a serpent!

“Twilight, are you seeing this?” The bookish unicorn was already tracing out the constellation.

“I am, but I’ve never seen its like. What prompted Princess Luna to make it?” Kodai shook his head and stared back up at it.

“I don’t think it was the Princess, and especially not in the middle of the day.” The stars began to shine even brighter. It was then the outline of a serpent formed a dragon. It’s scales were pure white, with reddish paint decorating its eyes and back. Its lower half seemed to be wrapped in a scroll made from rice paper. Looking around, Kodai did not see his friends, but rather, he found he was transported to an unfamiliar location. It was heavenly in appearance, with large mountains encircling him. He was standing upon a swirling cloud.

The realm of the Brush Gods! The dragon, with each of it four arms clutching a colored orb, soared down to face him with reverence.

“Oh, emissary of the Gods,” it boomed, “I am Yomigami, Celestial God of Rejuvenation.” Kodai stared at him, dumbfounded.

“Forgive me, mighty Yomigami, but I had perceived you had perished, as the rest of the world has!” The Brush God simply smiled with a subtle intellect.

“It was not to be so. We had simply been shattered, as the dreaded Orochi was. Time allowed us to become whole again.” He paused. “We, the thirteen remaining masters of the Celestial Brush, grant you the power of its divinity. Use it with care.”

“I do not understand. I believed I was not worthy,” Kodai asked, stupefied. The God grinned wisely.

“In fact, we could not find a better candidate. You fought Orochi with courage and purpose, and wielded the Elements of Harmony with the utmost devotion. As such, we see it fit you are given the power to end Orochi’s reign of terror.” The maroon stallion glowed brightly for a brief moment, white tendrils of light emanating off his body. “I grant you the power of rejuvenation. With it, may you repair the lost way to the ancient volcano, and quell the rage of the beast that lurks in its depths!” It was then that an orb of white light emerged from the body of the god, and floated over towards Kodai, circling him before merging with his pony form. He could feel the knowledge of its powers flow into him. The celestial plane faded away, and he was back in the forest. Or rather, in front of a very excited and worried Rainbow Dash.

“Woah!” He fell backwards onto his plot.

“Oh wow,” said the cyan mare. “I never seen anyone zone out like that!” She floated back down to the ground.

“Are you okay,” asked Fluttershy, looking his face over.

“I’m fine. I think…” Twilight studied his eyes intently.

“You were given a vision, weren’t you? What did you see?!” Kodai rubbed his temple with his hoof.
“
I saw a white, serpentine Dragon. He called himself Yomigami, a Celestial God. He proclaimed I was to use his power of rejuvenation.” Twilight, stood back, excited.

“Does that mean you have,” she said hopefully. Kodai grinned his largest grin.

“Oh yes! Now we just have to find the other twelve, and-“

“Wait, there are twelve more,” interjected Twilight. Kodai nodded.

“The God, Yomigami, granted the power of rejuvenation. I can repair anything that is broken.” Twilight smirked.

“Oh really? Well, try it on that tree, over there.” Her hoof was pointing at a broken tree, barely able to hold itself up. Kodai smiled confidently.

“Watch and learn.” He focused, intently on the tree. Almost instinctively, time paused briefly, and he was able to see the area in front of him as a painting on a canvas. He could see his tail, tipped with silver, floating some ways above the paper. Slowly, he brought his tail down upon the tree, and marked, in silver ink, its empty side. There. That should do it. Once he brought down the canvas, time seemed to restart, and the tree glowed intensely. Once the glow dissipated, the tree was repaired. It stood, looking as if nothing had changed. The six mares gasped in shock.

“That was SO AWESOME,” squealed Rainbow Dash. It was then Rarity took notice of his tail.

“Dear, look! Your tail is tipped in silver!” He looked behind him and flicked his tail into view. Indeed, there was a silvery end to his tail. “It looks like its ink.”

“It is likely a side effect of the brush,” the alicorn replied.

“Hoo wee, is there anythin’ else it can do?” Kodai held a hoof to his chin thoughtfully.

“Well,” he said. He paused. Then, all of a sudden, a flower appeared in Applejack’s mane. She looked at it in wonder.

“Was that..?” Kodai seemed elated at this power.

“Indeed it was. I’m sure there’s another power that allows me to bring an entire meadow into bloom. Oh, and call that a thanks for helping me back there.” The farmpony blushed.

“Aw, well it was nothin’.” The alicorn nodded.

“’Twas appreciated, though.” He trotted forward. “C’mon. We have a volcano to see.” The mountain was in view, and it was only going to take thirty minutes to reach there. The six mares followed suit.

“So, AJ,” began Rainbow Dash, her tone confident.

“If you say anythin’, I will buck you into next week.” The orange earth pony trotted in front of her friend. The rainbow mare shrugged and followed closely behind.

The end of the first leg was in sight.

Author's Note

I may have just injected myself with diabetes at the end there. Boy, I need to get out more. Enjoy! And sorry it took so long!