Eater Of Sin And Magic

Chapters

Act 1: A Magic Eater In A Magical World
Act 2: An Unfriendly Welcome
Act 3: The First Taste Of Evil
Act 4: Acceptance
Act 5: A Show Of Martial Arts Prowess
Act 6: The First Magic Discharge
Act 7: A Spell To Give Control
Act 8: An Unexpected Invitation
Act 9: Evil? Good? Or Something Else?
Act 10: Evil Eyes
Act 11: A Cruel Divine Prank
Act 12: Somewhere I Belong
Act 14: Shedding The Blood Of The Enemy
Act 15: Two Warriors Find Their Match
Act 16: The Arm Of Oni Taberu
Act 17: The Military Power Grows Ever Stronger
Act 18:A Small Nation, A Superior Military
Prologue: A Whole New Kind Of Food
Act 13: An Unexpected And Unwelcomed Visit
Author's Note

Act 1: A Magic Eater In A Magical World

Aku sat in a prison cell underneath Canterlot Castle after having been transported from the guardhouse in Ponyville. The dimly lit cells and hallway casting a complete shadow on his face as he looked down at the ground and his wrists which were still in irons. The stillness and absolute silence except for the light rattling of the chains was all that filled the whole area. He sat there on the bed with many thoughts running through his head. How did he get himself into this mess and How and will he ever get out? Will he ever get to go back home? Will they kill him for what he has done or because he may be a risk to just about anyone here? They were at least smart enough to let him leave the shroud on, as that was the only thing keeping him from feeding on whatever magic the guards possessed both on his way to the cells and at the guardhouse.

He thinks back to what the voice had told him before he came here about using him to bring havoc to this world. He reaches up and grabs at the part of the shroud covering his mouth. He lets out a growl of annoyance as he realized that this was his life now. He was stuck here, and that there was no way to return to his home, his family, his life.

“I don’t want to be here..I don’t want to cause anyone trouble here. I want to go home!”

He yelled out before standing up and kicking at the bars in anger. He was pissed now. All because of someone’s petty revenge, he is the one stuck here now. He continued to kick at the bars for a while until he felt a little better before sitting back down on the bed and burying his face in his hands. Before long, a couple of guards came down with another who was wearing more decorative armor. A white stallion with a horn and a two tone colored blue mane and tail. He looks down at Aku with a serious gaze and bangs on the cell to get his attention.

“You there, creature. You are coming with me to the interrogation room. I am giving you the benefit of the doubt since you did not resist arrest or cause my guards any trouble on the way here. But try anything or give me any reason to think you’d even try, I will throw you down and you will end up right back here…”

Aku lifted his head up and his hands as well as a sign of understanding. The captain nodded before one of the guards opened up the cell and motioned for Aku to come with them. They walked down the hallway with the two guards at the back and the captain up front. The captain would look back at Aku every now and then and noticed the defeated look on his face, like he didn’t have the will to even try and fight even if he had a chance to run.

Once they were in the room, Aku sat in the car with his hands clasped on the table as the light shined down upon him. The captain sat in front of him on the other side and started calmly with Aku. With the way he was acting, it seemed like he wouldn’t give him the run around.

“Alright. First off, tell me your name. I didn’t mean to come off so rudely by calling you a ‘creature’. But what happened is very serious.”

“I am Aku Musaboru. I'm from Kyoto, Japan and I am a simple restaurant chef.”

“Aku Masuboru? Quite an exotic name you have. And I have never heard of this place called...Kyoto. I am assume that place is your town and Japan is your country?”

“Yes, that’s correct. And yes, there are no such places here, I know that. And yes, I am not of your world, just so we have all those questions answered already.”

The stallion blinked a few times as Aku did indeed answer a few of the questions he was going to ask. He became more relaxed as he spoke with Aku. Just like humans, he wanted everything over quickly and sorted out.

“Alright. Now then, explain what you did to those two ponies back in Ponyville earlier. From what the guard could tell, you drained them of some of their magic as if you were feasting upon it. However, the mare you took magic from said you seemed to be struggling against the flow, as if you weren’t trying to feast on her magic. I take it you didn’t have this ability before you were brought here? What happened before hand?”

“Wel, I got home, went to sleep. Next thing I know I am floating in what appeared to be outer space and a strange voice spoke to me. They said something about choosing me to bring havoc upon this world because of something that would wake inside of me once I came to this world. As if this world’s energy or magic, whatever you want to call it would trigger it. The thing is though, I was brought here against my will by this voice. I don’t know their name, but they said something about being..the master of chaos or something.”

The stallion’s ears perk at the mention of ‘master of chaos’. All he could do was bury his face into his hands and groan in annoyance as not only were the two ponies a victim, but Aku was as well.

“So since he is trapped physically in stone, he has reached out to you somehow and forced you into this world with a rather concerning ability. And from what you said, this ability awakened once you came to our world. I...am sorry that this was forced upon you, Aku. I truly am. Had you done what you did of your own will, you’d be in much deeper trouble. But when you mentioned ‘master of chaos’, I am sorry to say that you have been made into his proxy. And knowing him, he knew exactly what would happen if he brought you here.”

Aku simply buried his hands into his face again and was at the point of breaking down. The stallion took notice of this and frowned a bit as he watched the human struggle with the realization of what he was now going to have to deal with.

“I didn’t want this. I want to go home. I want to forget any of this happened. I was happy running the restaurant with my folks and living a nice quiet life. And just because of some fucking ’ ‘master of chaos’, I am stuck here with this god damned power I didn’t even want!!!”

He shouted the last part before slamming his fists on the table and standing up before kicking the chair into the wall, pacing back and forth before slamming his fists into the wall. The guards were about to restrain him before the captain puts his hand up to stop them. There wasn’t much he could destroy in the room after all. Once he tired himself out, his slides down into the floor against the brick wall and breathes heavily for a few moments before burying his face in his hands again. The captain stood up and walked over to Aku, crouching down in front of him and lightly placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey..you gonna be alright? I know this is a lot to take in and I understand your frustrations. You have been torn away from everything you know. And I am only going to say this now because I don’t want you to get your hopes up. But you will never ever return home. I am afraid that your trip here is one way only. We are not sure why that is, but it’s how it works. I am sorry…”

The captain looks back at one of the guards.

“One of you, get this stallion some fresh water, double time.”

The guard closest to the door salutes the captain and runs out, quickly returning with a cup of cool clean water and offering it to Aku. He simply takes the cup and nods his head in thanks. He looks back towards the captain and nodded.

“I..had a feeling that I wouldn’t be returning home ever again anyway. Also..could you step back? I want to drink this water, but if I lower this shroud when I am near you, you may be in the same predicament as the other two from earlier…”

“Ah..right. Thanks for telling me.’

He said before making his way to the other side of the room. Once there, Aku lowered the shroud and started sipping on the water, finally starting to calm down as well from his fit of anger before. He lifts the shroud back up and stands up before placing the empty glass upon the table. The captain walks over and takes Aku’s chains off his wrists and places them on his belt.

“So...are those two okay..? And what will happen to me now?”

“They are not seriously harmed, it seems to be along the lines of exhaustion and weakness in the limbs from what they described to our medic. I have also heard that their marks are starting to return to their normal state, so their magic loss from you isn’t permanent, which is a relief.”

Aku lets out a sigh of relief and looks down at his now freed hands and then back up to the captain.

“By the way, my name is Shining Armor. I am captain of the royal guard of Canterlot. As for what happens to you. Since you are a victim rather than a criminal. We are going to set you free. But we will keep round the clock watch on you and find you temporary living for now. Until we sort all this out. Would you mind waiting back in your cell until then? I will inform the guards to come and see you should you need anything and let them know you are just in holding and not a prisoner anymore.”

That’s fine with me. I just want to go and sleep..and hope against hope this is all a dream I can wake up from.”

Shining places a hand on Aku’s shoulder in a comforting manner and nodded in understanding. He leads Aku back to the cell he was kept in and locks it back. But not before leaving a guard to stand at his cell.

“If he needs anything, make sure he gets it. Understood?”

“Yes, Sir.”

Shining then returns his attention back to Aku who had made himself as comfortable as he could be on the bed.

“I will get this taken care of as soon as possible. Just sit tight for me for now. Alright, Aku?”

Aku simply nodded and slowly began to drift off into sleep. After a few hours, early evening came around. Aku was awakened by a light tapping on his cell’s bars. He sits up and opens his eyes to see Shining unlocking his cell and motioning him to follow. Aku simply nodded and followed him out of the prison and up to the castle grounds. He kept his gaze on the ground, but felt eyes upon him to the point where it burned.

“The princesses have decided to let you stay in one of the guest rooms on the lower floor under guard watch. It’s not like the suites on the upper floors, but it’s a hundred times better than staying in a cell.”

“That’s fine with me. I won’t complain. And ‘princesses’ huh? No king or queen? Emperor or Empress? Prime Minister? President?”

“I assume that those are the being of higher authoritative power in your world?”

“Yeah, princes and princesses are a step below kings and queens and such. Only in certain countries though. Back home, our leader was called the prime minister. And many other less authoritative figures worked under them. It was all one big tree with many branches.”

Eventually, Aku was brought to his room with two guards already posted outside of his door. Shining opened up the door and allowed Aku in. Aku looked around the room. It had a comfy bed, a bathroom with a shower and a window. It certainly was better than a cell.

“Thanks for speaking with your leaders about this when you certainly didn’t have to, Shining. I really do appreciate this.”

“Get some rest, Aku. Tomorrow is going to be quite a day. We are going to start finding you a place to stay as soon as possible. Sleep well.”

With that, Shining closes the door and Aku hits the bed and curls up under the covers after removing the shroud from his form. He falls into slumber pretty quickly after closing his eyes, hoping that he’d wake up once more in his condo and resume his life once more. He was a magic eater in a magic world. He’d rather be back home rather than having to worry about draining others of their magic or life energy.

The next morning came. Aku opened up his eyes and sat up and looked around. He lets out a sad sigh as his fears were confirmed. This was indeed not a dream. He gets up from the bed and walks into the bathroom, turns on the sink and begins to wash his face. Once that was done, he came right back into the room in time to hear a knock at the door and a familiar voice call out to him.

“Aku? Are you awake? It’s Shining. Can I come in?”

“Yeah, give me a minute to get my shroud back on.”

He said before running back to the side of the bed and wrapping it around his shoulders and face once more. Shining came in after Aku gave the all clear and smiled lightly to the human. He had some good news for him it seemed.

“Well, it turns out we have found somepony who have taken in interest in letting you live with them for a while. And it is none other than my own sister. I had advised her against it, but both her and one of the princesses had encouraged the plan. And I can’t go against her highness’ orders. All I ask is that you don’t betray my trust, and be kind to my sister.”

Aku blinks a few times at the news. It wasn’t what he had expected, but agreed to it nonetheless. He gave a nod and bowed his head in thanks for going through all the trouble of arranging this.

“I will do my best to get along with her and anyone else I can. But I am sure what I have done has spread to the community there. I know for certain I will be looked upon as some kind of criminal.”

”Naaah, you’ll be fine. They know you didn’t do it on purpose. You should go over back to the farm and talk to them, I am sure they will tell you all is well. Just...make sure to keep that thing with you at all times when around other ponies. It seems to be working pretty well. Almost like a nullifying effect. Anyway, I have two guards escorting you to her residence back in Ponyville. Good luck and I will check on you again within a few days to see how you are assimilating into your new life here. Just don’t let it get you down. You don’t have to be what Discord sent you here to be. Remember that.”

Little did both of them know that in the future, Aku would struggle with the other half of his new appetite. The consumption of sin. And how it may drive the risk of becoming someone sinister. Because all that evil has to go somewhere...just as the magic does.

Author's Note

There we go, a couple of chapters to get it started. :3

may the darkness grant you peace.

Act 2: An Unfriendly Welcome

A lot of things where going through Aku’s mind as he approached the entrance of the town while being escorted by a group of guards. But nothing in his mind prepared him for just how many of the ponies knew of his arrive. For as he made his way into the city, a crowd of very upset ponies watched him with gazes of hate and anger. Apparently the news of what had happened at the local apple farm had gotten around. And likely because of over exaggerated rumors, the townsfo;l have had a demonized image of this human form in their minds. If it wasn’t for the group of guards that surrounded him, he could only imagine what would have happened to him if he came here on his own. One of the guards to his left whispered to him.

“By the sun, you must have done something to really piss these ponies off. We were made aware of your situation by the captain. But still…”

“Oh, I am quite certain that they won’t let me forget it judging by those faces…”

He responded as he remained alert. His sky blue eyes gazing left and right at the ponies still. He suddenly feels a blunt pain in his back which makes him stumble forward slightly. He turns to see one of the ponies had thrown a rock at him with quite a bit of force. He narrowed his eyes at the pony, knowing full well the guard wasn’t going to do much about it since they were only ordered to prevent any pony getting close to him. The guard up front looked back at him as they continued to walk.

“You must have a lot of patience to not lash out at them for that. I commend you for that. We are almost there though. Just hang in there.”

“Not like I can do anything anyway. Should I retaliate I can just end up back in the same cell I was in just one day ago. And I’d rather not go back there if I can help it.”

“Smart.”

Soon enough, they came upon the Golden Oak Library where a lavender colored unicorn mare stood outside waiting for them. Aku looked her up and down, getting in as much detail as he could. White short sleeve shirt, black skirt and stockings and to top it all off, a pair of reading glasses in her front shirt pocket. Definitely signs of a bookworm.

“Thank you, sirs. I will take it from here. The princess had told me everything about him and I will have my assistant send word if things get out of hand.”

“Very well ma’am. He’s all yours.”

She looks over at Aku and examines him thoroughly as he did with her. Immediately, she took notice of the shroud he wore around his face. And then took a look at his long white hair which went all the way down to his lower back, then focused on his face once more. She lets out a slight ‘hmmm’ and shakes her head.

“You certainly don’t look like some kind of magic eating monster. But, Applejack was pretty clear on what had happened. ANd she isn’t really one to lie. Please, come in.”

Aku nods before making his way into the library. He immediately looks around at all the books on the shelves and immediately gets that warm fuzzy feeling in his body when the smell of books and the quietness of the whole place hits his senses. It definitely reminded him of his childhood when he went to his own library at school. As he looked around, a short purple dragon watched the human from around the corner in the kitchen, hios green eyes locked onto Aku like and artillery strike painting it’s target. Aku took notice right away and blinks a few times.

“Hey look, a dragon. Pretty sweet.”

Before he made his way into the next room. When he got there though, he stops dead in his tracks and suddenly wonders if he should take his chances outside with the angry mob or the five ponies sitting in the room he just entered which included the orange and cyan pony he had encountered the day before. He gives a nervous smile under his shroud and thinks about diving out the window next to him, but doesn’t want to pay any fees. Not like he has money for it.

“Ah. Hmmmm. This is a bit awkward…”

He said as his eyes fall to the orange pony first. He did feel quite a bit of remorse for what had happened between them his first day here. He lifts a hand up to speak. He may as well attempt some kind of apology. After all, what he did wasn’t intentional.

“I uh..I am sorry about what happened. I don’t even know what I did. I only ran so I could not do it again. It seemed that whenever you or your brother got closer, it just…”

The farm pony gets up and walks over to him. Aku expecting a form of physical retribution closed one eye to prepare for it. But, to his surprise, she just leans in and stares at him right in the face. He opens up his other eye before their gazes meet. Silence filled the room for a few moments before she leans back and 'hmphs' and walks back over to sit with her friends.

“Well, he seems to be telling the truth. But I have met some pretty good liars…”

“Hey, that’s the same guy who I found snooping around with his face covered!”

“Yeah, and you are the one who attacked me. And I fought back in self defense. I don’t care if I was from here or not. It’s rude to attack people simply because they look ‘suspicious’. Crazy ass bitch…”

He mutters that last part under his breath and crosses his arms over his chest as he narrows his eyes at the cyan pegasus who may have caught what he had muttered under his breath. She stands up and gets in his face with a death glare, he returns one back. The tension was so thick in the air you could cut it with a knife.

“WHat are you gonna do, Skittles? You make the first move, I will defend myself. And I don’t need magic eating to do that.”

Just as things were about to get heated up between them, Twilight pushes herself between both of them and pushes the cyan mare back away from him. It was clear that if things got too rough between them, it would result in the destruction of multiple objects in the room.

“Dash, that’s enough! He is a guest in my home and I will not allow you to treat him in such a rude manner. He already apologized for what he did to Applejack and her family!”

Dash pushes Twilight’s hands away from her and points at Aku.

“I don’t care! If that..’thing’ has been brought here by Discord, he shouldn’t even be standing here! He should either be turned into a statue or at least put back in prison!”

Aku clenched his fists hard enough to where his knuckles cracked audibly in the ears of all the ponies in the room. He lowers his head before he suddenly stares back in anger, gritting his teeth before speaking.

“Shut. The. Fuck. UP! I didn’t want to be here in the first place! I was taken from my own world which I had a life I loved living and all the sudden some fucking villain from your world decides to pluck me from my comfy life as a god damned ramen chef then drops me from your fucking sky! To add to that I have some kind of magic eating thing I have to deal with now and suddenly I am being judged for something I didn’t do on purpose that I have NO control over. And to make matters worse, I can never go back home! So give me a [i[FUCKING break!”

All went quiet except for the heavy breathing coming from Aku. Apparently all the bad mouthing of him finally made him speak his mind about the whole situation. All six of the ponies stared back at him with eyes as wide as saucers and their pupils shrink as well. One of them, a yellow pegasus mare seemed to shrink back into the couch she sat on visibly shaking from the face he had made even though half of it was covered. He gives one last heavy sigh and calms down before leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed.

“Where can I find the room you will have me staying in? I don’t really have the patience to deal with...I am assuming these are your friends, at the moment.”

“O-Of course. It’s the room upstairs down the hall and the room on the right. Please, make yourself at home.”

Aku pushes himself off the wall and makes his way up the stairs quickly brushing past the little dragon who had been eavesdropping on the whole conversation. He makes his way up the stairs quickly not wanting to have to deal with any more of this nonsense for the rest of the day. He was most certainly done with the day.

“Let me know if you need any-!”

SLAM!!! She was cut off by the slam of the door which made her ears fold back and wince at the force of the door. She turns to look at Dash with a very upset face and crosses her arms in annoyance. The cyan pegasus sat back down on her seat as she knew that she was about to get an ear full.

“Really, Dash? Really? I told you to go into this with an open mind. And you went ahead and needlessly escalated the situation?! What in Celestia’s name were you thinking?!”

“I was..but he...! Gaah!”

She screams as she throws her hands up in the air and crosses her arms as she pouts. Applejack on the other hand having gotten the story straight from him was feeling rather bad that she had judged him so quickly. And that wasn’t like her at all. She sighs lightly.

“Golly. Poor fella has been through a lot in just the first couple of days he’s been here. Had I known all that happened, I wouldn’t have said what I had to him. He didn’t deserve that.”

“Honestly Dash. Twilight is right. That was a really mean-meanie pants thing to say to him! Especially to someone you tackled in the first place! I didn’t even get to give him his welcome cake!”

Said the rather bouncy pink earth pony mare who gave a pouty face as well. However, she was determined. She’d find a way to make him feel welcomed if it took her months. That’s the kind of pony she is after all. Then, the white unicorn finally says her piece on the matter.

“And that think he wore to cover his face, so plain and boring! He needs one in the same color, but with some kind of..regal design or something. It would at least make him look a bit better than just regular grey. But I agree. We can’t simply condemn him for something that was forced upon him. It just wouldn’t be right.”

“He...he made such a scary face when he got upset. Especially his eyes. They made my spine shiver and I felt my body go cold..”

Twilight shakes her head and sits down with her friends while Spike came in with tea and snacks for the group. He takes his places next to Twilight before she started speaking to them all as a whole group.

“Look, I am not saying that we have to automatically trust him. But look at the facts. Where in Equis, let alone Equestria have you ever seen somepony like him? And if he wanted to, he could have saved us all of our magic right then and there when he came in. And he covers his face with that shroud so it doesn’t happen. And all those ponies out there see him as some kind of magic stealing creature who wants to rob them of their magic completely. I even saw one of them throw a rock at him. And all he did was just look back at them. Not an ounce of hostility. The point is, we should try to befriend him so he doesn’t feel alone here. And may in time the pony in town won’t see him the way they do now.”

They all agree on this, even Rainbow Dash does. But for now, they had other business to talk about since they were all gathered there.

--A Few Hours Later--

Aku laid in bed after having just stared up at the ceiling in thought. His mind racing about what was going on while he was away from home. He was happy he didn’t leave any pets behind for sure. But what about his family? His dad and his restaurant? His mother who loved him so much is probably freaking out and calling his phone nonstop and had surely used her spare key he had given her to check up on him in his home. It broke Aku’s heart to know that he will never, ever see them again. Not to mention all the contests he had worked so hard to train for, his winning streaks, all gone.

Another thing that pained him, was the girl who had looked up to him whom he had met in the restaurant. WHat will she think of him now that he is no longer going to be competing in those very contests she’d watch him outeat everyone else? All he could really hope for is that she becomes a better legend than him or find something else to strive for. The sound of knocking interrupted his train of thought. He gazes over at the door and calls out.

“Who is it?”

“It’s just me! I was wondering if you are hungry. I assume you haven’t eaten since you left the castle today. Would..you like me to make you something?”

He stands up and makes his way to the door and opens it, gazing at the purple unicorn for a moment than shook his head. He was hungry for sure, but he wasn’t going to let her make him food. Chef’s habit and all.

“I’ll go down and make something myself. I am not about to have you waiting on me hands and fo-...hoof.”

He said as he made his way passed her down the stairs and into the kitchen. Night had already came, and so he flipped on the lights and began familiarizing himself with the kitchen and where everything was. He had decided on breakfast for dinner. Pancakes with maple syrup and butter along with hashbrowns and eggs, seeing that there was no bacon or sausage in sight in this kitchen.

He grabs a hair tie from his pocket and ties it up into a ponytail before getting to work. As he makes his food, Twilight watching him whisk the ingredients into pancake mix and cut up the potatoes into fine thin pieces and toss both of them into their respective frying pans. The mare had to catch herself from drooling as the smell certainly got to her.

“By the look on your face and the sound of your stomach, you haven’t eaten either. #What about the little dragon?”

“O-Oh, he has already eaten and gone to bed. I came up to check on you while taking a break from my studies. You don’t have to worry about me though!”

“Well too bad. I am making you dinner. It’s the least I can do for you taking me in when you didn’t have to. So sit down and get comfortable. It will be ready soon.”

Twilight nodded and sat at the table on his orders. She continued to watch him before he finally brought her plate. It wasn’t anything fancy, but the food looked amazing and smelled amazing. She smiled and clapped her hands happily. But, frowned as he took a seat on the other side of the room on one of the chairs against the wall.

“I don’t mind sharing my table with you…”

“You know I can’t when i have my mouth uncovered. Otherwise it will cause trouble for the both of us.”

“Oh...right. Sorry.”

The rest of the time was spent eating quietly with Twilight glancing at him every now and then. Once he had finished, he washed all the dishes including hers once she had finished and started his way back up the stairs without a word. She watches him leave and simply gives a sad sigh before returning to her studies. She felt sad for the human. She’d try her best to get him to feel better. And the first thing on her list? TO find a way to help him control the triggering of his magic consumption.

Act 3: The First Taste Of Evil

It has been a few days ever since Aku was thrusted into the world of Equis. And what a rough few days it has been for the human. Between the stares he got and the rocks and various other blunt items that were thrown at him each time he left the library, it was a wonder how he hadn’t lost his temper at his attackers and went on a full magic devouring rampage.He wasn’t about to cause any trouble that he couldn’t get out of.

He had taken an interest in reading the books that had been shelved in the library however. The language seemed the same from what he was used to, so there was that. He mainly got himself up to speed on the important parts of the history in the world. All he could do was chuckle and shake his head as he read the part about how the princesses got in a power fight over a little sibling rivalry squabble about who the ponies loved more as their ruler. “Really? Folks get into fights over something much more pressing than things like this back home…”

He closes the book before standing up and placing it upon the shelf. After which he heads into the kitchen to make something quick and easy. Upon his entry, he sees both Spike and Twilight sitting at the table having a discussion about something. He didn’t really pay attention to them as he was rummaging through the cabinets and fridge to put a meal together. He decided a peanut butter and jelly sandwich would suffice for now until it was time for dinner. During the few days he was here, he had offered to take over the cooking duties to help lighten Spike’s load when it comes to the household duties. And there have been zero complaints from his culinary skills.

As he makes his sandwich, he catches bits and pieces of their conversation about how something has been going on around the small town. Something about fillies and colts vanishing from their homes at night. Seems that his world and this one aren’t so different. Young ones go missing quite often either because their parents let them go out at night or they are wealthy and hold their children for ransom. That is usually the two main cases. His thoughts roll back to certain times back in his world where he’d hear such things on the news. But there his thoughts were shattered as he heard his name being called out and a slight tug on his long sleeved grey shirt. “Aku? Aku, can you hear me?” Asked Twilight as she continued to lightly pull on his sleeve.

“HM? Oh, sorry Twilight, I was in thought. I hadn’t realized that you were talking to me. What do you want?” It was a good thing he hadn’t pulled the shroud from his face to eat yet, otherwise there would be trouble.”Well, I was wondering if you could watch the library for Spike and I while we run to Canterlot. I have some business I need to attend there and Spike will be needed as well.. I realize this is a bit of a burden on you. But-” Aku lifts his hand up to stop her.”It is fione, Twilight. I can handle watching the place just fine. I don’t have to leave or anything after all. So I will be just fine. You and Spike go do what you have to.” Twilight Had truly expected him to decline her. But surprisingly he did not. This made her tail sway side to side in a soft manner. He was so nice to do this for her. It made her feel even more confident in him that he truly wasn’t a bad stallion. The others just weren’t giving him a proper chance.

Thank you so much, Aku. It really means a lot to me that you’d do this. I’ll bring you back something sweet as a little thank you.” Aku simply nodded and lifted a hand up, placing it upon her head and started petting her between the ears. He wasn’t sure why he did that. But it just felt...right to do. Twilight didn’t even protest at action until she came out of the blissful daze from the attention. She leaned away from the petting hand with a blush on her face. This made Aku smile under his shroud.”Heheh, sorry. It just felt right to do and I don’t know why. Anyway, you two be careful on your trip. I’ll hold down the fort until you both get back.” Twilight nodded and went up to go and pack he needed items. Spike waved to Aku on the way to his room to do the same.

A couple of hours roll by. The sound of nothing but a ticking clock echoes through the parlor where folks could get comfy in chairs and on couches while they read. And Aku was certainly comfortable on one of them with another book in hand. This time he was reading a book of poems by an author named Dusk Raven. The style and words themselves would rather similar to an author back in his world. Only thing different was they involved ponies instead of humans. “Hmm, I can’t really call it plagiarism if the writers are universes apart..”

He flips through the pages as he continued to read, the poems certainly confirming his suspicions.”If Mr. Poe was alive and here, I don’t think he’d appreciate this…” He said as he kept reading. As he finished one of the poems in the book, there was a knock at the door. Should he get up and answer it? Or just pretend no one was home? Twilight wasn’t there after all. It was none of his business. The door knocks again but this time, a voice calls out. “Twi, Are you there? I need your help with somethin’.” It was one of her friends. Judging by the accent, it was the orange farm pony. Aku reluctantly got up from the couch and went over to the door and spoke from behind it.”She and Spike had left to go to Canterlot for the afternoon. She left me here to watch the place.”

There was silence for a moment before Applejack spoke up”She..left you here by yourself?” Aku made sure that the door was locked before he spoke again.”Yes, And I am not opening this door until she returns. Last thing I need is you or anyone else to get me into trouble.” Applejack huffs and stomps a hoof. “Hey! That ain’t very nice of you to assume I am gonna cause you trouble! Besides, it was your fault that all that happened!” Aku narrowed his eyes and walked away from the door. He wasn’t going to deal with her or anyone else who might gripe at him.”Just come back later. I am not dealing with you. I know you and your other friends hate me so don’t waste your time or mine. You don’t have to feign kindness just because Twilight asked you.”

“Why you…” Applejack pounded on the door before she called out to him”You open this door right now! You and I are gonna have a heart to heart talk about this!” Aku simply ignored her and flopped back on the couch before returning to the book he had been enjoying. When Applejack knew that he was ignoring her, she stomped off in annoyance. In her heart, she knew he was only keeping his distance and being rude to simply avoid any potential problems. But the way he was going about it was just unnecessary.

Night had set upon the land. Twilight and Spike have yet to return from their trip and it was getting quite late. Aku stood in front of the window with his arms crossed as he watched for them to come to the door. He decided to just head to bed as they must have gotten a place to stay and couldn’t make it home on the same day. Hours passed as Aku slept soundly in his bed, enjoying the softness and warmth that was his blanket and pillow. However, a sound had awakened him. It sounded like something outside had been opened forcefully or broken into. He sits up and rubs his eyes before shuffling over to the window to look outside to see what was going on. Once he got a good look, he saw what appeared to be a cloaked figure holding something wrapped up in a blanket or cloth of some sort. At first, it looked like it was just your run of the mill burglary. Possibly someone stealing something of value. But upon clear inspection, the covering seemed to be moving as if someone was inside it. Thoughts began to run through Aku’s mind at this point. He wondered if it would be the right thing to do to go after this pony and see what he could do to help. After all, that may very well be a colt or filly in their possession. Or should he not interfere at all to avoid any trouble that he may run into. “God dammit all. Me and my fucking morals…” That was all he said before he quickly slid his shoes on and ran down the stairs and quietly opened the door. He kept low and out of sight as he followed the figure to wherever they might be taking who they had kidnapped.

Soon, Aku had followed the figure to what appeared to be a rundown stone structure on the outskirts of the town that was obscured by trees and vegetation. The figure spoke with another who seemed to be guarding the entrance> “Which of the children did you get this time?” Asked the stallion standing guard.”One of the rich brats. And not just any of them, but Filthy Rich’s daughter. Surely we will be rolling in bits after he and his wife pay the ransom I had left them.” said the hooded figure with a wicked smile on their face. Aku waited behind the r5ock he had stayed behind while the cloaked figure went inside. After they had left, it was just the guard now. Aku moved in closer, still crouched as he made his way behind the structure. He lets out a light whistle before hiding behind a bush that faced towards the building.”Hm?” asked the guard as he made his way over to investigate. Once he turned the corner to look around, Aku moved in quick and kicked the guard in the back of the knee to make him drop to the ground and with all his strength wrapped him in a sleeper hold. “What the fu-hrrgk!”The guard struggled, but Aku kept his feet planted firmly on the ground, and soon enough the guard dropped his arms and went limp.”Sweet dreams, big guy.” he said as he started searching for anything on the stallion that might come in handy. He had found a set of keys which Aku assumed that might be for a holding cell or something like that. Not only that, but he had decided to take the weapon that was on his belt. A simple double edged sword, nothing fancy. But better he have it just in case the pony wakes up and the other pony returns.

Aku made his way into the structure as silently as he could, ever watchful of any other ponies that may be inside or returning from outside. Aku looked around the room. No holding cell or young ponies in sight. He started stomping his foot on the floor, listening for any part that may be hollowed out. Perhaps they were being kept underground where no one would think to look. Once he hears a distinct difference in where he stomps, he pulls aside a rug that did indeed reveal a trapped door with a lock on it. Looking over his shoulder once more, he makes sure the coast is clear. After trying a few different keys, he finds the right one and unlocks the door and quickly lifts it up. Inside that cell, sat five young ponies. A look of fright on their faces when they see Aku lifting up the door.”P-Please mister...let us go home! We won’t tell anyone ab-..W-who are you? You aren’t one of the stallions who took us from our home…” said one of the fillies who looked at Aku. He placed a finger to his covered lips and motioned them to follow him.”Against my better judgment, I followed your captor here to see if I could help. Come with me and I’ll get you all home. Stay low and keep up.” he said in a hushed tone. Once they got a better look at their rescuer, they all gasped.”You are that bad pony who our parents said to avoid! The magic eater!” One of them exclaimed in a whisper. Aku narrowed his eyes before making sure no one was behind him, then looked back.”You wanna take your chance with me and be able to leave this place and return to your families? Or do you want me to close this door and leave you here with them?” asked Aku. The ponies were silent for a moment. Before they all nodded and followed him out of the building. They stopped and hid behind anything they could as he made sure they weren’t being followed. However, when they got closer to the town, Aku heard something whistling through the wind, and felt a sharp, piercing pain in his left shoulder. He growls out in pain as the force made him stumble back into a tree. Adrenalin started to flow in his body and the children gasped in horror as their rescuer had been struck with an arrow. Aku’s eyes shifted to find the cloaked figure from before wielding a bow.”Well look who it is. The outsider. Come to collect these children for yourself? Well, I am afraid they are currently unavailable for you to have. You see, their families are going to be paying us for their return. And it would be a shame to have them returned without our ransom being given.” The figure removed their hood to reveal a mare with a deep purple coat and a black mane. Her eyes a golden yellow and who looked like they have killed.

One of the young ponies called out to Aku.”Mister! She is the one who took us from our families! Be careful! SHe is a bad pony!”. Aku grabbed at the arrow and gripped at it. He lightly wiggled it and grunted before ripping it out with one clean motion. Thankfully nothing vital was hit and the wound wasn’t serious. But it still hurt very much.”You kids get out of here, I’ll keep her busy while you head home. The town is just beyond the trees behind me..get going!” He shouted. The foals quickly did as he said and scattered. The mare aimed her bow at one of them before Aku took the sword he had taken off the guard and chunked it at her. The blade spun in a vertical fashion towards her, making her duck out of the way and causing her to lose her grip on her bow. In this short instance, Aku ran as fast as he could, tackling her and lifting her up off the ground before plowing her into the ground and climbing on top of her with his knees holding down her arms and wrapping his hands around her throat tightly.”Time to put a stop to your cruelty…” he said as he squeezed as hard as he could while the mare kicked her legs and struggled. Aku suddenly pulled down the part of the shroud that covered his face. A stream of purple magic started to flow from the mare’s open muzzle, but something else was mixed in with that stream. An even darker and more toxic looking purple and black stream flowed into his mouth along with the magic.It was almost like he was sucking out her soul. The mare’s eyes filled with fear and tears as she watched this happen. It would seem that she found fear of this man with what he was doing to her and it only made her struggle even more until all her strength had left her and she went limp. She wasn’t dead, but with what he had just done, she had lost her magic and her will to be evil. This didn’t mean she was good, but her fire that drove her was completely gone now, as was her strength.

Aku stood up from the mare and back away as he placed his hand on the wound he had taken in his shoulder. It started to hurt even more now that his adrenaline had worn off. The mare coughed and looked up at him, fearing for her life.”W-What are you…? What have you done to me..?” She asked in a shaky and weak voice.”I did what I was against doing. But you left me no choice. ‘Magic Eater’ isn’t a simple rumor. I literally just ate your magic. And it tasted so foul.” he said as he spat to the side to show his disgust for the flavor.”I ate all of it, so you can never use whatever talent you possessed ever again. So you can’t ever use it to cause trouble or bring harm anymore.”. Aku could see where the mark should have been on her hips. Nothing but fur, not even a faded image. He turned around and started walking back towards town while still holding his shoulder,”You are a monster! To take away a pony’s cutie mark is like taking their very soul!”. Aku stopped and turned his gaze back to the struggling mare.”You should have found a much better use of your talent rather than kidnapping children and holding them for ransom.” he said before continuing on back to town. The mare called out to him with her hand outstretched in a desperate plea,”Please....give it back...PLEASE!!!” she cried out as if something precious had been stolen from her. Aku didn’t stop, he kept on going, ignoring her screaming and begging until he could hear her no more with the distance he had put between them. Was what he did the right thing? To consume the very essence of her magic? It must have been. It was to protect the innocent lives of the children after all. He lifted the shroud back up to cover his face.

Aku finally made it back into town where the town square was filled with parents who were now reunited with the children. Sounds of happiness and tears of joy. As he walked past them all, one of the colts pointed to him,”Look, mom! There he is. The magic eater who saved us from the scary pony! He found us by following her to where we were being held! He isn’t a bad pony at all!”. The colt and the other foals tried to run up to him to thank him for what he had done, but their parents hold onto their children for dear life and simply stared at Aku as he looked back at them, but continued on back to the library. Just as he was about to make his way away from them, one of the ponies from the crowd ran up to him and stood in front of him,”Sir, let me take a look at that. I am one of the nurses off duty from the town’s hospital. My name is Red Heart.”. AKu simply went around her”I don’t need your pity or anyone else’s. I simply did what I could to make sure they were returned home. Would have done the same thing back in my world. I know you and your fellow townsfolk want nothing to do with me.” Aku said in a low tone of voice before continuing to make his way back to the library. But, was again stopped by the nurse,”Please, sir. If that isn’t taken care of by a professional, it could get infected. Let me at least bandage it up…” she said as she guided him over to the bench by the fountain. Aku reluctantly agreed and sat down and removed his hoodie that he had thrown on when he took off. R3ed Heart went straight to work, pulling out a small portable medkit she kept on her at all times and cleaned up the wound with disinfectant and wrapped it up firmly with bandages.

He kept his shroud tight around his lower jaw so that there wasn’t any chance of him consuming any magic from her,”So...you wear that thing to keep from eating our magic…?” asked a stallion who had approached him from the other side of the fountain. Aku simply nodded in response as he kept his eyes down on the ground, feeling the stares from the other ponies all converge on him now.”And..what happened to the one who took all the foals? Is she..?” Aku shook his head,”She is alive. But she won’t be causing any more trouble. That’s all I am going to say.”. After he was bandaged up, He stood up and bowed his head to the nurse pony and made his way back to the library once more,”Thank you for saving us, mister!” “Yeah, thanks a bunch!” said the young ponies as he walked away. He simply waved a hand as he walked away and out of sight. He was more than sure that Twilight was going to hear about this. But he didn’t care, he felt like what he did was right. And that’s all that mattered to him.

Act 4: Acceptance

It was a nice, cool yet sunny day in Ponyville. And it felt even better in the shade where Aku rested on the outskirts of the town under a large tree in front of the flowing river. It was nice to finally get out of the house now that hostilities towards him had dropped. Even if only a little. But at least ponies weren’t trying to harass or assault him like they did when he first came. Even so, the human kept a reasonable distance away from them which is why he was where he was. Plus, he preferred solitude. As he gazed up, the leaves blocked out the sun with only small rays of sunshine coming through. It was peaceful here. $Especially after getting an earful from Twilight about how she was only gone for a day and so on. But in the end was happy that he risked his own life to save others only proving to her friends and the other ponies in town that he wasn’t a monster bent on eating their magic. He was just happy he didn’t have to worry about things being thrown at him anymore.

Just as he was about to doze off for a while, he hears the sound of grass being stepped on not too far away from him. He opens an eye in that direction to see it was a pony creeping up on him. It was one of Twilight’s friends. The yellow pegasus with the pink mane and tail. Once she realized she had been caught, she lets out a ‘meep’ and hides behind another nearby tree before poking her head out to gaze at him. He sits up and places his hands in his lap before turning his head in her direction, “Something you need? Is Twilight asking where I am?” he asked before rubbing his eyes. The pegasus shook her head without a word, but continued to watch him with a curious gaze.”So um..d-do you like..animals?” she asked in her quiet tone of voice. Aku rubbed his chin in thought and nodded,”I am partial to canines myself. I had a husky I grew up with before she passed away due to old age. Her name was Tsubaki. Best friend a kid could have ever asked for. As he was telling of his canine friend’s passing, Fluttershy’s eyes started to well up with tears as her hands covered her mouth. Aku blinked a few times and sort of understood why she was upset. But at the same time, she didn’t even know his dog. If anyone could be upset, it was him.”Hey...it’s okay. She lived a happy and full life. Loved her with all my heart and spoiled her rotten. She was given a proper burial under the big tree in my parents’ backyard under our big tree.” Fluttershy started to speak between sniffles.”It’s just...so sad when you lose..someone so close to you...who has been with...you for years…”

Aku sighed lightly. She had a point. Had he known she was going to be so sensitive about it though, he wouldn’t have said anything to her about Tsubaki. He reached up slowly and placed a hand upon her head and started to gently peet and rub between her ears.”But you know what? I will never ever forget her. The memories we had together of playing fetch, going for walks and zoomies and especially bath time. She loved her bathes, but would immediately go into doggo drill mode when she got out. Water went everywhere. She was a good girl. SO no tears, alright? She’s in a much better place anyway.” He said as he removed his hand from her head. The petting and words seemed to help a little bit as he saw her wipe away her tears and smile at him.”I always wanted to get another dog. But I was afraid that due to my nearly filled schedule that I’d never have time to give them all the love and affection they needed. Sorry...I must be boring you with all this.” He said as he waved his hand side to side a bit. Fluttrshy shook her head a few times”Oh no! I-I just really like animals! And to hear you speak so fondly of your pet..it makes me very happy. She sounds like she was a happy dog! I just assumed that someone like you didn’t really have a thing for pets. You seem so...stand-offish and such..not that I am trying to be mean! It just surprised me, is all! Please don’t think I am trying to offend you or anything!” She started to get really nervous now thinking that her words were being taken the wrong way. And he could see her gaze shifting in all directions as if she was trying to avoid looking at him. He quickly sat up and took hold of her shoulders firmly but gently”Stop. Calm down. Take a breath. I know what most of your kind thinks of me around here. At least you decided to engage in conversation with me. You are going to be just fine. Understand?” She stared into his eyes for a moment. As she did so, she could see directly into his soul. Behind that shroud that covered his face, she saw a strong yet gentle being dwelling deep within his heart. Once she had calmed down, Aku gently released his hands around her shoulders and fell back onto his back in the place he was resting before.”Geez. Are you always this skittish? Don’t think that everyone is out to hurt you, silly girl. You will only live a sheltered life living in fear of everyone who may possibly want to be your friend.” Perhaps Aku shouldn’t really be one to talk. Being the biggest introvert of them all. Even after big events he went to such as eating contests or his family’s restaurant, being around so many people always drained him at the end of the day.

Fluttershy averted her eyes from him as she placed her tail in her lap and started fidgeting with it. Something she did to help calm her down a bit.”Well..i don’t normally talk with a lot of other ponies other than my friends..so I decided to take a chance and come see you. I was on the way to the market to pick up some things for Angel, my little pet bunny. When I saw you lying there. I don’t know. Something told me to come and say hello…” She said as she continued to run her fingers through her tail. Aku opened up one eye back in her direction.”Well, you are more bold than you act. Anyway…” He said as he stretched and yawned before standing up”..I am going to go and explore more of the outskirts of town. I won’t let you waste any more time talking to me. I am sure you got better things to do after you run your errand. My name is Aku by the way. Nice to meet you...Fluttershy was it?”. She nodded and stood up on her hooves before she wiped off the grass that was on her knees”Yes, that is my name. And it is wonderful to meet you as well, Aku. Please be careful out there.”. Aku walked past Fluttershy and gave a departing wave over his shoulder before sticking his hands in his pockets.

As he walked along one of the roads, Aku didn’t notice that a certain orange pony was coming up behind him with a basket of apples under her arm. She immediately took notice of him however.”There is no mistaking that long white mane. Hey you!” she called out to him. Aku turned his head to look at her picking up speed toward him. He took this as a sign of hostility and booked it himself.”Oh hell no!” he shouted as he took off fast enough to leave a small dust trail behind him. Applejack gave chase, tossing the apple to the side of the road so that they didn’t weigh her down”Damnit all! Y'all get back here!” she called out as she was starting to gain on him. Aku could hear the hoofsteps getting closer and closer. It was now time to put his muscles to work. WIth a low grunt, he starts to put it into overdrive putting distance between them again.”What in tarnation?! He’s fast!” she said to herself as she tried to close the gap once more. Soon enough though, she had cornered him into an alley that had a large wall blocking his way forward. He turned to see she was blocking the way back with her arms out.”You got nowhere to go, bubba. Not like you can grow a set of wings!”. She said as she thought she had him completely cornered. Aku looked up and then smiled slowly at her under his shroud. She saw that smile form and arched a brow.”You really think you can get outta here..? I am blockin’ the only exit!”. Aku chuckled lowly before running up the wall and leaping from one side to the other as it was narrow enough for him to do so. A little bit of parkour knowledge was given to him during his martial arts training it seemed. And muscle memory took over once he started the climb. Applejack just stared in disbelief at Aku’s dexterity. As he made the final leap over the edge of the wall, he placed a hand down on it and flipped while flipping his middle finger at her with another smile. All this happening in slow motion until he vanishes from her view. On his way down, he falls into a..cart of hay? He sits there for a moment after sticking half his body out of the hay and blinks”What is this? Assassin’s Creed?” he asks himself before vaulting out of the cart and continuing his run from the farm pony. After all, there are plenty of ways into the town and he had to find somewhere to hide. One building he was close to caught his eye. It looked like a carousel that was covered and had all kinds of frilly decor on it. He runs towards that one and bursts through the door before slamming it behind him. He slides down with his back to the door and rests his arms on his knees while breathing heavily and his head hung as he tried to catch his breath.

“One moment, I will be with you shortly~!” Said a soft and posh voice from the other room. There was something familiar about that voice that he couldn’t quite place. But once the pony it belonged to came into view from the back, he sighed and facepalmed ”Oh great..the snobby one. Just the one I needed to run into after the farm girl.” he thought to himself before looking up at her.”Don’t worry, I won’t stay here for long. Just waiting to the coast is clear for your redneck friend to stop looking for me.” Once she saw who was in her store, she’d let out a scream of fright and hid behind the front desk”He’s here to eat my magic! Somepony help!”. Aku groaned and screamed back at her ”Oh shut up! Even if I wanted to eat anyone’s magic, it certainly wouldn’t be yours! Females like you who think they are all hot shit and better than everyone else make me want to puke! And I am sure your magic would be just as toxic! You can make yourself as pretty as you want, it won’t do anything for your uppity personality!” He said before starting to cool down. Not realizing beforehand the damage his words had done. As he looked back towards her, her eyes were streaming with tears, her mascara dripping down her face before the sobbing commenced. Aku groaned and looked away.”Not so fun being judged harshly now is it? Think about how I felt when you and your friends did the same to me. Look..I am sorry. I shouldn’t have said that to you. I am just under a bit of stress at the moment for being chased down by the psycho farm pony. And I lashed out at you.” He stood up and made his way over to her behind her desk. He pulls out a clean cloth from his pocket and holds it out to her while averting his gaze”Here, clean yourself up. You are ruining your makeup…”.

Rarity cowered in fear as he got closer to her before peeking through her hands to see what he was offering her. She slowly took the cloth from his hand and started to wipe her face with it. He walks away from her and makes his way to the door.”I am sorry again. It wasn’t my intention to make you cry. I will just go ahead and leave.” He opens the door and stops on his way out”I am sure you are a lovely female to be around. Don’t let what I said out of anger make you feel any less.”. With that, he steps out of the door and closes it softly behind him. Once he was out and back on the city streets, he makes his way over to Twilight’s library and goes in before collapsing on the couch and sighed in annoyance.”Why should I feel bad for her? It doesn’t make any sense. She is the one who assumed I was going to cause her harm when I just needed a place to hide!’ He lets out another groan before heading upstairs and into his room to pass out. A few hours later, there was a knock at his door. He opens his eyes slowly and grumbles”Who is it?” He said as he turned on his side to face the door.”It’s me, Aku. You have a visitor.” Twilight said through the door. Aku turned away from it and pulled his covers over his head”I don’t want any visitors right now. Tell them to go away.” There was another knock at the door, this time it was another voice,”Darling, please. Let me come in and talk to you…” Said that same posh voice he had heard in the shop before. This only made him go quiet before he had got up and placed his shroud on himself once more before unlocking his door and opening it before peeking out of the slight opening.”What do you want? I already said I was sorry.” She could see the look of mistrust on his face with what little of it she could see. Twilight looked between them both as she wasn’t aware of the exchange that had happened between them earlier. Rarity clenched at the front of the shirt she was wearing and looked up at him.”I...wanted to come and apologized for the way I acted when you came in. It was very unprofessional and unlady-like of me to react in such a way.” Aku shifted his gaze to the ground”It’s okay. Not your fault that half the town still thinks I am some kind of magic eating monster waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Now if you don’t mind, I am going back to sleep.” Before he could shut the door, she pushes on it and tries to make her way in”Please don’t shut me out, dear...I know you always retreat here when you don’t want to deal with the problems you have going on here. However, I am not here to add to your burden. Please, let me in.” Aku knew that Twilight just couldn’t keep her mouth shut. He’d sigh and open the door to let her in before he sat on his bed. Rarity closed the door behind her just as Twilight tried to make her way in behind her.

Aku looked up at Rarity as she made her way to his bed and sat next to him. She noticed that his gaze fell to the floor right as she sat down next to him.”I..wanted to give you something as an apology for how I acted earlier…” She said as she held out the gift bag she had brought with her. Aku was quick to decline it ”You don’t need to give me anything. You have already said you are sorry. That’s enough for me.” He said as he continued to stare at the ground But Rarity wasn’t having any of it”Please take it, sweetie...that shroud you have on is just so boring and plain! I think you will like the one I made for you much better!” Aku lifted his head up to gaze at the bag that she was now holding out to him. He takes the bag from her gently and opens it up to find a black and icy gray accented shroud made from a mesh fabric that allowed for both warmth and coolness. He looked it over and looked over to her. She had the look of expecting him to try it on in front of her. So he got up and stood away from her as he took off his current shroud and placed the new one on him before turning around and letting her see the result.”Well, I like the feeling of it. That other one felt too stuffy and didn’t allow easier breathing like this one does.” She claps her hands together with a smile”And it looks so good on you! Much better than that boring one!” She was happy that he liked her gift. He sat back down at the edge of his bed with his hand clasped together and his elbows resting on his knees”Thank you. You really didn’t have to give me this.”. She shook her head and gently placed a hand on his shoulder”You know..I really don’t believe you are what most of the townsfolk say you are. I am just a bit of a drama queen, is all, and I let the gossip get to me.” She said as she then stood up and stood in front of him before giving him a hug”If Twilight doesn’t have any problems with you, then neither do I. She told me all about what happened with you and those foals you saved. And since it came from her, I am more inclined to believe in your good deed. And it was very brave of you.” She released him from her hug and took his hands into hers in a gentle manner”From now on, I will consider you a friend and would like to learn more about you and where you came from. And I am sure that the others will follow in time. Just give them a little bit more time to understand you, sweetheart. Come by my shop anytime if you want to talk. I will be happy to make you some tea and we can chat.” She said before taking her leave from his room. All was quiet now, and Aku just sat there.”What the actual fuck just happened..?” he asked himself.

Author's Note

I still don't know who I am pairing off with him at this point. xD

May the darkness grant you peace.

Act 5: A Show Of Martial Arts Prowess

Another day in Ponyville comes around as Aku wakes up and does his usual morning rituals of a shower and brushing his teeth. He has been getting up earlier than Twilight so that she didn’t have to worry about walking in on him like she had accidentally done a few times ever since he started living with her. After he gets done with getting dressed, he makes his way outside to see the shops opening up for the day and the other townsfolk going about their day. Aku didn’t have any plans for the day, so he figured a nice little walk would do him some good to get his day going. Things between him and the other ponies seemed to have finally reached neutral ground since they weren’t giving him death glares left and right. Even some of the younger ones seemed to have warmed up to him, especially the ones he had saved that one night.

As he ventured around town, a pink blur zoomed out of nowhere and tackled him to the ground in a big hug, “HUGS!” she cried out. Not having expected this to happen this early in the morning, Aku goes down quickly. He gets ready to whack the attacker in the face with his free hand when he sees that it was none other than the soft and curvy party mare, Pinkie. He sighs and lowers his fist as the cotton candy-scented mare continued to nuzzle against and hug him as tight as she could. Aku tried to push himself free but she had him pretty good. He just sighs and looks down at her. “You know, it’s best to ask first before glomping someone like that.” She giggled before releases and straddles over him.”I don’t know what ‘glomp’ means but, it sounds like fun!” Aku pushes her off him enough to make her fall back and give a cute little “Oof!’ before he gets up and dusts himself off before looking down at her”A tackle hug is what we call a glomp back in my world. Strangers don’t usually do that to each other.” Pinki jumps up and slides in front of him with her snout barely inches away from his face.”But we aren’t strangers, we are friends!”

Aku blinked a few times and shook his head”I do not believe we have established that connection. You can’t just say someone is your friend and then it becomes just so. Friendships take time to build up and mature just like a fine wine. I get that you are all bubbly and friendly with others, but that doesn’t work with everyone.” He said as side steps around her and continued on his way. However, she slides right back in front of him.”Well, how about we get to know each other now then?! You can come help me make a big order of cakes that need to be filled!” Aku didn’t even get the chance to p[rotest before Pinkie grabbed his hand and dragged him off with a smile on her face, leaving a trail of dust behind them both.

Aku blinked a few times as he suddenly found himself standing in a kitchen with an apron on. A look of unamusement on his face as one of his eyes twitch in annoyance. But, he sighed and cooled down before Pinkie could notice the look on his face.”I should tell you...I don’t specialize is cakes and pastries. So I don’t see how I’d be of much help here.” He said before reaching into his pocket and ties back his hair, knowing full well that she wouldn’t accept that as an excuse to bail. And right he was. She places a book in front of him with pages that were bookmarked and opens it to the first one for him.”That’s okay! You can just read out the recipes and I will do the rest. It will save me some time without having to look back and forth from the bowl to the book.” She gets in close and playfully hip bumps him.”Teamwork!” She exclaims before giggling. As much as Aku didn’t want to admit, she was pretty cute between her happy personality and her fluffy mane and tail. He just sighs in defeat and looks down at the book.”Well, hurry and get to prepping. I have other things to do.”

The minutes rolled by as they worked in the kitchen. And those minutes became hours rather quickly. Once they had finally finished, Aku took the apron that he had somehow gotten placed on his body and tossed it over his shoulder”Alright, I am out. I have had enough of baking things for one day. See you, Pinkie.” He makes his way to the door when waving a hand over his shoulder. But before he could go, he felt his hand being grabbed from behind then he was pulled into a tight hug “Thank you for helping me take care of this order! It would have taken me twice as long if you hadn’t been here. Here is a little treat on the house for your help~.” She said as she placed a chocolate cupcake with buttercream icing on it. He looks down at the tasty little snack and takes one bite out of it. In his mind it was absolutely amazing, but of course his response was “Thanks, it’s alright I suppose.”. With that, he makes his way outside and down to street as he nibbles on his cupcake

As he continues his exploration of the town, he can’t help but feel that his was being watched and followed. He checked his peripheral vision over and over again to make sure that he wasn’t going crazy as he made his way to the park. He finds a bench to sit down at and leans back into as as he gazes around the area. Families were having picnics, flying kits. Joggers and pet owners enjoyed the scenery as they kept their pets and themselves in shape. Aku closed his eyes after looking up at the sky, his memories of home returning to him as the sounds of the park bustling reminded him of the one park he’d hangout at in his own world. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud bark which made him jump slightly. He looks down to see a black and brown german shepherd sitting there panting at him with her tail wagging. Straight away he’d noticed that a leash was sitting at her side while on her collar. He smiles lightly and leans forward, slowly reaching his hand out to let the canine smell his hand. Once he knew the coast was clear, he reached to her cheeks and rubbed them before petting her.

“Hey buddy~. Did you get away from your owner? You should know better than to do that now.” The dog lets out happy whines as her tail wags harder with the attention she was getting from him, that hind left leg stomping against the ground when he found that one sweet spot that he scratched.”Oooh such a sweet girl, yes you are~. Come on, let's go and find your owner. The dog barked happily as Aku took her leash and walked beside him as if she was his pet for years, that tail still wagging like crazy.

Once they had gone around searching for her owner for what felt like forever, Aku hears someone calling out a name that sounded like it would be a pet’s name “Mishka! Where are you girl?!”. Aku looked at the pony in question before looking down at her tag seeing the name ‘Mishka’. He smiles and walks over to the mare and lightly taps on her shoulder “I believe I found your little runaway, ma’am.”. The mare spun around to see Aku which made her stumble back and fall to the ground in slight fear, even scooting away from him. But once she had seen that he did indeed find her dog, she looked up at him with distrust on her face”W-what do you want for her..? Take all my money if you want it..”. Aku wasn’t even going to justify that question with a response. He kneels down in front of Mishka and pets her while making kissy sounds at her. “Now you be a good girl and stay with her. Don’t go running off again~.” The canine barked happily and lifted her front paws over his shoulders in a hug only canines could give. He responds to the affection by hugging her and running his hands up and down her back before standing back up and making his way away from the mare.

All was well after that. He had explored the little town till the sun had set for the day and the moon had risen. On his way back home, he could hear some commotion going on in one of the houses that didn’t have its lights on. He figured it was just the nightly activities of its occupants before he hears a loud scream coming from inside it along with the sound of breaking glass and more rustling about. He shakes his head and continues walking on. “It's none of my business…”. He keeps on walking until the cries for help rang out the house. This made him stop again before he hesitantly started walking forward again, this time more slowly. “No, Mommy!” cried out a younger voice.”You WILL give us the money you owe tonight! It’s not our fault your husband is a dead beat who can’t pay his debt on time. So we are taking you as compensation!” Shouted the other adult voice which sounded very much male. “YOu won’t be seeing your mother for a while, kid! She is going to be very VERY busy with paying off your father’s debt!”. “Nooo! Leave my mommy alone!”. A sudden thud was heard as the child hit the floor and cried out in pain before the door flung open with three stallions pulling the young mother by her arm as she struggled to break free. The colt ran out with a bruised cheek after his mother only to have one of the stallions push him down again. That was enough for Aku. It was time he MADE it his business.

Aku stood in front of the group’s path with his hands in his hoodie pocket. He narrows his eyes at the group with a disgusted look on his face.”Are you guys for real? Collecting debt from someone is one thing, but hitting a child in front of their own parents? Let alone hitting a child? You are some pretty sick fucks, to be sure.” The group stopped before him as they took a good look at who he was. Straight away they drew their weapons as they knew from others just what he was capable of. Well, when it came to his magic eating ability anyway.”Hey, freak..this is none of your business. We will hurt ya if we have to. You can’t devour our magic all at once.”.

Aku walked towards them with his hands out to his sides”You think I need magic eating abilities to throw you three to the ground? Normally I don’t give a fuck what you or anyone else would do around here. But you laid a hand on that kid so now, I am going to lay you three into the dirt.” The one in front suddenly lunges at AKu with a lead pipe in hand. Aku falls back to the ground, but immediately jumps right back up with a kick of his legs forward before performing a roundhouse kick to the stallion’s jaw. Aku lets out a wince of pain as he hasn’t done a kick like that in YEARS. However, the stallion falls to the ground with a bloody muzzle before getting up and grabbing his weapon, his friends charging in after him. Aku makes contact with one of the holding a knife who tries to stab him in the ribs. Aku grabs the stallion’s wrist and uses his free hand to chop furiously at the inner side of the attacker’s elbow before flinging them to the ground. The other coming in behind him with a sword which they swing down at him to cleave him in the shoulder. Aku twists his body as his legs leave the ground in a sideflip before landing on his feet jabbing his middle finger and index finger together in the sword user’s throat, making him drop instantly like a sack of dumb potatos. He then turns his attention to the stallion with the pipe. He wan’t quick enough to dodge the on coming attack, but he managed to lessen the blow with the underside of his arms since it was more padded on the upper side. It still hurt like hell though. He growls lowly in pain but shakes it off while he pushes the weapon away and suddenly performs one of his special move, a solid backflip kick to the face then bouncing back with a flying leap kick to the chest, sending the stallion flying back eight feet while tumbling away. “That's all you got, ladies?”.

He suddenly makes his way to the stallion that was using the knife and pounces on top of him. He straddled over his chest before he started punching his face over and over again. A wicked smile forming over his face unknowing to him as he doesn’t stop until he sees red all over his hand.”How do you like it huh?! How do you enjoy being beaten by someone who is stronger than you?!” He suddenly stands up and grabs the tallion by the collar and flings him toward the other two before leaping on top of the one who had the sword and repeated the same type of assault, and again with the other who used the pipe. Once he had finally laid into them enough, he comes back to his senses. He stares down at his hands which were covered in blood and bruised from the sheer force of his assault. His breathing was heavy and his eyes shifted from his hands down to the three stallions who laid there on the ground rolling and groaning in pain.”Wh-what are you…?” one of them asked as they just realized that tonight was indeed not their night.”I am someone who you hope to not see again causing trouble for this family. When you bring harm to children just because you aren’t getting your money on time, be sure to think of me before you do it again. Because if I find out, next time you won’t get up.” He reaches into his pants pocket and takes out a small bag of money that had been given to him by Twilight. He tosses it at their hooves with a dead serious expression on his face “That’s all you are getting. Get out of here and never bother them again.”.

They take the money and limp off into the night to wherever they came from. Aku’s attention turns to the family who were huddled together as they watched everything unfold before them. He walks over to the nearby fountain and starts washing his hands of the blood, taking immediate notice of the forming bruises he had gotten from his assault “Damnit….Twilight is going to see these and be on me like white on rice…” He then turns his head to the mother and son before walking past them.”You two need to get inside. They won’t be bothering you anymore.”.

Aku looks over the colt to make sure that he wasn’t too banged up from the hit he took from the stallions. Luckily it wasn’t anything too serious.”Put some ice on his cheek, that’ll reduce the swelling and ease some of the pain.”. Before he could walk off, the colt ran after Aku and tugged on his blood stained hoodie, “Hey mister! WHat was that? I have never ever seen that kind of fighting style before..the way you moved and struck them. It was like you were made of water!”. Despite his injuries, the colt smiled up at Aku with full interest in how he disposed of their attackers. Aku simply offered a smile back”It is called martial arts, kiddo. It’s like regular fighting, but with a bit more finesse and inner power behind it.”. The colt tilted his head lightly at the last part, “Inner power..?”. Aku nodded and kneeled down in front of the colt. He places his index finger on his chest, then his tummy, then the side of his head”Here, here and here is where your inner power comes from. If you train your mind, body and heart to be strong and never back down, you will know inner power.”. The colt smiled widely as if he had just met his new role model in life. “Do you think you could teach me, mister? I wanna be strong like you so I can help protect my mother from bad guys like that!”.

Aku chuckled lightly and ruffled the colt’s mane, “That’s up to your mother, kiddo. I don’t know if she’d be too pleased with you going around with the knowledge of something so dangerous. But if she says yes, then I’d be happy to give you lessons. But until then, I will see you around. Be good.”. By the time that he got back to Twilight’s home, it finally hit him. The idea that would soon cause quite to commotion within the community. He should open up his own dojo! He could make money and help the community defend themselves from assholes like the ones he beat down earlier.

Author's Note

I am still alive! Just finding it hard to be motivated to write more these days. Still here though, just gonna take a while is all.

May the darkness grant you peace.

Act 6: The First Magic Discharge

It was a rather gray and rainy day as Aku and the usual six ponies sat in a quiet train car on it’s way to Canterlot. Twilight and her friends had been summoned on some royal business with the princesses. While Aku would have loved to just stay behind and enjoy some time alone, Twilight suggested that he should come along to explore the new area for himself while two out of the six of them urged her to bring him along so that they could keep an eye on him. Those very two being Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Twilight and Fluttershy sat across from Aku who sat there with his hood over his head and shroud covering half his face. As if he didn’t look shady enough already. Aku sighed lightly and finally spoke up to break the silence. “So while all of you go about your royal equine business, you know you can’t keep an eye on me since your ruler demands all of you to be there.” he said while eyeing Applejack and Dash who seem to have a constant glare towards the human.

Twilight gives a nervous smile to Aku before scratching the back of her head. “Well...the thing is...you are actually part of the reason they had called us to Canterlot. So you will most definitely be coming with us to the castle. But I did promise I’d show you around the city after we finish. Just...please keep your face hidden when in public. I don’t think the ponies in Canterlot are ready to see somepon-...someone like you yet.”. Aku blinked a few times but only scoffed at her remark. “You know, I can show my face anyway. How many times do I have to remind you that if this shroud comes off, some poor pony’s magic is going to be my next snack. And that is something I can’t control.”.

Suddenly, the seat that Aku sat on bounced slightly when Pinkie decided to sit next to him. She leans in close to his face with a big smile, seemingly unphased by his rather grim disposition at the moment. “So! What did Applejack’s magic taste like?! Was it apple flavored?!” she asked while lightly pushing on his shoulder as if doing that would help her pry the answer from him. Aku arched a brow before looking between the three mares who seemed to be interested in his discovery all the sudden. “No, it wasn’t apple flavored. It actually tasted like fresh buttery pancakes with maple syrup and fresh apple juice. Something that I dreadfully miss from where I am from. Though, judging by your scent and color, I imagine your magic must taste like cotton candy or bubble gum.”. Pinkie gasps and suddenly jumps off her seat and bounces on her hooves. “Oooh oh oh oh! Wanna try it? I bet it does taste like those!”. “PINKIE!” shouted both Applejack and Dash. “Are you completely insane? Offering your magic to this...this…”. Aku looked toward Dash with a tilted head, waiting for her to hurl the next insult She could think of. “This what? Hm? Go ahead, Skittles. Gimme your best shot.”. That nickname again. Dash didn’t know why, but that name pissed her off to no end, She stood up and approached him from her seat before he stood up and met her half way in the middle of the row.

“What are you gonna do? One wrong move on your part and my shroud just might slip. And you are right at point blank range.”. Twilight stands up and tries to quickly make her way between them, but Dash comes up with a slap towards Aku’s face which he promptly grabs her wrist and thrusts his open palm into her midsection with one swift motion. Not causing the mare any pain, but the force of it sending her right back to her seat nearly knocking Applejack over. The sheer force and movement of the counterattack sending a small wave of wind in the immediate area. “What the hay was that?!” shouted Dash as she scrambled back up to her hooves. Aku remains in his fighting stance before slowly lifting his hands up as he inhales, then pushes his palms downwards as he exhales.

“That was a little negative reinforcement to remind you not to step up on me. I made that perfectly clear the last time you thought about doing that. You might be the fastest flyer. But I am the superior martial artist. At least that I am aware of in this world. Perhaps the farm girl here wants to see if she can take me. I know she has just been itching to get back at me for something that I COULDN’T control. She even chased me down to the point where I had to hide in one of the shops just to avoid her.” Twilight’s gaze switched over to Applejack whenever Aku said that. “You did what?!” Twilight exclaimed as she threw her arms in the air at the orange mare who suddenly started shifting her gaze around to avoid Twilight’s before she finally spoke up. “That’s right, I changed him down! I just wanted to talk to him about what happened. And then he just takes off like a damn jack rabbit. And then when I finally have him cornered, he leaps over a wal three times bigger than himself!”

“Oooh, that must have been why he looked so exhausted when he came into my boutique the other day. I will admit, I react rather..poorly to that. Thankfully he and I already reconciled that little exchange. He really isn’t such a bad stallion. You must have scared the poor dear to death! You aren’t exactly easy to talk to when you are in such an aggravated state, Applejack.” said Rarity as she made her way over from her seat which was a couple rows away. Apparently she had been listening in while reading one of her fashion magazines. “By the way, that new shroud really suits you. It is just a shame that you will have to hide your face for the majority of our trip. You have quite the lovely pair of blue eyes~.”. Dash jumped up to her hooves and pointed at him with a look of both anger and confusion for why Rarity hasn’t slapped the human herself. “Um..hello?! Did you not see what he did to me just now?! He flung me across the train like a damn ragdoll!”

“Oh hush, Skittles. If I really wanted to hurt you, you’d be struggling to get to your hooves right now. Besides, you were the clear cut aggressor, I simply defended myself from your attack. It doesn’t matter who or what you are where I come from, you initiate a fight, the other person has a right to self defense. Besides, you look like you are well built to handle a little shove.”. There was that name again. Just as she was about to charge at him, Twilight steps in the way this time. “That’s enough! No more fighting about this! Now sits your asses down this instant until we get to the station!”. Shouted Twilight as she started breathing heavily before realizing her outburst. A huge blush formed across her cheeks before she returned to her own seat and covered her face with one of her books.Aku couldn’t help but chuckle at this as he returned to his own seat across from her. For the rest of the train ride, there wasn’t a single word uttered between the whole group.

Once they had finally gotten to Canterlot, the rain was still coming down rather hard and it showed no signs of letting up. Everyone had their umbrellas at the ready and began making their way to the castle in one group. Before they departed from the station entrance however, Aku took notice that Fluttershy was still standing there with her umbrella clenched tightly in her hands. Aku returned to her to make sure that she was alright, placing his umbrella over her. “Afraid of the thunder? I noticed you were quite uncomfortable on the ride up here each time the thunder clapped.” She shook her head, not even speaking to him before another loud clap of thunder rang through her ears, causing her to let out a loud “Eep!” before she clung to his arm for dear life. Aku gently reached up and patted her between the ears. “It’s perfectly alright, I had a friend who I would walk home with from school on days like this. She was afraid of thunder as well. No need to be ashamed about it. You can stick to me as close as you like.” He said before they started walking back to the rest of the group. Twilight took notice of this gesture between the two and couldn’t help but smile a goofy smile at how cute and wholesome that little exchange was though, she’d be lying if she didn’t think she was a little jealous. Sharing an umbrella with a stallion would be fun for most mares. Rarity and Pinkie were certainly thinking the same thought.

After a long walk in the rain, the group finally reaches the castle entrance where guards and Shining Armor were awaiting their arrival. The stallion arched a brow when he saw one of his sister’s friends wrapped tightly around the human’s arm which made him think that they were actually a couple. “Uuuuh...hey there, Twi! Good to see you as always, baby sister.”. Twilight ran up to her brother and gave him the tightest hug that she could give him, always happy to see him no matter the occasion. He leans in to whisper to his sister to make sure that things were..okay. “Um..Twi? Are those two a couple..? They seem awfully close sharing that umbrella.” Twilight giggled softly before shaking her head. “No, She is just afraid of thunder, and he offered to share his umbrella so she could feel a bit more secure while clinging to him. It was a pleasant surprise since he is normally so serious and grumpy. I think...he is finally starting to loosen up a bit though. The poor guy has been on guard for every little thing ever since you sent him down to Ponyville.” Shining nodded as her sister spoke. “Well, they threw things at him and jeered at him when he first came there. So I am quite impressed that he hasn’t gone and sucked up every pony’s magic that he had come across. He certainly has quite the willpower.. Anyway, the princesses will see you and your friends now, Twi. And of course he will need to come along as well.”.

Once they were finally in the castle, they sat their umbrellas to the side of the main entrance on hooks that stuck out from the wall. Poor Flutter shy was still clinging onto Aku even though they were safely away from the big bad storm. Aku gently nudged at the yellow pegasus.”Hey, we are inside now. You can let go.” Fluttershy reluctantly released his arms and whispered a soft “Th-thank you…” Before she ran up to join her group of friends while he walked behind them a couple feet. Aku simply nodded to her before she ran off. Once they were in the throne room, the main doors closed behind them with a loud thud. Aku now stood before the two princesses of this realm. One who stood at about eight feet in height, and had some serious curves going on. And another who looked to be in a more fit state and stood about seven feet tall. “Ah, I am happy to see that you have all made it here relatively safe and dry.” Celestia said as she smiled down at Twilight and her friends. Though, she gave a rather neutral but not unpleasant expression to Aku.

“WHat is it you need to discuss with us, princess? Is everything okay?” asked Twilight as she rose to her hooves after having knelt down to show her mentor and ruler respect. Celestia couldn’t take her eyes off Aku, however. The way he stood before her. So defiant and yet, she could see in his eyes that he wasn’t a disrespectful person. “I simply wanted to see how your charge was doing back down in Ponyville. I have heard rumors of all kinds. Though, the good outweigh the bad, thankfully. The most impressive of those rumors is that he went out and saved a group of foals that were being taken from their homes in the middle of the night. Quite a noble gesture on your part.” Celestia said as she stood up from her throne as her sister watched on from her own. She makes her way down as the group of mares stand to the side to allow her through. Aku lifts his head up to make eye contact with the alicorn and simply chuckles. “That’s one big equine to be sure.” he stated. Celestia stared at him for a moment before letting out a giggle. “I am sorry...I was told to expect a rather ruthless and vicious creature would be visiting us today. But I can see now that you are just someone who doesn’t take any nonsense from anyone.”

She looked down at his hands which he had bandaged up the night before. She knew full well why those were there, as the guards had informed her of the incident. “So what happened to your hands?” She asked, seeing how’d he answer her. Aku hid his hands quickly in his pockets. “I’d rather not discuss it here in front of the others if you don’t mind.” Celestia smiled again as she started to circle him. “So, you are the type that likes to keep even your good actions to yourself until someone else uncovers them. Even then, you’d rather not bring it up.” Aku simply nodded in return to her statement, “Well, it is bad manners to brag about your good deeds and exploits. At least that is what I was taught when growing up.”. Celestia nodded and smirked as she looked back at her student. “I see that he is quite the noble and kind spirit. Though a bit of a renegade.”. Twilight blinked a few times as she had no idea what was going on or being said. Apparently, she wasn’t being told of his action while she wasn’t looking!

“However, there is the matter of this..” she said as she reached out toward the shroud. Aku was quick to take hold of Celestia’s wrist which made the group of mares gasp and the guard grab their weapons and charge toward him, ready to cut him down at a moment’s notice. “I’d...rather you not touch the shroud let alone try to pull it down. Or else everyone within this little area will become my next snack. And I’d rather not do that again.” He said as he stepped back while removing his hand from her wrist. Celestia was a bit surprised by his sudden grasp, but understood why. “So it is true. You can devour one’s magic. And you can’t control it. That is why you cover half your face.’ She places a hand upon her chin in thought before speaking again. “You refuse to put anyone here in danger of losing their magic, but my guard had a report of a certain criminal who now has no trace of magic left in her body. I believe you know who I am referring to.”.

Aku tensed up for a moment. He had been found out and now Twilight knows of what he had done. “That was a matter of life or death! I did what had to be done to save myself and prevent that cruel bitch from ever doing what she was doing again! Separating children from their families and selling them off if they didn’t get their ransom money is something that should be punished! Your guards certainly weren’t doing their jobs until I was the one to take care of it! A fucking outsider! What would you have done in my situation-?”

Aku suddenly feels a sharp pain rush down in his left arm and burst into his left hand. The bandages that covered that hand burned away quickly. He lets out a scream of pain as he grabs his wrist and falls to his knees, his whole left arm shaking violently as it starts to spark and arch magic all over the place. A tear forming in his palm with a mixture of dark blue and silver magic. He continued to writhe in pain as Celestia and the others back up while the guards stood in place with their weapons at the ready. “W-what is this? What are you doing?! Celestia exclaimed as she formed a shield in front of herself and the other mares. “I-I don’t know what’s going on! It hurts so much! Gaaah!” he cried out. He was suddenly lifted into the air and flung around like his hand was tied to a string, a low ‘wub’ sound slowly started before picking up speed. “G-get back! All of you get away from me!” The guards quickly moved away as they realized what was going on. However, it was too late for them to get out of the blast as it had a radius of fifteen feet, creating a rather powerful shockwave as well. Which sent them and Aku flying across the room. And being in the center of it, Aku got the worst of it. Once the dust had settled, there was a shallow crater in the middle of the throne room and guards were tossed about the room like they were paper. They had minor to moderate injuries but, Aku laid there absolutely motionless, his hand still sparking with residual magic before it finally stopped.

Shining Armor and more guards charging into the room with their weapons drawn while assessing the situation. They saw the other guard writhing in pain while they looked for Aku who now had Twilight kneeling next to him with her head on his chest. There was no breathing, no heartbeat. “What happened here?! Are you alright, princess?!” he asked as he rushed over to her to make sure she was alright. “We are alright, Captain. But...something happened with him. He and I were speaking and he just fell to the ground in pain. This magic started sparking in his hand and an unseen force just lifted him into the air then an explosion! It was as if he was under its control rather than control it!”

Twilight shook AKu firmly, trying to get him to open his eyes. Using her magic to try and restart his heart as it had stopped completely. “Come on, wake up! Wake up!” she cried out as she pushed up and down on his chest while sending low volts to his heart. Had the blast killed him? Or would Twilight be able to bring him back? After all, the human body isn’t meant to store this land’s magic for so long.

Author's Note

NO, he's not dead dead. Would be rather stupid to kill off the main character. :p

May the darkness grant you peace.

Act 7: A Spell To Give Control

Aku slowly opened up his eyes, his vision blurred for a few moments before his surroundings came into view. The place he had woke up was certainly not what he expected though. The view of big glass windows, a large black chalkboard at the front of the room, and desks in rows for students to sit for their lessons of the day. Aku noticed that by the position of the sun, as was after school hours. “Mmmh, must have napped through class again, I am sure I am going to hear it from Ms. Yomata again.” The young man gave a dread-filled sigh as he got up. He was wearing a white and black collared shirt and black pants, his school’s uniform and even then Aku had his hair long down to his lower back. The sound of a chain lightly dangled against his hip as he leaned down to grab his back and tosses it over his shoulder. And as if right on queue, the voice of his teacher could be heard on his way out as she was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. She was one of those beautiful and young teachers, but didn’t take any nonsense from her students. “Musaboru, I believe that I have already told you that you need to stop falling asleep in my class five times. This time makes it six.” she said as she turned to face him.

Aku sighed before turning to face her and gave a slight bow of his head. “Yes, Ms. Yomata It’s just my folks have been short staffed lately at their restaurant and I have been covering the night shifts which don’t end till around ten o’clock at night. Then I do the homework that you hand out. But the time that’s done. It is midnight.”. The teacher goes silent for a moment and then sighs. She knows that he has a lot to deal with in his life outside of school and can understand. He is a good student and that is why she continues to poke and prod at him. “I know you are struggling a bit more than most kids here, Musaboru. Your grades are perfectly fine otherwise I’d be sending you to the office for sleeping in my class. But, the other students might think I am giving you special treatment if I leave you alone to do what you will. So, if I get on to you in the middle of class, it’s more of me doing my job.”. Aku gave a nod in understanding. He knew his teacher was only doing her job, that is why he never held it against her when she got onto him. “I know Ms. Yomata. Thanks for showing a bit of mercy on me. Once we get more folks in the restaurant, I will be able to focus more on my studies. Hopefully, that will be soon.”. His teacher gave a gentle reassuring pat on his shoulder before she walked off. “Hang in there, kiddo. Since this is your last year of high school, you won’t have to deal with me for much longer.”. Aku gave a soft chuckle before waving at her. “See ya later, Ms Yomata. Be careful heading home.”

Aku walked down the street from his school. Once he made that turn, he came face to face with a blue haired girl dressed in a black skirt and dark blue collared shirt with black stripes on the sleeves. She had pale skin and beautiful night blue eyes and wore black ribbon in her hair. The first thing on Aku’s mind is which school did she come from? He had never seen a uniform like that before. The second thing on his mind was that he found her extremely attractive. She must have been one of those goth girls that believed in summoning yokai or telling ghost stories in the dark. Aku could totally dig that kind of stuff. The girl smiled at him before she spoke up as she approached him. “My goodness. So this is the word you came from. It certainly has its charm. These trees with the pink leaves on them are especially lovely.”. Aku turned to look at one of the trees in question before answering her. “These are called cherry blossoms. They bloom every spring. Are you not from Japan? You look japanese, but your accent sounds rather...american.”

The girl giggled and shook her head. “I am not from your world, actually. I have been trying to make my way into your dreamscape for quite a few days now. We had feared the worst when your heart had stopped beating and you became unresponsive after that blast of magic caused you quite a bit of harm.” She made her way closer till she stood right next to him. Don’t you realize that this is all just a dream? You aren’t home and you certainly aren’t back to being this young again.”. Aku was greatly confused, but it all became clear when she snapped her fingers and the dream flowed away like water in a river. He was normal back to his present self, and so was the girl who he now saw as her true self as well. She was the dark blue furred alicorn who had sat next to Celestia. They now stood above the city of Canterlot, high in the clouds with the moon shining brightly upon them.

Aku freaked out a bit, jumping backwards before realizing that he was standing on clouds as if he were standing on a solid marble floor. “Oh right...dreamscape. You said that…” he said before lightly slapping his forehead. The towering mare gave a soft giggle before nodding. “I am princess Luna. The other ruler of Equestria. And if I remember, your name is Aku. A rather strange but, alluring name,”. Aku laughed and turned his attention to Luna after gazing at his surroundings. “If only you knew the meaning of the name, you might not think so. Aku in my language means ‘evil’ or “evil one’. Though, I suppose my last name makes it sound less sinister. Musaboru means ‘to devour.’ So you could say that I devour evil.” He said with a light laugh. Of course he wouldn’t know just how right he was for now.

“‘One who devours evil’, you say? That is quite a name indeed. But in this world, you seem to devour magic. Were you able to eat magic back in your own world?” asked Luna with increased curiosity. Aku shook his head in response. “The only thing I ate back in my world was food. A lot of it. I won eating competitions and all that stuff.”. Luna nodded and started circling him just as her sister did. “And yet, you don’t gain a single pound? That is really unfair…” she pouted as she stood in front of him again. But, enough about that. It seemed as if your body went into a sort of...stasis when you got hurt. Our doctors patched you up, but it seemed that our healing magic doesn’t quite work on your body as it normally does with ponies. Your body seems to react rather slowly to it. As if it was resisting.”

Aku suddenly realized what was happening to him with those words from Luna. His body wasn’t meant for this world’s magic. So if he consumed too much, his body would reject it in the most violent of ways, but at the same time, it seemed that his body also nearly negated, or at least has a super resistance to magic being applied to him. A classic double-edged sword situation. Aku took all this in, finally figuring out why his body had suddenly started hurting before the blast. “There is some good news in this, however. It took a lot of magic to make the spell stay in place. My sister and I had to be the ones to cast the spell because it kept bouncing off you with our best court mages. But, you do not have to wear that shroud over your face anymore. You can now freely consume magic at will. But, I am sure you’d rather not do that anyway.”

Aku looked over to Luna with a hopeful expression. “Truly? I am not at risk of draining anyone of their magic? If this is the case. Then I am very much in you and your sister’s debt for doing something for me that caused you both such trouble and strain on your magic. I am very appreciative for such great kindness.” He said as he did a deep bow towards her. “Truly, thank you from the bottom of my heart.” he said with another bow. Before coming up again. “You are very welcome. Though, one bow was good enough.”. Aku scratched the back of his head with a nervous smile. “Sorry...something we also do back in my world when such a thing or rather something equal to is done for us. As a sign of gratitude and respect.”

As Aku finished explaining, the dream slowly started to fade away like water flowing down a stream once more. “Ah, you are finally waking up. I do hope that with this spell, things will be much easier in our world for you. I will pop by in your dreams another time. Take care now.” she waves to him with a light smile before fading away as well. Aku’s eyes open up again before he sits up quickly. However, doing this quickly brought pain to his upper body as it was still quite sore. He places a hand upon his midsection and lets out a low ‘Oooooowwwuh!’. Take about a delayed reaction from the initial blast. While his body was healed, the soreness was most certainly still plaguing him. He fell right back onto the bed and let out a sigh of discomfort before he took a look at his surroundings once more. Yep, he was where he thought he’d be. In a hospital room in the same world he was stuck in. It would have been too good to be true if he was back home.

As he fell back onto the bed, he heard hoofsteps heading his way in a hurry. His cry of pain must have alerted the nurse nearby. She peeks in to see that he was awake and quickly went to grab the doctor. “H-He is awake, doctor! Come quickly!”. Soon enough, the doctor came in and sat next to Aku with his chart in hand. “You are quite fortunate, sir. While your body was pretty banged up, that blast should have left nothing behind. Some of the castle guards who got caught in that are actually on leave because of broken bones. However, your body ahd shut down for a whole week, but you weren’t dead at the same time. It is truly a medical mystery.” Aku listened. He had also noticed that his shroud wasn’t covering his face. So the words that Luna had spoken were true. “Well, I am grateful to the princesses for fixing my...previous issue with you ponies. I am not eating your magic unwillingly now.”

The doctor arched an eyebrow wondering how he could have known that beforehand. But then he remembered that the princess of the night was able to delve into dreams of others. “Well, if she has given you the rundown, all I need to say is that you are free to leave when you wish. A friend of yours dropped by with a new set of clothing for you since the ones you were wearing had been reduced to tatters. I will leave you to get a bit of rest and let you get changed. Make sure to not consume any magic if you can help it from now on. Last thing I need to hear about is you ending up in the hospital again because of this. Oh, and one more thing. There is a spot on your left palm that refuses to heal. While it isn’t infected or anything, it is more like a magical wound that cannot be closed. Just...keep an eye on it.”.

After the doctor left, Aku took a look at his left hand. There was indeed a wound there. But not a physical one. It was as if there was a magical tear in the middle of his palm. But it didn’t hurt like before. It was more of a light tingling sensation for now. But the wound sparked every now and then just to remind him it was there. After laying there for what felt like an eternity, he gets up and gets dressed. Seeing the way the clothing was made, he knew right away Rarity had made them for him. “I am going to have to thank her as well. She certainly didn’t have to make me a new set of clothes.” he said as he slid on the knee length coat which had a deep hood on the back. Along with a new pair of black jeans and a black shirt that felt rather soft and silky against his skin. And it would seem that they were able to salvage his shoes to the point where they looked brand new. Not to mention they felt like he was walking on clouds now.

Once he was dressed, he slowly but surely made his way out of the room and took the elevator down where he found both Rarity and Fluttershy waiting for him. Aku tilted his head at the both, but smiled before shuffling over to them both. “Hey, you two. Good to see you again. Got the word I was up and about huh?”. Rarity smiled and made her way over to him with Fluttershy right behind her. “Good to see you are still with us, darling. You gave us quite a fright the other day. Oh, but those new clothes look so good on you as well! And you don’t need to cover your face anymore! I am very pleased with how my outfits fit you. And even more so to see your face fully now. You have such sharp and handsome features~.”.

“I-I was worried about you as well. I decided to stay behind with Rarity so that..I could come and check in on you while you were sleeping.” said Fluttershy as she timidly approached him, lifting her head up towards him as if expecting pats of approval which she surely deserved. He reached up and placed his hand between her ears, gently petting her and running her fingers through her hair. “Thank you, uuh Fluttershy, was it? For making sure I was doing alright. It was extremely sweet of you.”. She wagged her tail happily at the praise and thanks he had given her. He then turns his head to Rarity. “And thank you for the new outfit. You certainly didn’t need to go through the trouble.”. Rarity waved her hand lightly at him and shook her head. Oh, you were due for a new outfit anyway, sweetie. I think this looks much better on you anyway~. Now, let's get you back home. I think Twilight has been pacing so much that she has made a three foot circle on her floor!”.

--In The Castle Throne Room--

“...and that is all I could figure out from his dreamscape.” said Luna as she conversed with her sister about the time she had spent in Aku’s dreamscape. Celestia rubbed her chin lightly in thought at her sister’s words. “So he truly seems not to be an intentional threat to us then. So long as that spell holds, I don’t think he will be causing harm to innocent ponies. But his body...it took us so many tries and so much magic to bind that spell to him. He truly has a grand resistance to our magic, but should he devour it and it builds up at any time, it could be dangerous for both him and the ponies around him. We will keep an eye on him for a little longer. But for now, I think he means well.”

One of the throne room doors swings open as a royal guard makes his way towards the duo and bends a knee to them both. “Princesses, I come with news. The one called Aku has left the hospital and is now heading back to Ponyville with your student’s friends. It seems he has recovered enough to move, but that is all.”. Celestia nods and dismisses the guard until the room was empty again. She rests her chin upon one of ehr hands and gazes out one of the windows. “‘One who devours evil’ huh? Perhaps there is something behind that name that he doesn’t even know yet. Only time will tell I suppose….”.

Author's Note

Enjoy another one. :D

May the darkness grant you peace.

Act 8: An Unexpected Invitation

It has been a little over a few months since Aku was finally given control of his strange ability.to consume the magic of the beings in this world. And the fact that he still hadn’t gotten out of the habit of wearing his shroud was apparent as well. At least when he went out into public anyway. It was more of a comfort to him rather than a need now. He was finally getting used to living in this new world. But in his mind, he still felt like an outcast to ninety percent of the population in Equestria, if not more. But, what could he do? He was still considered a magic eating monster.
Thanks to Twilight’s teaching him this world’s language when she had the time, he could now enjoy a book and do other everyday things without having to worry with what signs or labels read. It was definitely difficult for him to learn the language but thanks to Twilight's eagerness to teach and her patience, he was good to go. He just considered it strange that they spoke english while their written language was something different entirely.

Aku laid under a tree in the middle of the town park with a book in hand and a bottle of orange soda next to him. The book was titled ‘Buck My Life’ which contained short stories of ponies who have had those ‘fuck my life’ moments. Some made him laugh, some made him cringe and some of them even made him feel rather bad for the individual. He was about to start the next page when he heard someone approach him. He lowered the book from his gaze to see who it was and saw that it was Rarity with her usual shopping bags full of cloth and other clothing making materials. She looked like she had some rather fancy fabrics and frills in those bags.

Once she got close enough to him. She smiled down at him before crouching down beside him and setting ehr bags behind her. “I can see that you are enjoying this fine day, darling. Are you doing alright? It feels like it has been a while since I have had the chance to visit with you~.” She said as she watched him sit up and rest his back against the tree.”And you are still wearing that thing? You know you have no further need for it.”. Aku gently grasped at the shroud and looked back at her “I know I don’t need it anymore. But, you made this for me. It would be a shame to just toss it aside or get rid of it. And..I won’t lie. I seem to think of you quite a bit when I have it on. It makes me..comfortable.” he said as he averted his eyes and blushed slightly. He wasn’t sure why he said that to her. But the look on the mare’s face was a sight to behold. A heavy blush across her muzzle and her eyes shimmering as she placed a hand over her mouth. “A-Aku..I..that is so sweet..”.

Aku quickly got to his feet, grabbing his book and soda before making a break for it to avoid any further embarrassment. “S-Sorry. I shouldn’t have said something like that.”. Before he could get too far, she grabbed his hand with hers and shook her head. “You know..these bags are quite heavy. Would you mind helping me to the shop with them? I wouldn’t mind the company either. Please?” she asked while looking up at him with those big beautiful sapphire eyes of hers. Aku couldn’t say no to her. She was one of the few ponies who seemed to show that she cared about him. And she did make him new clothes. So it was the least he could do. He gave a nod and slipped the bags over his arms. He seemed to have no issue with them either, “Back where I am from, they called me ‘One Trip Man’ because i refused to go back for another trip when I brought groceries inside. Didn’t matter how heavy they were, I managed.”. Rarity gave a soft giggle and imagined the human carrying a mountain of grocery bags, “Well, I certainly find that impressive, but I do hope that you were very careful while doing such things.”. Aku gave a soft chuckle,”Well...there were times when I didn’t make it in with everything all the time. Plenty of drops and spills till I perfected my technique. Though most of it was to do with faulty grocery bags.”.

The two went on and talked the whole way to Rarity’s shop. Before long, they were in the parlor. She told him to set them near the entryway of her crafting room and that she’d get to it later. Once he had done that, he was on his way to the door when she called out to him. “Leaving so soon? You certainly don’t have to. I’d like to at least prepare you a cup tea or something as a thank you for your help.”. Aku lifted his unopened soda from his coat pocket and smiled to her,”I am good to go on refreshments. Thank you for the offer, though.” Rarity blinked a few times before calling out to him once more, “I forgot to tell you! Twilight’s brother is having a wedding. That is why I have all this stuff here. I was informed by the letter she received that you had been invited as well. So be ready. I am going to make you something really dashing to wear!”. Aku smiled again and waved before he headed off. Once the door had closed behind him, she lets out a huff and stomps a hoof in frustration, “Damn you, orange soda…”

Aku walked down the street with his soda in hand and shroud pulled down as he sipped on it. It certainly tasted better than the orange soda he could get back home. As if it was made with real orange juice. “Me? Invited to a wedding? Let alone a royal wedding? What the actual fuck? For what reason?” he thought to himself as he sipped from his drink again. He rolled the possible reasons why over and over in his head, but none of them seemed to make sense. Then again, it may be because they can keep an eye on him like last time. That seemed the only logical explanation to him. He finally makes his way back to the library. Once inside he spotted Twilight with a saddened expression on her face. Perhaps he could be a good friend for once and ask her what was weighing on her mind or heart? ”here goes…” he thought to himself before approaching her from behind, placing a hand upon her shoulder. “Hey, Twi. What’s got you so down? Usually you have your muzzle stuffed in a book. But it seems like something is bothering you.”.

Upon closer inspection, it appeared that the unicorn had been crying recently. This alarmed him slightly as she didn’t say anything at first. Did something possibly happen to her today? “Twi, what happened? Please talk to me.” He said as he got on a knee in front of her while resting both hands upon her shoulders now. She suddenly leapt forward and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. “Oh, Aku..my brother is getting married...I haven’t heard from him in months and he suddenly just sends me a letter out of the blue saying that he is getting ready to marry some stranger without telling me himself instead…” she said between light sobs as she held onto him as tightly as she could. Aku blinked a few times, but decided it wouldn’t be best to pull away as she seemed really saddened by this. “Twi..have you ever thought that something urgent has came up on his end and would have loved to tell you in person if he could? I highly doubt your brother wouldn’t send you a letter simply because he didn’t want to tell you himself.”

He reaches up and pets through ehr mane gently and looks down at her. “Your brother is captain of the royal guard. That is an extremely high position that requires one's time and energy. From what your brother has told me when I met him, he absolutely adores you. So he wouldn’t just think you aren’t important to him just because he had sent you a letter about his upcoming nuptials. Believe me, you are lucky to have a sibling who cares so much about you. I grew up an only child.”. He gently wipes her tears away with his thumb, offering her a gentle smile to assure her that all will be okay. “Just give it some thought before you go and get angry at him when you see him. Let him explain first. Last thing you two need is some bad blood between you two. You promise me?”.

Twilight was speechless with his words. Not in a bad way, but she was simply amazed that someone like him who hardly showed his heart to anyone here would be kind enough to try and comfort her. She looked into his eyes before nodding offering him a light smile before wiping her eyes of her tears. “Thank you, Aku. I was just so furious with him that my mind didn’t think of that being a possibility. But..I am still upset that he is marrying somepony I have never even met before. Princess Mi Amore Whosie Whatsits”. Aku nodded and gave her another pat. “Like I said, don’t blow up on him when you see him first. Let him explain.”. Twilight leaned into the pet and wagged her tail from the delight of it. She then gave him another hug with a nod afterwards. “I will do my best. Though, I wonder why you got an invite. I mean, not that I am not happy that you get to join us.”. Aku gave a light shrug and walked passed Spike who was cleaning up the library, both giving a smile to each other and a fist bump in greeting as Aku made his way to the kitchen with Twilight following behind.

“Who knows. Probably to keep an eye on me so I ‘don’t go on a monstrous rampage’. Because you know me, I am an absolute deviant according to most folks.”. He said as he tied his hair back then prepped the dishes and bowls. Twilight lowered her ears for a moment and averted her eyes before looking back up at him with her head down, one hoof circling the ground lightly. “Y-You know, Aku. You do have ponies here who have seen you as a good stallion with what you have done. All of us..even Applejack and Rainbow Dash know this. But those two seem to have some kind of issue with you for a different reason. I just wish I knew what it was so we could solve it and we could all be friends.”.

Aku simply shrugged and began making his homemade ramen noodles, nice and long ones too! As he began preparing the broth, he responded to her. “Honestly, Twi. If they have an issue with me and don’t want to resolve it, I am perfectly fine with that. Back in my world, you don’t have to be friends with everyone you meet.”. He began cutting up the veggies and adding the seasonings he had picked up a while back to the broth before returning to making the noodles before speaking again. “You just need the people who will be on your side through thick and thin. And so long as you have that little group in your life, you can get by just fine. So those two can even hate me if they want. I certainly don’t care one way or the other.”

Once Aku had finished making the ramen, he sat out three bowls of it on the table along with three parts of chopsticks and optional forks. The trio sat down for lunch and Aku broke the chopsticks into two. How did they acquire chopsticks? Well, Aku made them himself and has been trying to teach Twilight and Spike to handle them. Spike had learned rather quickly though, Twilight was still having a bit of trouble. And it was only natural to slurp that kind of food since the noodles were well over a foot long, something the unicorn hadn’t gotten used to doing. Aku watched her struggle to hold the chopsticks in her hands and couldn’t help but chuckle lightly. “Hang in there, Twi. You will get the hang of it. And remember, magic is cheating. You may as well use the fork if you go that route.”.

--On The Train, Bound For Canterlot--

Aku laid back in his seat while the others were going on about how excited they were about the upcoming wedding that was just a day away. Aku lowered his book that he was reading from his vision to look at Twilight who was looking a bit down. Once she made eye contact with him, he gave her a gentle nod to remind her of what they’d spoken about. Aku offered a quick smile in return before returning to his book. As Canterlot got closer, the group noticed a large pink orb surrounding the city. The train went through the wall and passed through Twilight and the others. Though once it came into contact with Aku, the sound of a hundred windows shattering echoed through the air as a quarter the shield began to crumble. Though within a short time, it was pieced back together.

Once at the station, the guards were immediately on the scene with weapons drawn as they laid eyes upon Aku right away. “You there, Magic Eater! Why did you create a hole in the protective barrier?! Are you a saboteur of the enemy who declared a threat upon Canterlot?!” Shouted one of the guards who had him at spearpoint. “Hey, back the fuck off! I didn’t do shit!” he said as he slapped the spear away. The guards were ready to pounce before Twilight jumped between them and a familiar voice called out to them. “That’s enough! Stand down!” bellowed Shining as he called off the guards. “He isn’t at fault for what has happened. Plus he has no control over what he did! The breach has been fixed and all is well. Now back to your posts!”. Shining Armor came down from the stairs that lead up from where he was standing. He approached both Aku and Twilight, giving his little sister a hug which she returned back hesitantly. “I suppose they all didn;t get the memo of my body negating magic upon touch?” asked Aku as she let out a sigh of relief.

Shining armor shook his head, “I thought I had posted it on the guard barracks bulletin boards. But...thankfully I was here.”. He then looks down to his sister who looked up at him with a mixture of sadness, and only slight anger on her face. “Shining, you and I need to talk…” she said as she looked back at Aku then back to Shining. Aku placed a hand upon Twilight’s shoulder”Remember, think about what he has been going through.”. Twilight nodded before another high ranking guard came up to Aku “You are summoned by Princess Celestia. If you’d please follow me.”. Aku shrugged and waved bye to Twilight and Shining and followed close behind as the guard lead him to the castle.

--The Throne Room--

Aku soon came through the large doors of the throne room after the guard had opened up the way in. Ask he made his way closer to the throne, he noticed not two, but three princesses standing before him. Twof of them being the ones he already knew, while the other seemed quite pretty and bubbly on the outside. But something didn’t quite smell right with her. It wasn’t her body odor persay, it was more like her magic smelled foul. It almost spoiled his never ending appetite. Though, his gaze fell upon Celestia quickly so that no suspicion would be cast upon him. “So, I was told you wanted to see me?”.

Celestia nodded with a rather serious look on her face. Her eyes intensely staring at Aku. But, not filled with anger or suspicion. “I had a feeling that you going through the barrier would have shattered a part of it, but not such a large portion. Your body certainly nullifies large portions of magic when it comes into contact with it.” Aku stuck his hands in his coat pockets and shrugs lightly. “Well, not like I intentionally want to destroy the thing. Your kingdom obviously has it up for a reason. I suspect that is why your student has been upset with her brother and this decision he has made. And telling her by a simple letter.”. He looked around the room and noticed that it looked like nothing has ever happened when the explosion occurred. “Ah, I see that crater is gone as well..sorry about that.”

The third alicon cleared her throat before standing up from where she was sitting and approached him before starting to circle him. As she got closer, the scent of her magic got stronger which made him cringe internally. It was absolutely disgusting. He was surely convinced that something wasn’t right here with this ‘princess’. But, it wasn’t any of his business. “Ah, so this is the infamous ‘Magic Eater’ I have heard my dear fiance speak about. You know. For a nonpony, he is quite handsome. And his abilities seem quite useful as well! I bet he’d be a fine infiltrator for the guard, Auntie Tia.” Aku could feel her lean in closer to him. It sent shivers up his spine, and not in the good way ”Get the fuck away from me! Good god you fucking stink!” he screamed in his mind. Though he plays it off by taking the compliment with a smile and even teasing back. “Careful there, I don’t think your husband-to-be would be very happy hearing you say that.”

The alicorn laughed and stood in front of him. “And if I remember, your name is Aku. A rather strange yet alluring name to be sure.’. Aku arched a brow, but then stuck his hand out to offer her a handshake. She was about to grab his hand but then pulled back quickly before curtsying to him. “And I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. It is a pleasure to meet you.”. Once the pleasantries had been dealt with, Celestia and Luna took Aku into one of the more private rooms to discuss why that had brought him here during the wedding. Cadence makes her way outside of the room to go and meet up with her fiance. Though she was shaking furiously under her happy facade. ”He is going to be a problem, I need to get rid of him somehow before tomorrow or my plan will crumble immediately…” she thought to herself.

Act 9: Evil? Good? Or Something Else?

Aku and the royal sisters now sat across from one another on large, plush pillows within the side room they had gone into. The ticking of the clock that hung on the wall was the only thing filling the silence as there were no windows to provide sound from the outside. “Alright, so why am I in here with you two again?”asked Aku as he sat there with his arms folded. The sisters looked at each other before nodding, then Celestia spoke “We need your help, Aku. According to Twilight and a few other sources, you have this strange ability to smell and taste one’s magic. If this is the case, that would be very helpful in this royal wedding. As I am sure you have heard that a threat has been placed on this kingdom.”.

Aku arched a brow as he thought back to what he had smelled in the main room. But should he tell her right away that something just wasn’t right with the princess whom he had just met? Or wait until he had a better verdict to go and accuse her in front of everyone? “Well, I do owe you for making sure I didn’t die from before. Normally I wouldn’t care since it is none of my business. But I will help you out this time. I have noticed...something here. But for now, I will keep it to myself as I need more proof. Then I will give you my findings.”.

They both nod and offer him a smile with a slight bow of their heads. “Thank you, Aku. It would most certainly benefit us all to have somepony with such a...unique talent as yours. By the way, my elder sister and I were wondering. What kind of scents do we give off according to you?”. They both look at him with baited breath, awaiting his answer. Aku gives a light laugh and concentrates on Celestia at first”Hmmm, your older sister’s magic smells quite nice. Like a fresh cake that was just pulled out of the oven and the icing was JUST put on top of it. Warm and fluffy. As for yours, it smells of fresh blueberries and lilacs. A surprisingly pleasing scent to be sure. It compliments your seriousness quite well.”.

Luna and Celestia nodded and actually smiled when he told them that their magical scent was pleasant. “It is quite strange. Unicorns are the only ones I see outside of here performing magic with their horns. But, it seems that every single pony in this world has magic within them. And it smells differently in each one.” Aku explained as he rubbed his chin in thought. Celestia gave another nod”You’d be correct in assuming that every pony in this world has magic within them. That explains where their cutie marks come from.”. Aku nodded before getting to his feet Well, if that is all you wanted to ask of me. Mind if I go exploring around this place? Never got the chance to go looking around a castle in my life before.”. Celestia nodded and looked to her sister”Would you like to be the one to show him around?”. Luna nodded with a smile, trying to contain her excitement as it was normally her older sister who did that kind of thing. Without hesitation, Luna took hold of Aku's hand and nearly dragged him out of the room “Come on! I will show you my favorite places!”. Celestia giggled to herself as she had never seen her sister so happy before. Perhaps it was Aku’s words of her before that made the alicorn feel all warm inside.

As the two of them explored the castle together, Luna kept shifting her eyes toward Aku over and over again. It was quiet between them for a while as they walked through the castle hallways until Luna finally spoke up “So...Aku. Would it be okay if I slipped into your dreams ever so often? I would like to see the world you came from again. What I saw before..it was amazing. I would...like to see the places you have gone to and the things you have done back where you are from.”. Aku looked back at her with a knowing smile “Let me guess, being the younger princess, you have been confined to stay here whenever your sister goes on her duties outside of the kingdom? Sounds like something that went on back in the feudal era back in my world. The younger royal member of the family hardly got to explore the outside of the castle walls. Unless they disobeyed, of course.”.

Aku nodded to her “You are more than welcome to come visit me in my dreams should I relieve the ones that involve my world. Perhaps if you help me maintain the dream, we could make it a little date if you want. The town I lived in has all kinds of fun spots I can show you.”. Luna’s face turned bright red as she became flustered “A d-d-date?! I have never ever really been on one before! But...that sounds really nice. Then..I look forward to entering your dream very soon then..”. Aku smiled again and looked forward as they walked. His eyes closed for a moment before speaking to her again “I know your story, Luna.”

When he said that to her, her ears immediately dropped and her gaze fell to the floor. “You fought with your sister over a thousand years ago. And you became the one known as Nightmare Moon. If you ask me, I feel like what you were upset with her for was justified, however. But that being said, I believe you two could have worked it out without altercations of violence. You could have listened to what she had to say. But you let the bitterness and loneliness poison your heart. Believe me, as a kid I didn’t have any friends and my family was too busy to really pay me any attention. So I know where you are coming from…” he said before he came to a stop then turned to face her fully.

“..But look at you now. You have overcome such things and you have more friends than you have before. And you have a sister who loves you more than anyone in this whole wide world. Cherish those things and never ever let them go. You do that, and you will be just fine. I promise you.”. Luna listened closely to Aku. He was absolutely right in his words. Ever since she came back from being Nightmare Moon, things have gotten better for her as a whole. Unlike Aku’s situation where he was still being treated like an outcast by most of the population because of what he is and what power he was burdened with.

“And what about you, Aku?” ask Luna as she came up beside him turning her head slightly to look over at him. “You don’t have very many ponies here who understand that you aren’t a bad stallion. And yet, no matter how many good deeds you do, most don’t see it as redemption. You have been a pariah in this kingdom for quite some time. And while my sister and I would love to help clear your name, we admit that we aren’t sure about you still. Even your name and reputation has gotten around with the nobles. And they are always spreading unsavory rumors about you.”

Aku made his way over to the railing that overlooked the lower level of where they had been walking. He places his hands upon it as he watches both guards and staff run back and forth with all manners of decor for the upcoming wedding. He gives a light ‘tch’ before smirking. “You know what this reminds me of? A light novel I read back in my world called “Rise Of The Shield Hero’. Except, he had full control of his abilities. But the story goes that he was summoned with three other heros who wielded weapons of legend. And he was burdened with the shield. And as we all know, the shield isn’t much of a weapon. And right from the get go, the king and the nobles treated the shield hero like garbage and even framed him with a false accusation of rape. They even stole his armor and money from him to leave him with absolutely nothing. They also continued to tarnish his name further and further into the story simply because he was the shield hero.”.

Aku went on and on, explaining the story to the princess as he continued to watch the ponies from above. “And you know what? In the end, he turned out to be the most powerful out of all of the four heroes because he had true friends and was actually quite a nice guy even though he never showed it openly. But me? I wasn’t even brought here as a hero. I was brought here to become a villain out of someone's revenge. Who knows if I will actually become a villain or a hero. Maybe neither. As of right now, I am so indifferent about this world that I don’t really care what happens to it.”.

Luna blinks a few times before thinking back on what he had said before “Someone’s revenge? Who’s?”. Aku blinks a few times before answering her “Oh, I don’t know who exactly. But he said something about you killing him off and that he’d send me to this world thinking I’d become a villain for his sake or something. In fact. He said it was you and your sister who did it. He seemed pretty pissed off about it. His tone seemed awfully arrogant. Like he couldn’t be touched and he could do what he wanted. Luna’s eyes widened in disbelief as she knew exactly who Aku was talking about from that description right away. “Discord. Even in death...you cause trouble for others. Damn you…” she whispered to herself as she clenched her fists tightly. She looks back at Aku with newly gained sympathy. She now knew what had brought him to their world or, rather who.

“Aku...with what you have just told me, I need to report this to my sister as soon as possible. I shall escort you to the wing you will be staying at with Twilight and the others. I will be happy to show you the rest of the castle another time.”. Aku put two and two together and simply nodded”So, this must be someone who you and your sister decided was not quite the nice person to have in your kingdom. Must have been a real asshole huh?” Luna gave a light ‘tch’ before answering “That’s definitely the case. I am happy you said it that way. As a princess, we can’t say things so crudely even though we wish to.”. Aku let out a laugh and gave a thumbs up “I got your back.”.

--Later That Night--

As Aku had finally settled down after a nice hot shower, he slides into his second set of sleeping pants he had brought with him on the trip and climbs into bed before slowly drifting off into sleep. Hours go by, his sleep undisturbed until he is snapped awake by a knock at his door. He gets out of the bed and makes his way over to the door before calling out “Who is it?”. “It’s me, Twilight. Could I come in?” she asked. Aku opened the door to see that it was Twilight but, there was that foul magical odor once more. Aku played it off and motioned for her to come in. Once the door was closed and she was in the room. Aku turned to face her with his arms crossed. “So, what did you want to see me for?” Twilight moved in closer as she dropped the robe that she was wearing, revealing her fully naked body as she swayed her hips, a seductive and needy expression on her face along with her sensual movements. “I..was wondering if I could share your bed tonight~. I am in dire need of a strong-...”

Aku put his hand up before crossing his arms again “First off. Who are you? Twilight’s magic has a rather pleasing scent of lavender and fresh book pages. You on the other hand smell quite foul. Second, Twilight would never ever see me as a potential intimate partner. No pony here would. So, you may as well turn around and leave my room right now.”. Twilight lets out a growl before a green light fills the room and she changes into a tall and curvy changeling queen. Her true form is now shown to Aku as she tries to stand over him in a menacing manner, her wings buzzing and her toxic green eyes staring him down. Aku merely looks up at her”What? Did you expect me to react in fear or something? This explains why your magical scent is so disgusting.”.

Chrysalis let out a quiet hiss and grabbed at Aku as quick as she could, with one swift motion, he pushed the hand away and takes hold of her wrist and squeezes it as hard as he could before spinning around her and kicking the back of her knee, causing her to collapse down to his level. He places a foot on top of her bent lower leg and squeezes her wrist even harder while he pulls her arm up into the submission position to bring ehr greater pain. “Gah! How dare you…!” she hiss loudly but not overly so to attract attention to his room. She suddenly casts a spell from her horn which makes a flaming green circle appear around Aku, but is immediately negated as soon as the magic touches his body..

“W-What the..? But how?! You should be gone by now, just like the bride’s maids!”. Aku continued to pull her arm up more to intensify the pain. Chrysalis lets out a growl and whimper of pain as she was now at the mercy of Aku. “Now...what is to stop me from breaking your arm and beating you to a bloody mess and dragging you before the princesses and your ‘fiance’? I am quite sure he wouldn’t be too happy to find out that she was an oversized bug. And the fact that I have seen you change into different forms has led me to believe you have done something with the real princess who’s special day you are trying to ruin. Now, once again. You can leave my room and act like this never happened and think on your next move carefully. Or you can abandon this plan of yours. Depending on what you do on the wedding day, it may be your undoing.”

Aku suddenly felt a rather wicked urge swell up in his heart. He had a queen here in such a position that was utterly humiliating. He leans in and gives a rather wicked chuckle before reaching around with his free hand and begins to fondle one of her breasts firmly and roughly. His sclera slowly fading to black as his voice now goes to a deeper, sinister tone. “I could very well have my way with you first. Break you and show you who is really in charge. After all, someone like you needs to learn their place. You are nothing but a toy to be used over and over until you are no longer useful. Tossed aside and abandoned as scraps. And I would love to be the one to break you…”

Aku’s grip on her wrist remained painfully tight as he slowly lifted her arm up higher to the point where slight popping could be heard. His hand continued to roughly squeeze and fondle her large breasts one at a time. In the queen’s mind, she was absolutely terrified of this creature who had her in this position. Especially with his hands violating her in such a manner. Is this the fear her victims felt when she did this to them to steal their love? Aku suddenly pushed her to the floor and placed his knee on her arm while still holding her wrist high up in the air. “Now then, call me your master. And tell me that you are my toy and that you belong to me…” He said as he awaited a response. “Y-Y-You are my ma-...ma…”. A quick slap to her face was delivered as she hesitated.”Say it, toy.” Chrysalis lets out a whimper of pain as she looks up at him with one eye open “You are my master...and I belong to you..please…”

Aku gets off her and kicks her robe on her body”Good. Now get the fuck out. You miserable bug. And remember my warning.” Chrysalis gave a rather submissive nod before she ran out of the room. He stood there for a moment before his eyes turned back to normal and he placed a hand upon his forehead while letting out an exhausted sigh. “What...just happened there? I have never in my life ever been like that before..so..” He shook it off and went straight back to bed. For some reason, that whole ordeal just made him super tired. He’d worry about it tomorrow, however.

Author's Note

Well, we all knew it was gonna happen eventually...

May the darkness grant you peace.

Act 10: Evil Eyes

The day of the royal wedding has finally come. The castle was bustling with both safe and guests getting ready for the big event that was to unfold. A holy matrimony of two special people becoming one in marriage. All seemed well and good to all the ponies that ran about the castle, ready to celebrate the upcoming nuptials. However, Aku knew what was going on. As his little visit from the queen of the changlins pid him a little visit in his guest room last night. One would wonder why he wouldn’t tell Celestia or one of the guards about his encounter. Well, there are a couple of reasons. One being that he wanted to see just how far things went before or even if he needed to step in. And the second being that who would believe him? An outsider saying that the princess to be wed really isn’t the mare she claims to be?

Aku walked along the corridors, his eyes spotting Twilight’s friends as they all came out of the rooms and went about final preparations for the big day. There wasn’t much he could do at this point other than pretend that he was just as excited as all the ponies were. Something wasn’t right though. Where was Twilight? He hadn’t seen her at all during the morning and neither at the current time. Aku thought about it long and hard before coming to a rather unwanted conclusion. “That spell she tried to cast on me last night..she better not have or I swear I am going to break every bone in her body if one hair on her head was harmed.” he whispered to himself as he made his way to the chapel that was just outside the castle walls along with everyone else.

-A Couple Of Hours Later--

As the ceremony began, Aku immediately took notice of Shining Armor who stood at the altar. He could smell that foul magic of Chrysalis' radiating from his own. It was obvious that he was under some kind of mind control. Aku simply watched from the left side of the large room, leaning against one of the pillars with his arms folded as he watched the event unfold. As soon as he heard the large doors open at the start of the isle, he saw the ‘princess’ accompanied by flower fillies make their way down carpet as the music started playing. Aku’s eyes immediately locked on hers when she spotted him. Chrysalis’ heart nearly jumped out of her chest in both fear and arousal, nearly making her lose her cool and transform into her real self. Aku simply gestured with one of his hands ’I am watching you, bitch.’ as she made her way up to Shining’s side.

As Celestia began the ceremony now that everyone was present, Aku simply continued to stare down Chrysalis for quite a while. And just as Celestia asked if there were any objections, Aku heard Twilight shouting behind the doors that lead inside before bursting in “STOOOOOP!” she shouted. The ponies in the room gasped and spoke among each other as they were wondering what was going on. “Ugh, why does she have to be so overprotective of her brother?! I mean...why does she have to ruin my special day?!” she said with fake sobbing and lemmant in her voice. “Because it’s not your special day, it’s mine!” exclaim the real princess Cadence as she made her way in behind Twilight. Aku turned his gaze to her and saw the fire in her eyes, she was beyond pissed that her wedding day had to go like this. Then again, what bride wouldn’t be this crossed if their wedding was ruined?

Aku simply watched on from the spot he stood in as the events unfolded all while maintaining his gaze upon Chrysalis. The queen felt those eyes heavily upon her, she knew that the human was waiting for the slightest hint at her making the decision that he wouldn’t approve of. But, in her mind she had come too far to give up now. After Cadence had pointed out that she was a changeling, she lifted into the air and took her true form once more before laughing evilly and revealing her plan to the whole entire room. Aku merely continued to watch as the duel between Celestia and Chrysalis before the queen sent her army out to feed and terrorize the town. Once Twilight and the others had run off to fetch the elements, Aku stepped out from where he was hiding and approached the altar casually with his hands in his coat pockets.

“So, despite my warning, you went ahead and did what you wanted anyway, huih? Do you not remember the night before how I told you that you would be punished if you went through with this plan of yours?” he said as he now stood in front of her, his piercing eyes locking onto hers with extreme disapproval. Chrysalis shuddered as a twinge of fear rolled through her spine before putting on a brave front now that she had some of her minions with her. “Y-you should have just taken care of me when you had the chance! Now that my subjects run free and are here, you have no chance of stopping me from total domination!”. She looks at a few of the changelings near her and commands them to bind him. But as they get closer, Aku gives a ‘tch’ before removing his shroud and opens his mouth. The changelings freeze in place as both their magic and evil is sucked clean of them. The cry out in agony before collapsing to the floor in a motionless heap before Aku glares, the whites of his eyes turning black once more as they did the night before.

“So you defy your master…?” he said in a low, growling tone of voice before he makes his way over to a bound guard. He stares down at the stallion before reaching down and grabbing the sword from the sheath at his side before turning back around and dragging the blade across the ground as he approached Chrysalis once more before standing in front of the downed changelings. Ponies in the room took immediate notice of the dark purple smokey aura that flowed from around Aku’s eyes. Something wasn’t right here. Celestia could only watch from her imprisonment from above as she saw the evil that Aku had consumed flow from his eyes. This was bad. Very, very bad.

Cadence watched Aku walk towards the downed changelings with the sword in hand,”There is a far more cordial way to go about this!”. Aku now took the sword in his hand and held it over one of the changeling’s throat that laid before him. “Let me show you my cordiality. With every bit of defiance she gives me and refuses to take off from this place and never return, one of her minions will die.”. Without hesitation, Aku plunges the blade all the way through the changeling’s neck before decapitating it. “You might want to make your choice a bit faster, toy.” he said before repeatedly stabbing the next one in the chest. The whole room watched in absolute terror as Aku snuffed out the life of the changelings with such ease. Even Chrysalis herself never thought that he’d go as far as to do something like this. Aku maintained eye contact with her as he made his way over to the last changeling who was now conscious. Aku lifts his foot up and places it upon the creature’s neck and begins to press down hard. The changeling’s legs begin to kick and slam on the ground as he gasps for air and pathetically tries to push Aku’s foot off. Aku’s eyes could see that the queen was breaking on the inside despite her composure on the outside. Cadence finally spoke up to Aku. This wasn’t the right way to deal with this situation. “That’s enough! This isn’t the right way to go about this! I don’t know who you are but, I think they have had enough of this cruelty!” she shouted as she tried to get Aku to back down from killing any more of the changelings. However, Aku just smiled and gave a light ‘hmph’ before plunging the blade right in the left eye of the changeling, death was instant. The final death broke the queen entirely.

She fell to her knees and held her hands to her chest in a defensive posture before Aku walked up to Cadence. The alicorn could feel the evil radiating from the human as she leaned back as much as she could, but still with a glare of disapproval on her face. “So, you expect me to show mercy to a love stealing whore who can’t get with any stallion she wants because she is so insecure about how her true form is disgusting to the eyes? And don’t give me your righteous bullshit. You and I both know that if given the chance, she’d slaughter every single pony in here including your princess who was too damn weak to defend her own kingdom.” he said as he pointed to Celestia who was still imprisoned above.

Just as Aku stepped away from Cadence, Twilight and her friends were brought in by the changelings who had stopped them from getting the elements as Celestia had instructed them to get so they could be used to stop the changeling queen. They all watched in shock as Aku willingly swallowed down more of both magic and evil from other changelings, then proceeded to kill them in the same way he had done with the others that laid on the floor in their own blood. Aku soon smiled a wicked toothy smile. While the evil he had swallowed up had control, he was very aware of what he was doing. And it felt good, so very good.

The more he slaughtered, the more the queen’s will and focus started to waiver. Soon losing control of Shining Armor. Once Shining had come to from his trance, he also watched on as Aku continued to gruesomely dismember and cut down any changeling that was in his path, shrugging off any magic they could throw at him while Chrysalis watched on in horror, her body shaking as she was frozen in fear, Aku’s and her minions’ shadows loomed over her as he cut them down one by one. By this point, every pony that was in the room had vacated the chapel except for Twilight and her friends, Cadence, and Shining Armor who ran to Aku and suddenly pushed him down from behind. Which sent the sword that Aku was using flying out of his hand, which landed at the hooves of six mares that had been brought back in.“That’s enough, Aku! Can’t you see that you have reduced their queen to a quivering mess?! We can take it from here!”.

Aku managed to get a foot under Shining’s chest and kicked him off before getting back to his feet. That dark aura was still flowing from his eyes as he then turned his attention to Shining and Cadence. “Oh, you think your wedding day is ruined now? I can make it much, much worse for the both of you.” Just as he approached them both, Twilight slid in front of Aku with her arms out with a mixture of hurt and anger on her face. “I-I won’t let you lay a single finger on them, Aku! I thought I could trust you!”. Aku stopped for a moment as he stared at Twilight for a moment before lifting his hand up and bringing the backside of his hand right across her face, sending her flying to the left before continuing his walk towards Shining and Cadence. She lets out a whimpering cry of pain once she hits the floor.”Twilight!” her friends called out to her as they ran to their injured friend. Aku lifted his hands out to his sides and looked up at the ceiling with another smile,”I can see why being evil is so much fun! Especially when you have absolutely nothing to lose from it! After all, I have nothing in this world to gain...your only salvation for saving yourselves from me is by killing me off! So, I am going to have some fun before one of you can do so by only physical means! Your magic is absolutely useless on me!”. Aku takes a sudden inhuman leap towards Shining and Cadence before he is whacked in the back of the head with a golden decorated staff which was being used by Celestia herself. She must have finally gotten out of the chamber she had been put in by the changelings before and took it upon herself to stop Aku in his assault. Aku laid there motionless on the ground for a moment before struggling to push himself back up, slamming one of his fists into the ground before another blow was delivered to his side to knock him out cold.

--A Day Later--

Aku slowly opened his eyes which had gone back to their normal state. His vision was blurred as he felt groggy and his head hurt something fierce. He lifted his hand up to rub the spot where he had been hit to feel iron cuffs and hear the sound of chains rattling against each other. Remembering what had happened before he was knocked out, he knew exactly where he was. The dark, high walls and the barred cell door was more than enough to tell him he was in a prison cell. With his wrists and ankle bound, but enough chain to elt him roam around the cell, he gets to his feet and looks into the broken mirror at his face that was above the sink. “It was only a matter of time anyway.” he said to himself as he made his way to the bed and sat down before looking down at his hands. “While I feel no remorse for the changelings I killed, I do regret that I hurt the one person who had faith in me in this world. I am sure I screwed that up real nicely. Oh well, maybe they will execute me or something. At Least then I won’t have to worry about it happening again.”.

A few hours pass, and suddenly the cell door unlocks and swings open with a rather infuriated sun princess standing before Aku with a sword in hand as several soldiers surround him with their own blade drawn on him. Aku simply gazes up at them all and claps his hands together before sitting up straight. “Well, get it over with then. I can offer up no excuse for what I have done. I am sure that you are especially pissed at me for what I did to Twilight after she clearly wasted her time on me. And before you ask, no I felt no hint of sadness nor remorse for the changelings I mercilessly killed.” Celestia glared at him even harder as he spoke to her in such a way, She took the sword and placed it mere inches away from his neck. Aku took hold of the blade and pressed it right up against his flesh with a serious stare of his own. “Go ahead, get rid of me. It will make all of your lives that much easier. Besides, you all never wanted me here anyway. You have the PERFECT excuse now. And that means I can finally get the hell out of this world and onto the next..”. =

Author's Note

Hard to find the motivation to write these days. But I will keep trying.

Act 11: A Cruel Divine Prank

Aku continued to stare up at Celestia while holding the blade right up against his jugular vein. Celestia tried to maintain her angered expression, but she knew that she wouldn’t have the stomach to kill someone who was dealing with what kind of ordeal Aku was facing. He spots her hesitation right away and knocks the sword from her hand and gets right in her face, growling as he raises his voice”You see?! You don’t have the resolve to get rid of me even though you know it would fix your fucking problems in an instant! If you don’t have the balls to do so, you can at least order one of your guards to do the job! But you won’t. Because you know I was doing what you couldn’t do. I took up the sword and slayed the enemy! I made the move that you are too weak to make!”.

Celestia’s fierce expression soon wavered before a hurt and crushed expression came across her features. “How dare you speak to our princess in such a manner and treat her like that! We should just-!” Celestia then lifted up her hand to silence the guard that was speaking. “Leave us. I need to speak with him alone on this matter.”. “But..princess!”. “Leave us!” she commanded. The guards sheath their blades before hesitantly agreeing with their ruler’s demands. Once they had all left and it was just the two of them, Aku didn’t break eye contact with her even for a moment. “Think about it. There are enemies like that who will try to kill you or your loved ones to get what they want. It's a fact of life. Everything can’t be all sunshine and rainbows all the time like you are striving for in this world.”.

Aku stood away from Celestia, leaving her with that same expression on her face and hands balling up into fists before she responded back to him. “Don’t you think I know that? I know that you are going to cause trouble for this world. But despite what you did, Twilight still believes in you. Even when you struck her down when she was trying to keep you from slipping down that violent path any further.”. AKu turned his head with a light ‘tch’ and then looked back at her with a look of contempt. It was clear that the princess was trying to guilt trip him. But, he wasn’t going to give in. EVen though he did feel rather bad about what he did to Twilight. “So what became of the bug and her hive of maggots? If you are here, I assume everything was already taken care of.”. Celestia simply nodded to his assumption. The way he was acting towards her put the mare on edge. If he wanted to, he could drain her of her magic if he was so inclined, not just a small bit of it, but all of it till there was nothing left.

“Yes, they are gone from our land. And the wedding went on without any more problems. By the way, I noticed the way Chrysalis acted towards you when you approached her and how she froze in fear once you started killing off the other changelings. What exactly did you do to her?”. Aku narrowed his eyes at her and crossed his arms”Turns out I eat more than just magic. I eat the evil in every person’s heart when I consume their magic. All that evil that I eat up has to go somewhere,princess.So why not take it out on evil itself? Seems a rather fair trade. As they say, fight fire with fire. Except one type of fire is completely resistant to the world’s magic it is burning through.”.

Aku then turned his head to look up at the cell window that had the late afternoon sun shining through.”I suppose that you are going to leave me locked up here for the next few days, weeks even?” Celestia went quiet for a moment before answering him with a bit of nervousness in her voice. The last thing she wanted to do was give him a reason to bring any harm to her or her subjects. But the law was the law. “I am afraid we will be keeping you here for at least a week. All I ask is that you please don’t cause any of my guards any trouble. Please…” Aku could hear the desperation in that ‘please’. He knew he went out of line by their standards, and that they weren’t used to someone like him dealing with the situation from before. “I am going to assume the nobles and other big wigs twisted your arm on this decision?” Velestia was surprised at his guess, but nodded silently before answering back. “They wanted longer. They are afraid of you, Aku. Though, they hide that fear with disgust and bigotry. This strange ability you possess, it reminded them of a foe that my sister and I had faced a long, long time ago. But, that is a story for another time. Just...do your best to not use it on anyone else here.”.

Aku sighed and plopped back down on the bed and leaned against the wall.”They are afraid of me huh? Seems like the government in this world has some similarities of mine. They don’t understand a rogue element and decide to try and shut it down as soon as they possibly can.” Celestia became even more nervous as she prepared the next batch of bad news.”They want to make an example of you as well...they want you put on trial, in chains.”. Aku lifted his head and narrowed his eyes at the sun princess.”Oh, so they want to make me a spectacle do they? Then I will give them what they want…” He said with a wicked grin before he falls onto his side and closes his eyes”Fine, I won’t cause your guards any issues. Just make sure that they don’t give me any grief either.”.

--A Week Later--

Aku sat in his cell, his clothing dirty and his long hair now fully straight and greasy from the lack of a shower which he had been denied by the guards over and over again. Suddenly there was a pounding on the cell door before the guards came in brandishing those chains that Celestia had talked about.”Your trial starts now, peasant. Get on your feet.” Said one of the royal guards who seemed to be relishing the fact that Aku was going to be facing this trial; with no support from anyone. Aku said nothing but merely stood up and allowed them to shackle his wrists and ankles. As they walked to the trial room, there was a crowd on each side of the walkway of ponies who had mixed feelings about this trial. Some on his side, some not so sympathetic to him.

Some shouted “This is not fair!” while others shouted “Filthy creature, go die!”. Aku simply kept his head down with a wicked smile on his face. His left hand glowing and sparking subtly for now. Once he was brought into the trial room, his chains were hung in an x position so that his legs and arms were held apart. The sound of the gavel hitting three times echoed through the room as they crowd within quieted down and the judge spoke. “The one known as Aku will hereby be judged for his gruesome display of violence which happened eight days ago. One charge against striking down one of our princess’s students and another of taking the law into his own hands and insulting the princess, questioning ehr power.”.

Celestia’s eyes widened at this before standing up from her seat above the judge as she presided over it. “Judge Stricthoof! These charges are not valid as both I and my student have not wanted to press charges against him! He was under the influence oof the evil that he had eaten from the changelings!”. The judge looked up at Celestia with a cruel smile of his own and pointed the gavel at Aku”This...creature violated the law not once, not twice, but three times in one day. The other judges and I have spoke thoroughly on the matter with the nobles in office and we have decided to put this creature to death. After all, the lives he took must be repaid. He is also a great danger to our world and must be dealt with accordingly. You know our laws as any ruler should. Celestia glared at the judge and thrusted her right arm to the side in anger”This is NOT what was told to me when I got the official report! I hereby call this court off immediately due to falsified information!”.

The judge chuckled lowly as the guards surrounded Aku with their blades drawn and readied their attack. “As I said, princess, someone like him needs to be dealt with immediately.”. Aku stood there with his head lowered, a smile slowly forming across his face as hje spoke”I was right, you are afraid...all of you noble scum are afraid of someone who has power you can’t control. You even go against your ruler who you handed falsified documents to get rid of me? Some fair court system you are operating.”. The judge turned his attention to Aku who looked down at him in disgust and a smile of satisfaction that he was going to be rid of someone like Aku..or so he thought. “Commence the execution, now!” The royal guard who was selected by the judges to perform the killing blow walked up to Aku with a twisted smile. And with one swift thrust forward, plunged the blade all the way through Aku’s torso, Aku lets out a pain filled cry before coughing up blood, making sure that he got it all over the guard before smiling “L-look at..that. All over your..shiny armor..” he said as he closed his eyes and went limp. “What have you done?!” Shouted Celestia as she glared in anger at the judge and the nobles on the stand.

Aku was now in a deep dark void, floating there in a sea of nothingness. All was quiet until that familiar voice which ahd brought him into this world spoke with a chuckle “Oh nononoooo. I can’t have you dying this soon on me. The fun has only just begun~.” He said before a flash of white light brings him back to the world he was just taken from. As half of the crowd cheered and the rest remained in shock, Aku’s limp hands suddenly balled up before he started to breathe again “Ngheheheheh...ahahahaaa..GAAAAAHHH!” He roared as he started pulling on the chains with great force, his eyes having changed back to how they were that day as the fiery purple aura radiated from them.The guards staggered back in shock and immediately dropped their weapons at the sudden return to life. “Nghaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!” Aku shouted again before finally breaking the chain that binds his left wrist before holding his fist in front of his face as the open magical wound in his hand glowed and sparked fiercely. Celestia knew what this meant. He had consumed enough magic to begin another magical discharge. “Guards, get the citizens out of here now!” she ordered before turning her attention back to Aku had finally broken out of the other chains. With anger and hate filling his heart, he charges forward before giving an inhuman jump towards the judge who screamed like a girl in fear. Aku took hold of the judge’s neck before tossing him off the stand and picking him back up while holding him in front like a meat shield.

“You want me dead right? Well, looks like you are going with me…” he said in a lower growling tone with an evil toothy grin on his face and wide eyes. I have consumed enough magic to turn you into nothing but a grease stain on this floor...a fitting end to a corrupt judge such as yourself!”The judge struggled and thrashed about as he started begging for his life like a coward. But Aku had him locked in a martial arts hold that prevented any escape unless he let go. As Aku’s hand started to pulse and spark faster, he could feel the pain building up more and more “I am going to blow this damned castle sky high along with every single pony in it. You drove me to this point, so their blood is on your hands now!”

“No, no let me go! Let me go, I don’t wanna die!” the judge shouted as he pathetically begged for his own life. Aku only tightened his grip more before saying “Fuck you, you piece of shit. Burn in hell.” before the charging sound of his hand sped up before the explosion released. While it didn’t destroy the whole castle, there was enough force to destroy the entire courtroom. Once the smoke and dust settled, there was nothing left but a crater and one person. Aku stood there with injuries to his body, but far less severe than what had happened the first time. Was his body getting used to the magical discharges already? Or was he saved by some other force that decided they weren’t done with him yet? Whatever it was, Aku needed to make his escape as soon as he could. He needed to get out of Canterlot and quickly. He knew he couldn’t stay in Ponyville either. He had to get somewhere far, far away. There was nothing here for him anymore.

Author's Note

I just might have him go evil. With the way he has been treated, it is gonna most likely push him to that point entirely. Never made a fully evil character before. But, we will see what happens.

May the darkness grant you peace.

Act 12: Somewhere I Belong

It has been months since Aku had escaped Canterlot and left both the capital and Ponyville far behind. His clothing was worn and tattered along with a grey hooded cloak he had managed to steal off a clothesline from the outskirts of Ponyville while no one was looking. At this point in time, the man was simply drifting from place to place, stealing whatever food he could get and now literally feeding off the magic of others. Thankfully he hasn’t needed to consume all of the ponies’ magic he had come across, just enough to sustain his body. A small fraction was more than enough for him. It seems that while the magic rejects him completely, it satisfies his hunger for food when he can’t get any real food. Though, it is apparent that if someone saw all the scars from his injuries he had gotten from months prior, he’d be suspicious to anyone’s eyes.

As he walked along an old road, the wind started to pick up and the sky began to darken. It would seem that Ponyville was the only place he knew of that pegasi could control the weather while other places had weather that occurred naturally. With the scent of rain in the air, he sped up his pace and luckily came across what appeared to be an abandoned shack on the right side of the road. He made his way up to the door and swung it open before making his way in and looked around. The place seemed old and decrepit so he imagined no one was living here. He made his way over to the corner opposite of the door, opened up his travel bag he had stolen and pulled out a large blanket he wrapped around himself and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Aku opened his eyes and looked down at his hands and feet. Once again, his was in his school uniform from his highschool days and standing on the roof of his school. Judging by the light of the sun, it was just after three in the afternoon and it was a crisp clear autumn day. He looked over the railing down at all the students who had stayed for their after school clubs departing for the day. He closed his eyes as he heard footsteps approaching him from behind and knew who it was right away. The same princess of the night who had been following him in his dreams for the past few weeks now. “I told you before, I am not coming back. And I am not letting you know where I am.”. He said as he turned to see Luna in that form she took in the very first dream she shared with him. She frowned as she crossed her arms under her bust and gave a light ‘hmph’ before responding. “You know what you did was wrong. You took the life of another, and to add to that, you destroyed a part of the castle in your fit of rage.’.

Aku gritted his teeth and gave off a ‘tch’ before turning to her.”You can fuck right off, princess. It’s because of your subjects that I did what I did. You, your sister, everyone in that kingdom are nothing but a bunch of god damned hypocrites. And you are all going to get what’s coming to you soon enough. When something or someone with crazy powerful magic comes to claim you as their bitch, I won’t be there to clean up your mess. I have done my fair share of good in your kingdom. But it seems that it wasn’t any good. So stop trying to convince me to come back so you can just have me locked up or executed again. A life on the run is a life far better than one sitting in a cell rotting away. Now, get lost and stop invading my dreams.” he said as he stuck his hand in his pockets as he walked passed her, bumping his shoulder into her arm in the process.

“She misses you, you know.” Luna said as she still looked forward. Aku stopped for a moment and shook his head. “I don’t care. To be honest, I don’t care for anyone who cares for me in the place. Besides, her and her friends are far better off without me in their lives anyway. Everyone wins.” he makes his way to the door to the stairwell that lead back down to the ground floor. Once outside, he began walking home on instinct. “I believe you will return one day, there is still a part of you that cares for that shy, sweet pegasus who fell for you and was too afraid to tell you.”. Aku stopped again and balled his hands into fists “Go to hell. And stay out of my dreams.” he said as he forced himself awake. Just as he awoke, he saw someone in the corner of his eye reaching for his bag, with a quick and firm grip to the wrist, he squeezed tightly and heard a cry of a child coming from the figure. “Ow, that hurts! Let go!”. Aku stood up and pushed the smaller figure away and grabbed his bag before slinging it over his shoulder “Hey kid, watch who you steal from in the future. Anyone else and you would have lost that hand or worse. Go back to your parents.” he said as he made his way over to the door and outside of the building where two hood figures waited for him with daggers drawn.

“Oh look, the brat must be with you two. Look they are perfectly fine. I don’t want any trouble here alright?” From the look of things, one of them was male and the other was female. The male was a pony for sure, but the other had large wings, a lion tail, lion paws and talons on their hand.”Give use everything you got and we won’t kill you, got it?” said the female in a gruff voice. “No, Eva. All we want is their food. And any medicine if they can give it up.” Said the male pony who held his weapon tightly before turning his attention to Aku.”Look, we’d rather not have to spill blood or have ours spilled. We just need food for the little ones back at our refuge camp. And it is getting harder and harder for us to hunt and gather as of late. The kingdom has been hunting us down for a very long time and it has been making getting what we need hard.”. Aku looked back at the child who had run past him and went to hide behind their mother. At least that’s who he assumed she was.

“So, you are all on the run to huh? I bet your crime doesn’t compare to mine though.” he said as he lifted up his left hand which was bandaged up and removed them to reveal that pulsating magical tear in his flesh. The pony’s eyes widen under his hood as he staggers back while putting his arm in front of the gryphon woman who also starred in shock. “Y-You are the one called Aku...there is no mistaking that mark. You are the one who killed that corrupt judge and destroyed the trial room in the castle. Please..had we known it was you..w-we would have never-.” Aku raiosed his hand to stop them from speaking before reaching into his bag and tossing them whatever food he had in a smaller bag at their feet “It’s fine, you can have it. I will find another way to acquire food somehow. Your young ones need it more than I anyway.”.

Both the adults look down at the rather sizable bag of food and opened it up to find all kinds of tasty food in it, both for meat and plant eaters. They look over at him in shock before bowing their heads in thanks. “Thank you so much, sir. From the stories we heard, we thought they you were just a cruel and evil person.”. Aku tied his bag back up and placed it on his shoulder again “Cruelty is only a matter of perspective.” He said as he began to make his way onward. “Hey!” Shouted the male pony. “If..you got nowhere to go and are looking for a place to call home for a short while, I am sure the boss wouldn’t mind taking you in. Especially since it seems you can pull your own weight.”. Aku stopped and looked back at them both “You know who I am,and yet you invite me to come and possibly live in the same confines as you are your comrades?”. They both put away their blade as the pony walks up to him and offers a hand out while placing another on Aku’s shoulder “Hey, we welcome all creatures from all walks of life. In our tight little family, we don’t judge. So long as they follow the core rules set down by the boss, everyone is welcomed. Plus, I get this feeling that you are quite skilled at fighting. You don’t carry a weapon, so I assume you yourself are the weapon. I bet you could teach us a lot of what you know.”.

Later at the encampment, Aku walks in behind the three he had met out at the old house. Once he laid eyes on the place, it really did look like creatures of all times were living together in a peaceful co-existence. Children of different races were playing together pony or not. And the adults were gathered around fires or in their homes just relaxing. Seeing all this did spark a little bit of hope in Aku’s heart. Perhaps he could actually help these people with their food issues, maybe even more and more in due time. He would see how they truly viewed him for a little while though. From what he could tell, it looked like they were trying to build their own little village and possibly make their camp into something more permanent. As he got closer, all eyes were on him, the adults gave him an intense stare while the children looked on with curiosity in their wide eyes.

Once they all enter the slightly larger building that was at the back of the little camp, the male earth pony stood before a slightly larger and more muscular one. He was tall, orange first and dark blue hair mane and tall which were medium length and slightly wavy. He looked like he had a few battle scars of his own.as well. “Boss, you never believe who we came across while out hunting for food. Quite a lucky find if I say so myself. ANd he was generous enough to give us food even though it was all he had.”. The orange stallion looked over at Aku before arching a brow as he saw just who he was once he removed his hood “Aku the magic devourer, murderer of judge Stricthoof and fugitive from the law.”. The stallion looks back at the other “And he has the mark?” the other male nodded “Yes, he does. He showed it to us. That’s why I insisted he come with us. Said he’d be welcomed here for sure.”. The orange pony looked back to Aku and smiled, giving a hardy laugh before placing his hands on his hips “You know how famous you are around here? Everyone around here knows you as the ‘Corruption Killer’ and the ‘Magic Eater’. The whole kingdom is still out there looking for you and here you stand. Chasing you must be like chasing a ghost.”.

The stallion offered his hand to Aku before speaking”The name’s Iron Heart, a pleasure to me you, kiddo.”. Aku looked down at the hand that was offered before taking it and giving a firm handshake.”Aku. But, clearly you knew me already.”. Iron Heart nodded firmly before releasing Aku’s hand “well then, you are among friends here, Aku. And if you plan on staying with us, there are a few rules that ALL of us follow including me. First and foremost, we are a family here. So, that comes with its up as well as its down. But no matter what, we do NOT turn on each other. We work it out. Second, Killing others is a LAST resort. If we can get what we need without causing any kind of pain or grief, that is far more better. However, this rule doesn’t apply to invaders and those that wish to kill us. We fight to survive. And third, Should you leave our little family for any reason, make sure you come back and see us sometime and tell us all about your adventures. Got it?”. Aku looked the tall pony in the eyes, so deep in fact that his gaze was piercing the stallion's skull. He could see that he had his own issues with his past, but he had a big heart and not a hint of deceit was to be found. For the first time in a long time, Aku smiled and gave a nod to Iron Heart “I understand. And how about I make you a deal? I bring knowledge from my world, perhaps I can share it with the people who maintain and hold this little place together and we can make it a much larger and more fruitful place to live. Where everyone can be happy and not worry about what or who creatures are. I bet if we work at it hard enough, we could have our own city within a couple of years. Trade routes, food source, water source, everything and more than you could ever want. No corrupt nobles or judges or anything like that. Just a council and a leader. That leader being you of course. You seem to have this place in order, so I see no other candidate. All I ask in return...is that I have a place I can call home in this future society.”.

Iron Heart was speechless at the proposal, and the fact that Aku was willing to teach what he knew about his world to the creatures of this little encampment made the stallion more than happy to accept the deal. Perhaps their future society will be just as Aku said would be. And he wanted that for his people. “You got yourself a deal, kiddo. I got a feeling things are going to be getting better for all of us now that you are around. Welcome to the family!”.

-2 years later-

Aku awoke from slumber from a rather sizable bed from under a soft dark blue blanket. His door flung open and a young gryphon about the age of sixteen runs in and flings open the curtains with a smile on her face. She was dressed in a black and white gi with an orange belt around her waist and looked over at Aku fondly and bowed respectfully. “Wake up, Master! It’s about time for the morning lessons! I ran over to make sure that you didn’t sleep in this time!”. This little gryphon was actually the one who tried to steal his stuff two years ago. And now, the tomboyish gryphon was one of his now many students. The black and grey gryphon certainly filling out nicely as she grew older each day.

“Angel, how many times have I told you to not call me Master? I am your teacher. I would never ask my students to call me Master. It is too old fashioned. Now go back down stairs and do your drills with the others, I will be down in a bit.”. Angel nodded before running over and hugging Aku tightly “Okay, M-...tTeacher!”. Once Angel ahd left, Aku took a look outside of his window and smiled as he stared out over the small town that he and the citizens had created over the two years. Everything was so up to date and modern, like a quiet little town back in Japan, and his dojo and house stood on a small hill inside the town as well. “Hopefully...we can become even greater than this. But, it is certainly a start.” He said before getting ready for the day.

Author's Note

I just had the greatest idea for this story. I think you will all like it as it progresses. :D

May the darkness grant you peace.

Act 14: Shedding The Blood Of The Enemy

Twilight and her friends sat at a table in front of a cafe as they looked around the town that Aku had made his home. They’d never guess that this place was so run down and much, much smaller when he first came here with how lively and so modern it was, even more so than Manehattan. The streets were busy with both children and adults going about their day, the guards were interacting with the civilians as if they were civilians themselves. The soldiers back in Canterlot always stood stoically and ignored the civilians. “This town seems like such a happy place. I can’t believe that Aku was the one who aided in its development. It really does seem like he is fitting in here far better than he ever did in Ponyville. I mean, just look at him…” Twilight said as she caught a glimpse of him being surrounded by a few of the teens that had spotted him going about his business. “Sensei!!!” they all shouted as they surrounded him. Aku gave a smile to his students and placed his hands atop their heads.

“He never smiled like that in Ponyville at all. That is a real smile for sure.” Said Pinkie as she was happy that she could see him smile like that, but a little bit sad that he couldn’t when he was around her. “What does ‘Sensei’ mean? They seem to call him that a lot. Both the children and the adults.” Asked Rarity as she took notice of his clothing that he wore. She’d be lying if she says she didn’t want to try something similar. “I remember him telling me back when he was staying with me. According to where he is from, it means ‘teacher’. But they seem to hold him in a much higher regard than a simple teacher. From what I gathered from the guard from earlier though, he teaches both the adults and children here.” Twilight explained as she watched him from her chair as the waiter came with their food and drinks.

“SOmething’s not right here, girls. He’s gotta be doing something to manipulate these ponies and everyone else who lives in this town in some way. These people seem so happy!” Exclaimed Rainbow Dash as she leaned in with a hand to her cheek as if she was trying to keep the conversation from leaving the table. Pinkie Pie shook her head right away at Rainbow’s accusation “No, these aren’t fake smiles. Not in the very least.”. After the children all leave Aku, he stands there for a few moments longer as if he was waiting for someone. Soon enough, a young mare approaches him with a smile and suddenly clings to his right arm, her long purple tail swaying happily as she gazes up at him fondly. He smiles right back at her with a much more nervous smile though. She was a beautiful pegasus with a long mane and a soft ice blue firsted body. They all saw this and it bothered Fluttershy the most.

“Look at her, draping herself all over him! What does she even see in that guy?” questioned Applejack as she just lik Rainbow couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Fluttershy sat there in her chair with her hands in her lap as she wiggled her legs and fidgeted with her fingers as she gazed at the ground. She had already regretted the words she had said to him at the entrance of the town before. And now she was feeling a twinge of heartache seeing another mare with him.

“You shouldn’t be so surprised that they swoon for him. He is the one who came and made this town what it is.” an older mare spoke from her table having heard their conversation. “Aku has told us all about what happened where he came from. He did mention a group of mares who caused him a bit of trouble. And it seems like you are the ones he spoke of. Especially the loud mouthed blue one. You are the one he doesn’t like the most. And I can see why.” she said with a giggle as she gets up and leaves her money on the table. “Do him a favor and leave this town. All of you. He doesn’t need any more sadness in his life.” she said as she walked away to continue her day. Little did they know that very mare was one of the five council members who greatly respected Aku.

Aku spent the day with the mare who had met him just enjoying ehr company. It was just a little date that the two of them had planned. Though, Aku wasn’t really serious about any of the women in the town at all. He mainly did it just to enjoy her company and get out of the dojo. As Aku makes his way back towards his house, he sees Fluttershy step into his field ofm vision and watches her approach him. But, one of his samurai got to him first and pulled him aside. “Sensei, we have trouble at the Oni Gate.” Aku looked back at Fluttershy for a moment If you want to speak with me, it will have to be later. I have business to attend to.”. He then looks back to the gryphon samurai “Gimme a lift?” he asked. The gryphon nodded and lifted into the air before Aku grabbed his hand and flew off. Fluttershy huffed before taking off after him a few minutes afterwards. No, she wasn’t going to wait. Not anymore. However, she may regret her choice in following him. As she was going to see a side of the one she loved that would frighten her.

Once at the Oni Gate, Aku noticed that several of his samurai had their blades drawn and in their stances as they stared down six other individuals with weapons and magic in view. He looks back at the one who brought him and took the sword from his hip “I will bring it back. I left my own weapon back at the dojo. Didn’t think we’d have trouble today.”. The gryphon nodded and smiled “Should you need to use it, I will consider it an honor for it to be used by my sensei.” he said with a deep bow. Aku placed a hand upon his shoulder “Hopefully it won’t come to that.” he said as he walked over between the group of samurai and the other armed individuals. Fluttershy landed behind a building not too far away from the gate as she watched and waited to see just how Aku would handle the situation, shaking with nervousness and a slight bit of fear as she saw the sheathed blade in his hand.

“Well well, if it isn’t the Magic Eater himself. You got a pretty price on your head right about now, you know? Threehundred and sixty-five thousand bits for you dead or alive.” Aku arched a brow and gave out a small whistle “Three hundred and sixty-five thousand? Can I turn myself in? The nobles in Canterlot must really want me dead after I killed the judge that was in their pockets.”. He then looks back at the group of samurai behind him and chuckles”PerhapsI should let them turn me in instead. They need the big payday anyway.”. They all laugh for a moment before focusing back on the bounty hunters. Aku then dismisses the bounty hunters away in a mocking fashion “Be off with you. The last group of you assholes came here and left with a couple of limbs less because they tried to take me from my home as well..”

The hunter growl lowly and get into a fighting stance with their magic and weapons. Their leader glares at him with a rather annoyed smile at how cocky he sounded when he said that. “Tch, they were amateurs at best. Buit now, you are dealing with the pros. We will take your head and get our reward and be rich! Men, strike this bastard down!” As the hunters charged in for the attack, Aku closed his eyes and held the sword out in front of him and pulled it from it's sheath, an audible 'shing' sword coming from it. Once he reopens his eyes, they take their dark form once more and he charges forward turning the blade on it’s back end for now. Several of the samurai followed with the back of their blades ready for use as well. This was a technique that he and his students came up with together. Though he might have had a few inspirations from the anime he watched back home as well. Aku leapt over the leader at first to attack the magic users. Literally getting in close while parrying their attack to eat the magic directly from their horns and hands before striking them in the stomach with the back end of the blade knowing full well this would k.o them quickly due to the combo of attacks.

He and the others then quickly turned their attention to the others and began engaging in combat with them, weapons clashing over and over as both sides performed acrobatic dodges and counters as the combat flowed. Fluttershy watched on with her legs shaking as she saw the look on Aku’s face. He was so coldly focused on the battle in front of him, yet he continued to use the back end of his blade to attack the hunters. WIth the way she was looking at him though, he may as well be slicing them open. jUst as they subdued the hunters around them, more appeared out of the forest and shot arrows at them. Aku was quick enough to dodge and block the arrows, but some of his samurai got hit between the plates of their armor. They fall to the ground on their knees and grab at their wounds in pain. Blood was shed on his side, it was about to be shed on theirs now.

“You just all just shot your last arrow and swung your last sword…” he growled in anger before he whistled sharply and loudly. A few moments later, the hunters by the trees got pulled up into the branches, screaming and kicking on the way up before going limp with the sound of blade piercing flesh. The samurai at Aku’s side stand up as they recover from the arrows. He and they turn their blades over, the sharp side gleaming in the moonlight, thirsty for blood. “Cut off their hands and their horns.” he commanded coldly. The samurai nod and go into full on battle mode with him leading the charge once more. This time more aggressive and precise in where they swing their blades, meeting their marks as they no longer had to hold back. Streams of blood fly through the air as the hands of the hunters fall to the ground with a sickening thud along with their horns. The cries of pain echoing through that part of the town letting everyone know what was going on.

Aku swings his blade down to the side, riding it of any blood before sheathing it back up with a metallic click “Leave. Or I will cut you down where you kneel now. The next hunters that come here, I will let my ninja take care of them personally. I am getting tired of you and your kind coming here and ruining the peace I and my family have worked so hard for.” The leader smiles a wicked smile up at Aku. A cry of fear rings in his ear as he turns around and sees one of the hunters has Fluttershy with a blade.

Not even giving them a chance to speak, Aku flings a kunai that he had under his sleeve right into the eye of the hunter. The hunter cries out in pain as he drops the dagger, trying to pull the kunai from his eye socket. Aku moves in quickly with a palm directly to the midsection of the hunter which makes him drop to his knees and gasp for air. He takes hold of the back of his head tightly and with a fierce growl, performs a swift but brutal chop to the side of the neck, delivering a killing blow. Time seemed to slow down for Fluttershy as she watched all this happen in front of her, the yellow pegasus mare now scared for her life as she looked at the monster in front of her. Meanwhile the hunter get up on their hooves and flees for their lives. Aku tosses the corpse at the samurais’ feet and nods to him “Burn it. Make sure there is nothing but ash left. Then spread it to the wind.”. The samurai nod and bow their head “Yes, sensei.”. They walk away carrying the corpse by its arms into the forest to a place where they burn and bury the dead.

Aku turns his attention back to Fluttershy who gazed up at him in fear, the moonlight shining in his eyes made them glow brightly and his long white hair flowed in the wind made him look like an actual oni/ogre from japanese legend. “Go back to your friends. You didn’t need to see this and you should forget it ever happened. Now, you know why I will never ever return to Ponyville or Equestria for that matter. Go home, Fluttershy.” he said before he started making his way back to his own home to get himself cleaned up “This isn’t a place for sheltered ponies who are free from conflict.” He said before he disappeared around a corner. Fluttershy drops to her knees as she breathes heavily, the images of Aku doing what he had just done playing over and over in her mind. The sound of swords cutting flesh, the splatter of blood, and the cries of pain from the hunters all echoing loudly.

Aku opened his eyes to find himself in a rather strange area. He was standing on water in the middle of a large lake and a full moon shining overhead as Luna appeared before him in her true form this time. “I thought I told you to stay out of my dreams, princess.” he said with an annoyed tone. “Oh, it’s not just me this time, Aku.” shen said as Celestia appeared along with Twilight and her friends. Aku growled in annoyance and closed his eyes before opening them again with a dark glare. “All of you, leave my town first thing in the morning. Understood? If you choose to not do so, I Will have my samurai forcibly escort you out.”. He then turned his attention to Celestia and Luna “And if you two send any of your soldiers to come and claim me. You will regret it. My town is outside your borders.”.

“Aku, you need to-.” Celestia was cut off by Aku roaring in rage at all of them “I don’t need to do a damn thing for any of you!”. SUddenly dark purple ethereal horns appear from his forehead and that fiery aura streams from his eyes once more. “I am no longer within your damned kingdom so why even pursue me?! Fuck you and your god damned fat nobles! Sending their bounty hunters after me this evening has crossed the line. They even put a blade up to Fluttershy’s neck so you better believe I killed him with no mercy!” The whole area went quiet before Celestia spoke up again “Do you realize what you look like right now, Aku? You are letting the evil that you consumed show us the monster that dwells within you.”.

Aku growled again as he pointed a finger at Celestia and Luna “You two have no right to call me a monster when your kingdom is being ruled from the shadows by monsters who put the innocent to death because it inconveniences your nobles who pay off judges. Save your bullshit form someone who is more naive.”. Twilight looked over at Celestia with a worried expression on her face “Princess Celestia..what does he mean corrupt judges and nobles who pay them off…? Just what exactly happened that day. W-What are you not telling us..?” Celestia looked between Aku and her student before Aku spoke up again “I thought as much. You haven’t told them the truth about what happened that day. Lying to her and her friends is going to cost you dearly, Celestia.” he said before turning back to Twilight and her friends. He closes his eyes and lightly taps the water he was standing on with a staff that appeared in his hand “I am going to show you all what really happened that day. And should the other princess interrupt this dream, take it as further proof that you have been lied to..”

Author's Note

I think that'll be all for a little while. Can't believe I wrote this much in such a short time.

May the darkness grant you peace.

Act 15: Two Warriors Find Their Match

As Aku and the others stood around in the dreamscape, the moonlit sky and water suddenly vanished from them and was replaced with the trial room when it was whole and the trial had begun. Aku pointed the tip of the staff over to the judge then over to himself where he was bound by his wrists with chains. “Now, all of you will stand here and watch what happened on that day. The day your god damned kingdom tried to kill me simply because I was capable of something they couldn’t comprehend.” As the scene played out, Celestia’s face grew heavy as she looked away from what was happening, grabbing hard at her upper arm as she not once, but twice witnessed the corruption of one of the judges she had put so much faith in over the years. And out of Twilight and her friends, She and Fluttershy seemed the most hurt out of what had happened next. They all watched as the blade from the chosen knight was plunged into Aku’s chest. More than half the crowd cheered as they watched the human go limp for a few minutes.

However, next is when things went completely south. They all watched as Aku slowly came back to life with a wicked smile and laugh. “Now, you will all watch what drove me to the point of what I did. Because of your god damned corrupted kingdom. It all drove me to this one moment.” he said as he then showed them one of the darkest choices he had made in his life thus far. Once the explosion happened, everything changed back to the original dreamscape they started out in. But oh no. Aku wasn’t done yet. He slammed the staff down into the water and growled angrily in his throat at Luna and Celestia now. “And you two. I strongly suggest you weed out the corrupt nobles as soon as possible. They can send out their bounty hunters after me all they want. But I will NOT allow them to threaten someone to try and get to me…”. The dreamscape changes once more to the spot outside of town where Aku and his samurai had fasced down the bounty hunters the night before.

He pointed his finger to the scene as the aura around him seemed to grow bigger and bigger. Eventually forming into a full grown japanese ogre with dark skin, and long white hair with sharp teeth and glowing dark blue eyes. “This is something I NEVER want to see happen again. Or I will cut them ALL down next time.” The ogre that stood behind him gave out a loud anger filled roar before it slowly vanished behind him. The dreamscape changed back once again to the peaceful moonlit lake once more before he turned his attention to all of them.”Now then. I expect every single one of you to leave here by tomorrow. And you may not return for a full year. As for you two..you are NEVER allowed to come here. I will escort you out forcibly myself if I have to. After all, we are outside your kingdom. Your royal immunity has no power here.” Fluttershy steps forward slightly at first, but then runs into a full on sprint before clinging to Aku’s coat and burying her head into his chest. “Please...not a whole year. It wasn’t their fault, Aku. We didn’t know the whole story! Please...please please show them a little more leniency!” She looked up into his dark eyes with her own which seemed like they were about to burst with tears.

For some reason, seeing Fluttershy like this bothered him greatly. More than it did when Twilight cried on her knees in front of him earlier that same day. He lets out a sigh and steps away from Fluttershy, gently pushing her away “Fine, I will make it six months for them. But since you haven’t betrayed more now given me the sense you will. You, and you alone may come and go as you please. Don’t make me regret this decision.” He then steps away from the group “Now then, I am heading off to sleep. Don’t bother me again.” he said before disappearing from them. Twilight then turns to the princesses with a rather disappointed look on her face and crosses her arms “Princess, I believe you owe us an explanation…”

A few weeks passed as the days went on like normal in Aku’s ever growing town. Now that he didn’t have to worry about any more invasions, he could focus on what mattered most. Or, so he thought. While in the middle of observing his samurai and ninjas training for the day. He noticed a rather cold wind and dark looming clouds forming overhead and what sounded like a warhorn. Immediately he took notice of the lightning storm that accompanied those clouds and what appeared to be a small fleet of airships getting closer and closer to the small town. Aku quickly told a few of his samurai to spread the word to others and meet him at the point where the ships landed.

With haste, Aku ran through the town of onlooking creatures as the bells rang throughout the city to urge all non-military personnel and civilians to safety. Once the ship had landed, Aku and a chunk of his forces stood outside the city’s north gate, the Dragon Gate. Accompanied by Iron Heart the platoon stand there as the airships open from below and large black creatures with white manes and lightning blue eyes come out with heavy weapons and shields. And among them stood a dark purple unicorn with a short red mane and tail and a scar that when from top to bottom on her right eye. Most noticeable however was the shattered remains of a horn that was no longer where it should be. She looked tough to be sure. She was fit and toned but still plenty plush in all the right spots. And her armor hugged her form nicely.

“I am here on behalf of the Storm King. Who is the one in charge here?” the dark furred mare bellowed out in a commanding manner as her cold eyes gazed over the samurai that now stood before her. “That would be me, missy.” Iron Heart said as he stood before her in a serious manner with Aku at his right side. “I am here on behalf of my master, the Storm King. We are here to take control of your little town and further expand his nation so that he may become more powerful. So, we can do this one of two ways…” she said as she made her way down the ramp and closer to the group. “..you can surrender immediately and only some of you will die, or you can fight, in which case you all die.” she waited for an answer as she lifted her head up and looked down her nose at Iron Heart. The stallion chuckled lightly and shook his head.

“I am afraid that I have to decline your option to surrender. We have worked hard to build our own little slice of home. And we aren’t going to allow some greedy asshole named ‘The Storm King’ to take it. And I am sure my Oni General here will agree with me.”. Aku nodded as he stepped closer as the samurai behind them hovered their hands over their blades and the ninja that were hidden around the area got ready as well. The unicorn took immediate notice of Aku. She had never, ever seen a creature like him before. No fur, no hooves, no tail. Though given that Iron Heart had called him the ‘Oni General’, she assumed that he must be the strongest of all the warriors that stood before her. “Very well then, you first.” she said coldly before reaching in a small bag behind her and threw a dark green magic sphere right at Aku. It hits Aku in the chest and bursts into a mist that covers him quickly and encases him in some kind of dark crystal. However, it only gets to his upper arms and legs before it shatters completely and drops from his form. This surprised the unicorn as she watched with wide eyes. Never before has she seen this happen with one of her secret weapons. Aku narrows his eyes in annoyance as he dusts his clothing off and looks back to Iron Heart. The stallion nodded and drew his heavy sword. It was a larger form of the katana his samurai used, a nodachi. “I believe she has made her intentions clear, Iron. She plans to have us all killed. So do as you wish with her minions. Leave her to me however.” Aku raised his hand in the air, this being the signal for the samurai to draw their weapons and get ready for battle. “Samurai, kōgeki!” He shouted while swinging his hand down as he commanded the samurai to charge forth. They all let out a loud war cry as they charge in and lock in combat with the large creatures that accompanied the unicorn. The two of them stared each other down as her horn sparked in annoyance. “Why are you encased? Just what in the world are you?” Aku didn’t see that she had a sword or any other weapon on her. So she was either going to resort to magic or her bare fists. He removes his katana from his side and tosses it to the right away from them as he gets into a stance that involves keeping himself firmly planted into the ground and ready for any attack she may throw at him.

“I am no one but an outcast of this world who was lucky enough to find folks who accepted me for who I am. And I will not let you or anyone else take that from me. Before we start, give me your name. I want to know the warrior I am fighting this day. My name is Aku.”. The unicorn watches him toss his weapon away as he explains who he is. When she heard him say he was an outcast, something clicked within her as she had also become an outcast herself because of what had happened to her in her past. “I am Tempest Shadow, leader of the Storm King’s army. And I will be the one to strike you down here and now. For when I complete the final goal of my master’s takeover of this land and then Equestria, he will restore my horn And I can be whole again!” she shouted before her broken horn glowed and she threw an arc of lightning magic at him.

Just as every stranger would find out when going up against the human, this world’s magic did very, very little to him. He simply knocked the arc of lightning away with his right hand before sweeping his right foot behind him and charged forward with a now focused glare, his eyes changing into their dark form again.”That won’t be good enough!” he shouted. Tempest nearly lost her composure as she watched what had just happened. She was quick enough to block an oncoming kick that was about to connect with the left side of her face by using both her arms to block it. Aku backflipped in the air by using her as a springboard before landing on his feet and performing a sweeping kick which Tempest then did a little hop to avoid. Aku come up from the sweep kick and received a direct punch to his face then one to his chest as she countered his last attack. No one has even been fast enough to actually cause him damage like this before.

Aku fell back a bit before grabbing at the still extended arm of the unicorn and with one swift motion he slipped under that arm and kicked her feet from out under her with a quick spinning leg sweep. While falling in mid air for that spill moment, Aku was quick enough to plant a devastating palm to her stomach and send her flying a few feet away from him. She lets out a sharp gasp for air as it was knocked out of her before she tumbled along the ground. Aku spits out a bit of blood that had form in his mouth and looks down at Tempest. “Your master is lying to you. You know? There is no way to restore a horn to a unicorn once it is lost.”. Tempest growls in anger as she jumps up and charges at him once more”Youi shut the fuck up! He promised me I’d get my horn back! He took me in and gave me a purpose when no one else would!” she said as she continued her attack on Aku. She send another kick up towards his ribs which he immediately blocked with a lifted knee and pushed the hoof away, then another punch to his torso which he blocked by placing one hand on top of the other.

“You are deluding yourself if you think otherwise, you little fool. Once he gets what he wants from you, he is going to discard you and possibly even kill you when he is done with you. Believe me, I know all about being used and discarded. Just as I was when I lived in Equestria.” he said after they had gotten into a deadlock. Both of them struggled to push one another back as they were firmly planted in the ground. “I am considered a fucking monster in that god damned kingdom. I possess power they cannot understand and so they tried to kill me for it. I was looked down upon and everything that comes with being an outcast.”. Once she heard his story a bit more, the unicorn felt another click within her soul as she seemed to have found a kindred spirit. But at the same time, she was debating in her mind if the Storm King was really using her or not. While in the deadlock, she searched those dark eyes of his for any kind of deception. Try as she might, she couldn’t find one single ounce.

“I have to at least try! I just want to be whole again! And I will do anything to make that happen!” As the fight went on and on, the enemies fell one by one as both the samurai and ninja who had come out of hiding eventually got rid of them. Aku’s and Tempest’s bodies now beaten and blooded, stood there facing each other down while breathing heavily and holding their sides. Aku was nearly at his limit as he dropped to a knee and gazed at the ground. A beaten Iron Heart calling out to him as he started to make his way over to his downed comrade”Aku! Hang in there, kiddo! I’m comin!”. Aku thrusts his arm out to the side before shouting back on Iron Heart “No! This is MY fight. You stay out of it!” he said as she slowly stood up. Tempest looked like she had plenty of energy left in her to fight. This secret technique that Aku hadn’t even taught his students was his last trump card.

Aku lets out an anger filled war cry as he slams his fist into the ground before rising to his feet. He brings both of his fists in front of his body before letting out a fierce ‘aist!’ as he breathed in and out slowly while getting into a stance that not of his soldiers have ever seen. Tempest could feel this strange energy being pulled towards Aku. it was subtle, but she knew that she had to get to him first before he could fully prepare for what he was going to do. So she moves in as quickly as she could with a right punch going for his face. But, it was too late for her. With a free hand, he grabs her arm. And with a quick punch to the underside of her biceps, the limb goes completely numb almost immediately. Not wasting any time, he quickly kicks the side of her left knee which makes her drop to it instantly. She was in absolute shock at what he was doing to her body. She couldn’t move the limbs he had attacked

“What have you done to me?!” She shouted as she used her remaining arm to swing at him, only to have him repeat the same attack. Not kneeling before him with only one knee holding her up, He grabs the back of her head and tilts it back, exposing her neck with a hand held back, getting ready to send a killing chop to it. “You have two options now, Tempest..” he said as he breathed heavily from the fighting. “Surrender and become my subordinate. Live a much happier life here and be accepted. Or die right here, right now.” As Tempest gazed up at Aku, She knew that she was at his mercy at this point. But like a stubborn and prideful warrior. She simply answers him with “Kill me now.”. Without hesitation, Aku lets out a mighty ‘Hyaah!’ as the hand swung down towards her neck. Tempest tightens her eyes shut as her life flashes before her eyes, believing her life was over at that point. But, That was not Aku’s plan. Just as the hand was mere centimeters from her neck, he brings his hand up and gently squeezes her snout “Honk~.”.

He then releases her snout and watches as she falls onto her rear and stares up at him with a mixture of confusion and shock. What just happened here? “Why..why didn’t you?” she asked as she was speechless at the fact he spared her life even though she wanted death. Aku sighed before plopping down in front of her, completely exhausted from the fight. He sat there for a few moments with his eyes closed before opening them back up with a smile forming on his face. “Because, it would be a waste of someone with your capabilities and strength to simply be discarded. And because I truly know how you feel.” he said as he reached up and gently poked her forehead just under her broken horn. “Listen to me, Tempest. Instead of trying to regain something that you have lost that you will never get back. Why not search for something that can make you whole again and even more than that?”.

He looked back at Iron Heart and all the soldiers who knew that the battle was now over and began to move the dead enemies off to the burn piles out of the area. Luckily none of Aku’s samurai or ninja fell this day. “I was, and still am serious about you becoming my subordinate. I could use a warrior of your caliber at my side. And if you choose to join our soon to be nation, you will be whole accepted just as I was when this place was nothing but a little camp many months ago.” he said as he held a hand out to gesture towards the creatures he calls family and friends. “They all accepted me with open arms because I was different and an outcast to the kingdom of Equestria. Criminals of crimes they did not commit or petty criminals who only stole to survive now live here in peace. They have all become fine warriors who believe in honor and protecting the civilians of our town.”.

Iron Heart stood next to Aku while leaning against his sword that he had planted in the ground and smiled down at Tempest “What he says is true, little lady. Thanks to him, we live out our lives in peace mostly thanks to what he had brought to us. And he still has so much more that we are working on even as we speak. He is offering you a pretty sweet deal. The fight is over. You no longer have a reason to be hostile towards us.”. Tempest looked between Aku and Iron as she lowered her head and squeezed her hands into fists. What was being offered to her seemed to good to be true. But, the evidence was right in front of her. She couldn’t deny that everyone being so different, but were all unified and non-judgmental toward one another's appearance or walks of life. She looked back at Aku. “I..could really get a fresh start if I chose to join your nation? And you;d truly give me a place in your ranks even though I caused all this trouble for you…?”.

Aku lightly flicked her forehead and waggled a finger. “Uh-uh. I am going to stop you right there. None of this is your fault because you were being used and lied to. When we get you patched up, I want you to get ahold of this..’storm king’ and tell him that you don’t need him anymore. And that you found a place that accepts you for who you are. And I will be at your side to fully support you and tell him off myself if he gets mouthy. Now then…” he said as he stands up and offers his hand out to Tempest as the wind blowing softly through his hair as the sunset shimmers between the two of them. “Come, Tempest. A newer, brighter future awaits you in Kazoku. A place where you can truly belong, the way you are and for who you are.” Tempest looked at the extended hand for a moment before reaching up slowly to grasp it, even pulling back slightly as a moment of uncertainty came over her. But, she looked into those dark eyes of his again, seeing nothing but truth to his words. And so, she takes his hand. This small event in history setting the stage for something much, much bigger in both of their futures...

Author's Note

I imagine that Tempest was still taking over other places for the storm king far before the events of the movie. So I decided to work that into this story. And simply because I decided Tempest will in fact be a romantic interest to Aku. The two would be a rather imposing pair if I say so myself. And just a heads up, this is taking place before Twi has gotten her wings But, things will get better and better as the story progresses. Promise

May the darkness grant you peace.

Act 16: The Arm Of Oni Taberu

It was just another day in the ever growing town of Kazoku. The kids were in school while the adults were out doing their respective jobs. Aku walked through the town with a couple of his samurai as his bodyguards. Not that he really needed them. It was more of a formality deal than anything. As he went through the town, he visited shops just to pop in and check on how things were going. And of course, his favorite places to stop by were the bakeries and restaurants which the owners happily offered him samples of and he gladly ate them all.

By the time he made his rounds, it was time for the kids to get out of school and make their way home. As Aku was speaking with one of his samurai, he hears the sound of a speeding cart coming from down one of the main roads of the city. He pushes his guard aside as he rushes toward the sound as fast as he could. Just as he rounded the corner, the cart was heading straight for a group of children. They cried out in terror as most of them were quick to move out of the way of the speeding cart. One of them had fallen trying to get out of the way and by this time, they were too frightened to move from where they had fallen.

Just as the cart was mere feet from running the child over, Aku slides in and pushes the children up and pushes them out of the way. All ended well and no one got hurt right? Well, unfortunately, Aku got caught in the oncoming cart, specifically his left arm. The wheel connected with his upper arm and immediately got mangled and destroyed. He lets out a cry of pain as he is thrown to the aside side of the road, his arm completely destroyed beyond repair. He rolls around on the ground as he grabs at his arm in pain while everyone gathers around him in shock concern for their friend and general.

“Sensei!” shoulder both samurai and students as they tried to do what they could for him. “Get the doctors, we need medical attention for Aku right away!” shouted one of the guard. A pegasus was already in the air and on the way to the hospital, soaring as fast at their wings would take them. But this point, Aku laid in one of the hospital beds unconscious as he no longer had his left arm. Magic in this world had no affect on him whatsoever anymore. That included healing magic. As he laid there resting, Iron Heart and a few of the higher ranking samurai stood there as they spoke with the doctor who had operated on Aku.

“I..am sorry, sir. We did what we could for him. But, I am afraid amputation was all we could do at this point. With healing magic it would have been a painful process but a powerful one. But, given his...unique defense to any kind of magic, not even physical mending would have helped him...the arm was completely destroyed in the accident.”. Iron let out a frustrated huff. He was angry. But not at Aku or the child. He was simply angry at the fact that his right hand man was down and out of commission. But at the same time was also very proud of Aku for what he did to save the child.

“How did this happen?” asked Iron as he looked to one of the samurai. “According to witnesses, the stand that was holding the cart in position broke at the legs which sent the cart down hill. And that is when it turned a corner and started heading for a group of children. Aku pushed the child that was caught in the path out of the way but...as you can see at the coast of his left arm.” the samurai reported with as much detail as he could. “We will discuss more in the morning. Right now, my patient needs their rest. Please, all of you leave the room.” the doctor ordered.

As Aku slept through the night, the painkillers that were doing their job perfectly started to wear off. Aku began to toss and turn with his sleep as the phantom limb pain started to surge through his body. Aku opened up his eyes, immediately taking in his surroundings expecting to be awake in a hospital bend. That was not the case. Aku sat up to see that his surroundings were that of a dark japanese forest. One that reminded him of Aokigahara. Or the forest of suicide. But he was in a small clearing with metal torches lighting up with flames in a circle around him along with a torii gate appearing slowly on the other side of where he now stood. Immediately an arm swung from beyond the gate and slammed hard upon the water of which Aku stood. The sudden appearance and slam made Aku fall back before he scrambled back onto his feet. What appeared before him now was a rather tall and large ogre. The skin of which was a dark ash grey, his hair was long and pure white just like Aku’s he even had the same kind of eyes that Aku had when they’d change. It walked closer and closer to Aku, looking down at him as it growled ferociously in his direction. Aku also took note of it’s physique. Musclebound limbs and a large stomach, but with abs still visible even from the gut it had. And atop his head stood two horns that curved up but not all the way around.

The oni looked down at Aku without a word. Its gaze and smile was all it took for Aku to start backing away slowly before he turned to run. Though, there was nowhere to run. The ogre roared loudly before grabbing hold of Aku with his right hand and slammed him against one of the large oak trees. Aku lets out a groan of pain as he tries to push away with his one arm, but the ogre was too strong. “Wh-What the hell do you want from me?!” Aku shouted as the roots from the bottom of the tree bound him in place. Still the ogre said nothing. But draw the large sword it had resting on it back. Aku closed his eyes expecting that blade to be coming at him. But, that wasn’t that case. Akuy heard the painful scream of the ogre as he had loped his own left arm off. It then let out what Aku could make out as a sinister laugh through his gritted teeth and suddenly thrusts the arm right where Aku’s left arm used to be. Aku’s eyes shot open widely as his pupils darted all over the place. He lets out a loud and horrible sounding cry of pain as the arm started to meld into his body.

He kicks his legs violently and thrashed about in the bindings as the arm had shrunken down to his size, but was slightly larger and buffer than his right arm, the veins illuminating an icy white color as they latched on to their new owner. Every single nerve that connects was like a knife to the arm. Aku could feel the skin creeping along his upper torso and on the left side of his head. The dark grey skin just stopping a little under half way across his body and just over the upper left squatter of his face. Like someone had wiped paint over his body along with the same kind of horns now on his forehead just like the ogre’s. And the final pieces, his left eye now permanently changed to that black sclera with a new deep purple iris and his teeth now razor sharp.

Aku was suddenly then let go by the roots with a thud and splash as he landed back into the shallow water. He lifts the new arm up as the veins continue to slowly flash upward their icy white luminescence. He looked over the silver claws before opening the hand up to see a large gaping hole open up which was riddled with many rows of razor sharp teeth. Once he lowered his arm, he watched the oni disappear beyond the gate once more without a single word.The flames went out one by one until it was complete darkness. Aku then shot up from his slumber with a terrified scream, breathing heavily and soaked in sweat to the point where it looked like he had stepped out of the shower. This time, he woke up where he expected to in the first place. Aku quickly got out of bed and ran to the bathroom before turning on the skin faucet to hot water. He cups his hands together and splashes it onto his face trying to make sure he was awake. Wait..his hands? Aku knew for a fact that he had lost his arm in the accident just a few hours ago.

Aku slowly brought his new arm up into his vision. The same arm that the oni had placed upon him. After noticing that, he took notice of the horns and dark grey skin that patched his left side. The heavy breathing slowly picked up again before Aku let out a terrifying “aaaaaaAAAAH!!!’ before slamming the fist of his new left arm into the mirror, shattering it into a hundred pieces and running back out. He runs into a wall and slams both of his fists on it as he tries to process just what has happened to him. The man was no longer a human. But now what folks call a ‘keshin’, a half human half oni. “No...nononono!” he said over and over as she pounded his fists on the wall. “Why is this happening NOW of all times?! I can’t let Iron or anyone else see me like this!”.

Just as he was searching for an answer for why this happened to him, it hit him just as quickly. “The evil that I have been consuming...it finally had its chance to start manifesting physically when I lost my arm. And so it is using the vacant spot on my body to become a physical piece of myself…”. Having come to this fact, Aku finally calmed down now knowing that this was his own fault for eating both magic and evil at the same time. His gaze went back down to the palm of his hand where the hole that was once there had seamlessly faded for now.

--The Next Morning--

Aku laid there under the blankets and sheets, dreading the turn of the doorknob. When he finally heard it, he flinched under his comfy cocoon and only pulled it around himself tighter. It was the nurse that was assigned to him that would be the first unlucky creature to see just what was under those sheets. “Sir? I have come to change your bandages, I need you to come out from the covers though.” She said in a warm and polite tone of voice. Sky however wasn;t planning on giving up the covers without a fight. She watched as the blankets tightened around him as she gripped them tightly “I don’t need them. Please...just go away.” he said in an exhausted tone of voice, having not been able to sleep since last night after his change.

After a tug of war that lasted for about a few minutes, she finally got the blankets off of his body. He immediately curled up into a fetal position when his new arm tucked under his form and his other arm covering his head “Don’t look at me, please!!!” he shouted and pleaded. “Sir, you need to calm down our you are going to reopen your-!” she cut herself off once she had come around to calm him down. What she saw brought absolute fear to her face and her heart. What was before her was scarier than any monster she had come into contact with. Aku saw the look on her face and immediately rolled onto the other side and threw the pillow atop his head to hide his face. “Please..just go. As you can see, I don’t need any bandages…” he said as he pulled the blankets back over himself.

A few hours later, the door opens once more and in comes both Iron Heart and Tempest Shadow whom he had grabbed on the way over from her new home within the town that she had been living in for over a week now. There they saw Aku, fully dressed in one of his outfits he had requested to have been brought from his house. As they got closer and closer to Aku, they noticed right away that not only his appearance has changed, but his mass and height as well. He came up to Iron’s chin before, but now he stood a good foot over Iron at this point. Aku was now literally the ‘Oni General’.

“Ah, so the nurse has told you what she has seen, I assume?” he asked as he turned to face the both of them. Iron’s expression was one of shock while Tempest seemed to only barely be phased by Aku’s new appearance. “Kiddo? WHat in the hay happened to you…? Your arm..it was gone but…” he said as he was at a loss for proper words.”Yeah..” Aku said as he lifted up his left arm and looked at it “It's my fault to begin with. I ate too much evil when I consumed magic as well. And with my arm chopped off, it took the form of an omi in my dreams and now...well you see what it has done to me. I have become half of the oni.”. Iron walks up to Aku and looks him over “Are you still...well you know...you?” Aku nodded in reassurance”The change is only physical...for now. Who knows if I lose another limb that the same won’t happen to my mind and heart. But, I am just happy that the young one who I saved didn't end up in here or worse. I could have lived with one good arm.” he said as he tried to make light of his situation now that the freaking out part has come and gone.

Aku’s gaze turns to Tempest who didn’t seem the least bit bothered by Aku’s transformation. “Does this new change not bother you in the slightest, Tempest? You have not said a single word when you came in.” Aku asked curiously as he now stood before her. Tempest shook her head and offered him a smile of reassurance “If anything, this look suits you far more than how you used to look. You look as fierce as you fight now. And I think you look more...wickedly dashing like this.” she said before quickly realizing what she had just said at the end of her sentence, a blush creeping across her muzzle “Er...forget I said that…” she said as she quickly turned away from them both. She left the room quickly forget what she was going to tell Aku to try and help him feel better in her own little way. But, it seemed that what she had said before did in fact make him feel a bit easier about this change

“Geez...I am going to have to get new clothing that fits me and everything. These clothes are barely holding together as is…” He said as he could hear the fivers slowly tearing with every move he made. Iroh Heart laughed lightly and patted Aku’s upper left arm”How you look won’t change how the folks her see you as who you are, Aku. You should know better than that. Now come on, let’s get you home. As the mayor of this fine town, I am giving you the next week off, fully paid. You need your rest after what has happened. I will have Tempest check up on you each day while you are recoperting. Come on, off we go.” He said as he ushered Aku out of the room and out of the hospital.

Author's Note

Just a heads up, this is only a physical transformation. He still cannot use any sort of magic. Also his strength has increased do to his new body mass and muscle. He can only still eat and nullify magic when it touches him

May the darkness grant you peace.

Act 17: The Military Power Grows Ever Stronger

It was a few days after Aku’s horrific dream and transformation. The now keshin walked along the streets of his home town and looked down at all the folks who seemed to do nothing but smile up at him despite his new and rather menacing appearance. Yet, they seemed to not be bothered by it in the slightest. They treated him just as he was before. Welcoming him into their places of business and waving to him on their way to where they were coming from and going to. Even the children that always came to greet him didn’t shy away from him. In fact, they saw him now as some kind of great guardian. Even climbing all over him with his new physique now able to handle them with ease as they swung on his arms like he was this massive tree.

Eventually, Aku made his way over to Shadow Tempest’s home to check on her. He knocks on her door a few times before he hears her unlock her door and opens it. She gazes up at him with slightly widened eyes, forgetting a moment about his new change. But, nonetheless, she welcomes him in. He had to lean down a bit with his hand on the upper part of the doorway as he made his way in, then closed the door behind him as he then sat on one of the large pillows at the table, Shadow sitting across from him as she got comfy on her own pillow. They sat there staring at each other for a few minutes, averting their gazes from one another until Aku finally spoke up first.

“So, other than what happened to me a few days ago. How have you been enjoying life here in our little city? Everyone being nice to you? You have everything you need?” asked Aku as he wanted to make sure his soon-to-be subordinate was fitting in nicely to her new surroundings. She gave a light nod and fidgeted with her fingers that she had clasped in front of her on the table “It’s...all so new. I have never been accepted by others like this before. It is...really nice. I realized I never ever got to thank you for giving me this chance. So...thank you, truly.”. Aku smiled warmly to her and closed his eyes in thought for a moment before reopening them “I brought you a little something as a housewarming gift. I know I am a little late, but here you go.”. He reaches into his bag that rested at his side and pulls out a box of homemade chocolates that he had put together himself.

“I made these myself. Some have peanut butter in them while others have caramel and nougat. I hope you enjoy them.” he then slide them over in front of her and gave her a genuine smile as he watched her open the box and take one of the nut filled ones. It didn’t show on her face, but the sound of a thumping and swishing tail was all that he needed to know that she enjoyed it right off the bat. “I..haven’t had chocolate this good since I was a child. You...truly made these?” she asked in amazement. Aku nodded in response “Mhm. It took me quite a few times to master the recipe just right. I had planned to get these to you the day of the accident.”.

All was quiet for a few minutes more before Tempest was the first to engage in conversation next. This had been on her mind for a few days now. And her curiosity was genuine as she had never ever seen anyone like Aku before. “So..you are obviously not from our world. What brought you here? What is your world like?”. Aku rubbed his chin in thought and shrugged his shoulders lightly in response “Honestly, all I remember is a strange voice that sounded both villainous and goofy at the same time. He said he was going to use me to bring vengeance to the two rulers of Equestria. But I want nothing to do with those two or their kingdom. As for the world I came from, it is far more unforgiving than this one to be sure. If you can believe it, I was just a simple cook and a competitive eating contestant. I worked at my family’s ramen restaurant and had my own little home where I did nothing but slept and played video games all day when I wasn’t doing martial arts or working.”.

Tempest listened intently as he spoke about his life in his world. She’d nod as she watched him gesture with his hands about how big the meals he ate usually and how much food he could stomach in one setting. What amazed the mare is how he remained so fit with all the junk food he has consumed throughout his life. ANd for the first time in a long time, she even giggled at how he told her about how chubby he was before he got to junior high school. The two chatted for hours as they learned about one another. The clock hands seemed to spin faster than normal as the conversation got better and better.

“So, you got that scar and shattered horn from a beast as a filly? And your ‘friends’ abandoned you because of how you looked and how your magic acted from the accident? Well, that’s how children are. They fear the unknown and scary things in the world. I can also understand that you were hurt by this. But…” he said before resting his left hand atop of hers “....you are here in a new place now where you can feel warm and safe. And I can’t wait to teach you what I know and what I have learned from my students. While I am their sensei, they have taught me some pretty amazing things themselves. Just as a teacher teaches, so do they also learn.”. He then tightens his grip around her hand a bit more tightly as he gazes into her rainwater blue eyes “All I ask is for your loyalty to me and the rest of the people here. I promise you that I and they will all have your back in return.”.

As Aku grabbed at Tempest’s hand and squeezed it, she felt her heart skip a few beats as her eyes met with his for a moment. What was this new feeling she was feeling? It felt like butterflies were fluttering in her tummy along with her chest pounding hard, but in a good way. She looked up and down between his hand and his eyes before nodded slowly “O-Of course...you showed mercy upon my life when you certainly didn’t have to. And even though it has only been a week and a half, I feel so welcomed here. Like I...belong to a family.”.

Aku chuckled lightly and released her hand before leaning back slightly “You know, that is the world this town is named. Kazoku which means ‘family’ from where I come from. And since then, the name has stuck. So you are indeed right in feeling you belong to a family. Because that is what we all are here.” he said as he got up and made his way to the door. “I must depart for now, Tempest. I have business to tend to. Enjoy the few days of relaxation you have left. Starting next monday, I am going to start training you in our ways. So be prepared.”.

--Later That Evening--

Aku walked through the southern gate of the town and a little ways off the beaten path to a secret underground facility that had been constructed a month back. Once he gets to the hidden metal door. And knocks on it with a ‘Tink tinktinktink tink….tink tink’ as people like him used to do with those silly knocks back in his world. The many locks on the other side could be heard tumbling and unlocking as the door swung open as one of his elite samurai allowed him in. The door closes behind him as he gives the gryphon a nod of approval before he makes his way down the long staired corridor that leads below ground. Once in the facility, it was a massive, dark grey room with pieces sectioned off by lines on the ground.

As the lights came on, there was an attack helicopter which Aku had dubbed ‘ATH-29 Jigabachi’ which he totally didn’t steal from his favorite anime back home. He even copied its full design as best as he could with the research and development department he had been working with. Only think about this version of it though is that it needed a window up front since Cyberization wasn't exactly in the card right now.

In the other lined off square, there were several tables of different firearms and a shooting range that was walled off for safety reasons. On these tables were firearms ranging from handguns all the way up to LMGs. In the third lined off area, there was what appeared to be a large exosuit that was controlled by magic rather than electronics like it would be back in his world. Amazing what his R&D team could whip up with his original ideas and then put a twist upon them to make them work in this world. And finally on the fourth sectioned off square, there stood on display light kevlar body armor for both male and female soldiers and helmets for both ponies and gryphons.

Aku looked around at all the progress being made with a smile of approval. While all this was just prototypes for now, he was amazed at just how hard his R&D team was working to turn this little town into a full fledge nation that will only get bigger and bigger with the more progress they make. Aku stands in the middle of the four squares and claps his hand, applauding at the brilliant mind who had come to work from him both in and out of his town. “You are all doing a wonderfully amazing job here. These prototypes look absolutely perfect so far. Just don’t work yourselves to the point of exhaustion. I need you all in tiptop shape and well rested and well fed.. And make sure to go and see your families and take a rest every now and then. I can’t have my best minds unhappy.”.

As Aku went around examining the current progress of all the prototypes, the firearms leader approached Aku with a toothy smile on his face. The earth pony was a mid long mane and tail and well built stallion. Especially for his age. The best way to describe the old man was as a ‘silver fox’. He leads Aku over to the firearms table and picks up what appears to be a 12 gag SPAS shotgun and offers it up to him “I believe you will like the results of our hard work, sir. While the designs you brought to us were...hard to decipher, we got the jist of it within a week or so and have come up with our own version of what your world has.”. Aku takes the gun and cocks it before making his way over to one of the targets. Since it was a shotgun, it had to be one of the closer ones.

With his new physique, the once two handed shotgun was now merely an automatic sawed off shotgun for him. He then fired accordingly with eight rounds of semi auto trigger pulling. The sound of the gunfire echoing through the facility before he cocks the gun again, expelling the last empty shell and nodding in approval at its performance. “Very well done. I never even thought that there’d be actual gunpowder in this world. I can assume that the rifles and handguns are coming along just as well?”. The stallion nodded as he then handed Aku one of the pistols. It looked like a colt .45, but Aku took to naming it from the anime he had taken the name ‘jigabachi’ from. “Ah, this is the Seburo M-7.” he said as he pulled the slide back and examined the round that was ready in the barrel “A fine work of craftsmanship for a side arm.”.

After having sampled all the firearms, Aku makes his way over to the jigabachi helicopter. This was the piece of hardware that he was most excited to examine. As he looked inside the cockpit, he could see that all the controls and buttons were done to the exact specifications. Though, like everything else, the machine ran on magic power for its fuel source. It was a good thing that the engineering team worked on the airships that Tempest and her former master had so foolishly brought to their ever growing city. “This looks excellent. I can’t wait to learn how to fly one of these things when it is ready. If this one is a success, we need to continue on with the transporter helicopters as well. Maybe down the road we can finally work on the fighter jets I told you about as well. But this is truly a step forward. A big one.”

After examining all the other prototypes that Aku had his R&D team working on, he makes he way back up the corridor after commending his team for a job well done thus far. He couldn’t be any more prouder of them than he had ever been about anything like this. His little town was soon going to become a nation. And with this new military power, other nations will think twice about invading his home once again. Once Aku makes his way back outside of the hidden entrance, he makes his way back into the town and heads directly for his home. On his way there however, he feels eyes upon him before he makes his way through the entrance and swings around to spot a cloaked figure emerging from the shadows.

Watching the figure carefully, he places a hand upon the hilt of his sword before calling out to the figure in a commanding tone “Show yourself! You aren’t one of my ninja nor my samurai! I will cut you down where you stand immediately if you are here to cause trouble!”. The figure let out a frightened ‘eep!’ before waving their hands frantically and falling backwards “N-Nonono! I am not here to cause any trouble, I promise! I have actually come to speak with the leader of this town on behalf of my clan! We are the hippogryphs who sent a letter a few weeks ago to possibly find a new home here!”. The immediately pulled down their hood to reveal a sky blue and white fathered mane that was long and slightly wild. From what he could tell by their slime and soft facial features, this hippogryph was female wIth a grey beak and emerald eyes that stared at Aku with fright. Aku had remembered Iron Heart speaking about that in one of the meetings they had recently had back at the city hall.

Aku sighed lightly and took his hand from his sword and bowed his head slightly in apology “Please forgive me. We had just suffered an invasion recently and my army is a bit on high alert still. Is it just you who came to see us for the moment?” Aku asked before relaxing a bit more. The hippogryph shook her head as she looked back at the trees behind her. Aku’s eyes widened slightly as other hippogryphs of different sizes and ages came out from behind them. It seemed like a group of at least thirty, maybe even more. “Ah, so you are the ones who escaped the Storm King’s clutches then? Come, we will get you all settled in.”. He then puts his fingers to his lips and lets out a loud whistle. Within moments, many samurai rushed the entrance which caused the hippogryphs to tense up and nearly run away from what they were seeing. “Make sure our guests are taken to the hotel. And treat them properly. The are potential new residents of our town. Make sure they have what they need..” he commanded as he looked back at the female who he had spoken with before “Are you the one representing the group?”. She nodded in response “Yes, my name is Skyberry. And these other hippogryphs are my clan and a few others that escaped.”. A clan? That’s a term that Aku hasn’t heard in a long time

“Very well. I will come find you tomorrow morning. For now, get some rest and make sure to get some food in your stomachs. The hotel you will all be staying at has been told of your arrival and have been ready for the past couple of days. By the way, my name is Aku. I am the Oni General of this little nation. I hope that you will fit in nicely with our family.”. With that, he bows his head before taking his leave and makes his way home. Soon, this little town will become a full nation with its newfound military power and ever growing land. A nation that will be respected and if necessary, feared.

Author's Note

Fun fact about the jigabachi helicopter for those of you who haven't watched any of the Ghost In The Shell anime. The design is meant to be like a wasp since the tanks in the anime are rather spider like. Which is why one of the episodes in the second season is called 'Natural Enemy'. I though that was pretty damn cool.

May the darkness grant you peace.

Act 18:A Small Nation, A Superior Military

It had been a week since the hippogryphs had made their way to Aku’s growing nation. After he had sat with them and given them a place within the nation, he had decided with the council and Iron that it was time to expand further. To build more cities and grow their nation ever larger. Little did Aku know that he was being put to the test to see if he was leader material. And so far, he was unknowingly passing with flying colors.

--In The Council Chamber--

Iron and the five council members sat at a large table with paperwork in front of them, conversing about the future plans of the nation of Kazoku. They spoke about both financial and political matters until it was time for them to bring up the subject for which they all came for. Aku taking the reins as the nation’s leader. Iron was the first to speak out. “If you ask me, Aku has proven himself more times than I care to admit. The kid has helped us grow from a tiny run down campm of refugees into a growing nation. Do you know how hard it is to have him take any of the credit for it? I sometimes think he might be too humble for his own good.”.

The council member two seats down nodded in agreement, the older mare speaking next. “I wholeheartedly agree. With his knowledge of his world which he came from, we have advanced further than any of the nations outside of our own. Not only commercial and living wise, but military power is ever growing as well.”.

The gryphon across from her raised a hand up to speak.”This is all well and good. But look at what has happened to the young stallion over the course of recent events. Haven’t you all noticed the physical change of his body? Who is to say that it hasn’t also altered his mind and heart as well? The way he looks now...he has mentioned something from his world before in passing. He called it an…’oni’. An ogre which is a monster that is not to be trusted and is extremely dangerous. He is doing well as a military leader. But, to make him the leader of the nation? Don’t you think that is putting too much trust into someone like him?”

Iron looked over at the gryphon with a rather suspicious gaze. Before Aku’s transformation, he was all for Aku taking the position and the council had decided that it would be a wonderful idea for Aku to take charge. Now he decides to go against everyone’s decision in the room? “Aku has more than proven himself beyond any doubt. And now you base his morality and alignment on just how he looks? If that is the case, then your ideas are no different than the very ponies that looked down on us and drove us out of Equestria.”.

The gryphon quickly came to the realization that that was exactly what he was doing and lowered his head in shame. He places his hands on the table and clasps them together. “You...you are right. Simply because he has gone through a physical change. I shouldn’t judge him and his further actions into the future. After all, he is the one who helped give us a future in the first place.”

Iron nodded and stood up before making his way to stand in front of the large window behind him that overlooked the city. He places his hands behind his back as his eyes scan over the numerous buildings below.”As I have told you all before, being a leader isn’t my kind of deal. I have only maintained this position by the majority vote which included his. But, I have a plan that will ease all of our worries to show if he is truly ready to become this nation’s next leader. There is a summoning for all equestria leaders a month from now. And our nation has been invited for a possible peace treaty between Kozaku and Equestria. Will they try and absorb our nation into theirs? Possibly. But, I am quite sure that Aku will make the proper choice in the matter. The kid is quite smart after all.”

--A month Later in Canterlot--

“The sultan and Sultana of Saddlearibia!” Announced Shining Armor as the two rulers of the country walked down the red carpet of the main entry way of the castle with the guards they had brought along as escorts and protection. The crowd behind the ropes whispered and watched as the royalty walked up to Celestia and Luna, bowing their heads in respect to the two princesses. “So good to see you again, Sultan Sandrunner. And you too, Sultana Dream Oasis.” They both smiled back and returned the greeting before heading off to go and meet with the other leaders.

“And now, the ruler of the nation, Kazoku! Iro-!” There was suddenly the sound of what could only be described as rolling thunder getting closer and closer to the castle. Then several jigabachi helicopters surrounding a slightly larger transporter helicopter came flying into view. QUickly surrounding the area with their mounted guns spinning and ready to fire at a moments notice before the larger craft landed. Several armored and armed soldiers came out with their rifles in their arms with kevlar armor on before Aku stuped out dressing in a long military leather duster which rather fully worn on his arms, just rested on his shoulder like a cloak accompanied by a sleek and streamline set of armor under it all.

He brings his index finger and middle finger up to a piece in his ear and looks up at the attack helicopters above. “Take the birds to where I told you to. No one will look there.”. “Yes, Sir!” they replied back over the radio before taking off in the other direction. As he walked forward with his five soldiers behind him, the crowd fell silent as they watched him approach the princesses. The look of pure shock on everyone’s face made Aku chuckle to himself in his mind.

“Aku..”. The sun princess spoke after having watched the spectacle before for. She immediately noticed his changed appearance, the fact that he now stood at eye level with her wasn’t what really caught her attention. It was his rather...wicked appearance. “If you are wondering where Iron Heart is, he couldn’t make it. So he sent me in his place instead.”. He looked between Celestia and Luna before bowing his head slightly “You both look well. But, how long does this little gathering take? I have a military to run back home.`` Celestia shifted her eyes from Aku as she felt extremely nervous around him now that he seemed like a very different person. The way he presented himself and his new appearance screamed ‘No nonsense and better be upfront’ kind of attitude.

“I-it will be a few days at the most. We have prepared rooms for you and your guards for the duration of your stay of course. Follow the others into the meeting room and My sister, Twilight and myself will join you all soon.” She said as she held her hand out in the direction for him to go. Aku gave a light nod and placed his fingers on the earpiece again “New orders, we will be here for a few days. Take the birds home and rest up. Be here early in the evening on the last day so that we may depart early the next morning quickly.”. “Yes, Sir! Heading back to base!”. Aku looked back to his soldiers and nodded for them to follow him. As he made his way past several of the royal guards, he looked down at them with absolute disdain, a sharp glare with shrunken pupils to show just how much hatred he had for them. The only one who didn’t receive the death glare was Shining Armor as Aku still had respect for the knight captain.

Shining looked up at Aku as the man passed him. He wanted to speak with him, even tried to reach out to grab at his arm to stop him. But, one of Aku’s soldiers pushed the arm away and glared at Shining under their visor before turning their attention forward. SHining and the princesses knew what his entrance meant. They were flexing their military muscles. Showing off what could be turned against them should war be declared.

After all the rulers had convened within the large room which had both drinks and food for everyone to enjoy, the two sisters and Twilight came in with a few of the royal guards at their sides. Aku took immediate notice of the lavender mare now possessing wings. SHe had become royalty in his absence? She must have done something pretty amazing to get that achievement. Not that he’d know since this nation’s affairs weren't any of his problems..possibly anyway.

Twilight took immediate notice of Aku as well, her eyes wide with confusion, slight fear and concern as she gazed upon his changed form. But, remained quiet for the time being as Celestia started to speak. “Greetings everyone and thank you all for coming to this summit! I am very pleased to have you all here so that we could further discuss the future of our great nation. I imagine that all of you are tired from your journey here. So the actual summit won’t happen until tomorrow. So please, eat, drink and relax!”. All the leaders in the room except for Aku clapped after the princess’ speech. Knowing what he knew, he wasn’t exactly moved or impressed with those kind words of welcome.

As he made his way to the table of food, he grabbed a few pieces of chicken and steak before polling the rice and curry next to those on his plate and began to scarf down the food like it was the last thing he’d eat. All the while maintaining his clothing. Not a speck of food dropped on his outfit. Soon, he went back for seconds, thirds, foruths, even fifths. The man’s appetite wasn’t just a myth. Especially now. By the time he had finished eating, over half the food was gone and his stomach BARELY even had a bulge. If he didn’t have to cook it or pay for it, you better believe he was going to eat all he could. The leaders just stared on in a conflicting mix of “Wow...he can put it away!’ and “How uncivilized!”. Of course, Aku didn’t care.

After Twilight had noticed he’d stopped eating, she slowly made her way over to the man and lightly tugged on the sleeve of his coat. Aku lets out a small ‘hmm?’ before turning around and shifting his gaze downward to her “Hello, Twilight. You are looking well.” he simply said as he sipped a drink in his hand. “Hello, Aku. You look like you have been through some..changes. What happened to you..?”. Aku shook his head “Nothing that concerns you. Suffice it to say I have become something that is a myth in my world. Though, I see you have gone through a change as well. Nifty wings.”.

Twilight fluffed them up to show them off to Aku and nodded “I have become the princess of friendship. Things have been quite hectic here in Equestria for my friends and myself. But this..princess business. I don’t really think it is for me. I am not sure if you noticed me, but I was the one dropping the banners from the balcony up top as the leaders arrived. I just...smiled and waved. It seems like that was all I was brought here to do.”.

Aku gave a light shrug as he listened to the now alicorn speak. He wasn’t sure how he should feel about her predicament. A part of him felt sympathy for her, but the other was just plain indifferent about the matter. “Sounds rough. Though, I don’t know of any advice I can give you, Twilight. Perhaps you should consult your friends or your teacher over there. I am currently running a military that is constantly building and improving quickly so I can understand your worry of being a leader. But that is all I can say.”.

JUst as he turned away from her and started walking away, she suddenly grabbed his hand with both of hers before starting to shake. Her head was down before she lifted it up to gaze at him again. This time, her eyes were filled with tears getting ready to burst. “You...you never acteds this cold towards me when you first came here, Aku. I miss that you so very much that it hurts. You were a little distant from me and everyone else, sure. But not like this!” she exclaimed before burying her face into his stomach and hugging him as tightly as she could.

The scene caught the attention of everyone there, even Celestia’s. Aku gently but firmly placed a hand upon her shoulder and pushed her back. “You know exactly why I am the way I am now, Twilight. Because of this country’s prejudice and hate for someone like me. While I know you didn’t have a hand in driving me out, the general consensus of this country did. I was deemed a threat that needed to be snuffed out. That is enough for me to hate every fucking noble, politician, and corrupted royalty here. I am only here to make nice in some summit room.”.

He looked around at everyone who was staring at them before looking back at Twilight and leaned in to whisper in a hateful tone “This country can die screaming for all I care…”. That tone, that dark voice, made Twilight shake with fear as her ears pinned down to the back of her head, her tail tucked between her legs and her eyes stared wide as she backed away from Aku with a hand over her muzzle. She was now genuinely afraid of Aku. To her, the man had truly become an ogre of japanese legend. “But, for those select few..I would protect. A promise was made when I first came here between your brother and I. And I will not break that word.” he said as he then walked away from her “Tell Fluttershy I said hello and I hope she is doing well.” he said before exiting the room with his soldiers following suit.

--Later That Evening, Canterlot Streets--

Aku walked along the slightly busy roads of the now sleeping city. Most of the residents are now in their homes, sleeping away and enjoying the dreams that the princess of the night was giving them. Aku took a turn down an alleyway to explore a bit more before he came upon a scene which really should have worried him...if he cared of course. There stood a spindly centaur creature doing what appeared to be draining a unicorn of his magic before dropping him to the ground in a heap. Aku arched his brow as he watched him eat the magic away.

“Another magic eater? How interesting.” he said as the centaur turned to face Aku with a slight jump at his sudden appearance. He began to make his way toward Aku with an outreached hand in a hurried attempt to grab him. But, Aku pulled out the shotgun and placed the barrel right into his face. “You come any closer, I shall make your head go scanner…” he said as he cocks the gun once and places his finger on the trigger. The centaur didn’t know why, but he felt that he should do as Aku said. The weapon truly did look rather imposing.

As he looked Aku over, he didn’t notice...any kind of magic flowing through him “Ah..forgive me. You do not possess any magic it seems. But your energy..you give off a power of your own that seems highly desirable. And you are certainly no pony.” he said as he stepped back to give Aku some room, but that didn't make him lower the weapon. “Just watched you eat that pony’s magic. I thought I was the only one in this world who could do that.”.

The centaur arched a brow before smiling wickedly at Aku. Not because he had any malice towards him now, but because he may have found a partner to help him do what he had set out to do now that he was free. “You look like a sensible...person. How would you like to help me take over all of Equestria? You and I...with our magic eating abilities..we could put those two sisters in their place. We could rule together..”.Aku titled his head slightly as he looked the centaur creature over before speaking “what’s your name…?” he asked. He chuckled slowly before lowering his hood.

“I am called Terik…and I believe you and I have something in common...”

Author's Note

Here is another one guys, enjoy. :)

May the darkness grant you peace.

Prologue: A Whole New Kind Of Food

It was a nice cool autumn’s day in Kyoto, Japan. The color of fall decorating the roads and sidewalks with the oranges, browns and yellows of the leaves that had fallen off the trees. The sound of people walking along the city streets and students exploring the city on their school field trips. In this town, there was a nice little restaurant that was quite famous for its wonderful taste and its generous portions. The ‘Big Bowl Ramen’ as it was properly named, was bustling with both tourists and locals alike. Be it regular or newcomers, the staff treated everyone like they were family.

Oh of their chefs and the owners’ son, Aku Muasboru was in the back preparing one of his own signature bowls which he named ‘Dragon’s Fire Ramen’. At its base, it was a garlic pork roast ramen, but he added his own spin on it. Some habanero sauce and a few drops of ghost pepper extract. This particular bowl was ordered by only the most daring of customers or those who had a love of all things hot and spicy.

“Hey, kiddo! You got that crazy concoction of yours ready yet?! We got a new victim ready for it!”

Aku laughed lightly as he picked up the bowl and sets it on the serving tray along with a new set of chopsticks. He makes his way over to the waiter who had called him out. He even put a glass of ice cold milk on the side which was part of the meal should the spiciness of it become too much for the customer.

“Who’s the challenger this time?”

Aku asked in is low, soft spoken voice. The waiter took the serving plate and pointed to a girl who looked about twelve years of age sitting with her parents who were kindly waiting to eat while her own ramen was on the way. Aku’s eyes widened a bit as he walked over with the waiter

“Her? A little thing like her may not be able to handle all that fire in her belly let alone mouth. I just might stay and watch..”

As the waiter sat the bowl in front of the girl, Aku looked down at her with a mixture of curiosity and concern on his face. He leaned down and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. Her parents watching him as if what she had in front of her was going to melt her through her core.

“Now, if it is too hot, you don’t have to finish it. Not many can stomach this bowl because of its spiciness. I am sure your parents told you about it?”

His gaze turns up to the parents who nodded multiple times. Then his gaze fell back to her who was also nodding. She even knew what the milk was for. With that, he backs away and simply watched as she took the first bunch of noodles into her chopsticks. She took a few bites..then more...then more! SHe was downing the entire bowl within minutes and even drank down ALL the broth! Aku stood there in amazement as this petite girl ate down the whole bowl in which full grown men cried as they ate it! Aku was in absolute awe at how this didn’t faze the girl one bit. Evben her parents watched with jaws dropped.

“Oh my God...her stomach must be made with reinforced steel or something...that was awesome! None of our customers have been able to eat like that before! The only one who can survive that bowl is it’s creator!”

“Is here here? I’d like to give my compliments to the amazing chef!”

The girl said with a happy expression on her face. Aku was still in disbelief before he came to his senses. He points to himself as the creator of the diabolical bowl. As the girl looked up at him, she took a closer look at his face and gasped loudly before jumping up and hugging him tightly.

“Oh my God oh my God! You are Kyoto’s eating contest champion five years running! I am such a huge fan! I have been studying your methods ever since I saw you when I was at one of the festivals with my uncle was I was younger!”

Aku blinks a few times before lightly patting her back and smiling down at her with a slight blush on his face. Never had he actually met a fan as young as her before and one who was so happy to actually meet him. He never really thought it was a big deal. It was free food. So he entered every time he got the chance.

“I can see you took my methods to heart. You handled that ramen like it was straight water. Keep it up and you may even out eat me some day. Just make sure to stay in shape when eating so much though. For example, I am in martial arts. A good way to stay active.”

“Mhm! And I run track at school and I have my own running route around my neighbourhood.”

“Thatta girl~.”

“So um..can I have your autograph…? Please?”

She looked up at him with pleading eyes. He looked to her parents who smiled at him with a nod. He then smiles down at her as the waiter shook his head but wasn’t upset or anything. He hands off the notepad and pen to Aku who then begins to write out a nice little message and then his signature.

“You got quite the fan base don’t you, kiddo?”

“Honestly, I never even knew I had any fans. It’s not like it’s a major sport or anything. But, it is pretty neat that I have folks who enjoy watching me stuff my face I suppose.”

They both laughed at that and he handed the girl the piece of paper. She suddenly dragged him down with her arm around her neck and grabbed her phone and took a selfie picture with him before hugging him once more. She held the piece of paper close to her chest as she bounced on her heels.

“Thank you, mister Masuboru! Thank you so so much!”

Her father and mother smile, happy to see that their daughter got to meet someone she idolizes. Aku nodded in return before heading back into the kitchen to get back to work. That was enough attention for one day.

Closing time came around. Once he had finished cleaning and locking the place up for his father, he went on to his own home. A nice little condo that he had purchased with the winnings that he had earned and saved over the last few years from other eating contest he had competed in. Once home, he locks his door and tosses his keys on top of the kitchen counter and flops onto his bed, not even getting out of his clothes before hand. He curls up and pulls his memory foam pillow in his arms and legs, drifting off into sleep after another busy day.

Aku opens his eyes to find himself floating in a sea of blackness and stars all around him with galaxies further in the background. He blinks a few times before floating in an upright position and turns around to look at where he was exactly. So many vivid colors of shooting stars flew by him ever so often.

“.....That god damned taiyaki vendor...I am gonna kick his ass if this is because of some kind of bad filling he used.”

A low laughter came from the void, it sounded..somewhat sinister, but not very threatening. Aku looks around over and over to see where the voice was coming from before sighing. He crosses his arms as he continues to drift about.

“Yep, definitely kicking his ass…”

“Oh, you won’t be returning to your world, my friend. You are part of a fun little plan I have for my world. Those two princesses will regret destroying me once I unleash you upon the world~. Ehuehuehuehueeeee~’

“Alright, I have no idea who you are, but seriously. Even if this is a bad dream caused by some bad taiyaki filling, what makes you think I’d do anything for a strange disembodied voice out in the middle of nowhere of space?”

“Ohohohoho. You don’t have a choice in the material my human friend. See, as the master of chaos, I can make anything happen when and how I want it to. And once you are in that world, whatever that thing is inside you will awaken, and bring havoc to all those pathetic ponies. Have fuuuuun!”

Aku heard a finger snap as the dark void flashed with white light. He suddenly had the sensation of falling, and falling fast. He starts flailing his arms and legs as he looks down to see he was coming upon land.

“Oh fuuuuck meeeeeee!!! Fuckfuckfuckfuck!”

He shouted at the top of his lungs as the ground came closer and closer to him. Just as he was five feet from the ground, he suddenly stops, before dropping to the ground and landing with a groan of pain. He slowly rolled over and stared up at the sky as he laid in the grass with a rather unamused look on his face.

“That..didn’t feel to good..wait. I FELT that?!”

He quickly sits up and looks around his surroundings. He took notice that he was in a grassy field,then he looked up at the sky. Everything looked like it was out of some kind of children’s cartoon show that one would see either early in the morning or after school in the afternoon. He stands up and dusts his clothes off as he makes his way into the direction of what he could make out was a road. All he could really do at this point was to pick a direction to go. And the one that led into the forest didn’t really seem appealing to him. So he headed the other way. After a few minutes of walking, he came upon what looked to be a farm. It had the large red and white barn and white fence like a farm normally would have. What wasn’t normal was the orange farm pony that was walking on two legs and had a more humanoid figure rather than a normal equine one. She had hooves, but everything else about her was near human except her head and face. Just what the hell kind of world did he end up in?! The mare was dressed up in a cut flannel red and black shirt with denim bluejeans that had holes here and there on them. All packaged together with a brown stetson hat that rested upon her golden mane. She must have heard him coming as she turned to face Aku and greeted him with a warm welcome.

“Well, howdy there, stranger. Don’t think I have ever seen your kind ‘round here before. You look pretty lost. Anything I can do tuh help you?”

Aku was a bit at a loss for words. He was indeed lost in more ways than just directional. The farm mare approached him slowly as she continued to watch him gaze around in confusion. She reached out to him just a little.

“Sugarcube? You gonna be alright?”

“I...I don’t know. I just ended up in a field down the road and..here I am walking down the road of some kind of-’

He suddenly felt something come alive inside of him. A glowing beam of black and light energy suddenly shoots from out of the farm pony’s chest and flows directly into Aku’s mouth. The mare cries out in pain and falls to the ground. Aku struggles to pull away from the beam as the magic flowed into his mouth and into his stomach.

“W-What are you doin’?! Stop!!!”

“I-I am trying! I can’t pull away!”

Under her clothing, her cutie mark that rested on her hip was slowly blinking in and out of existence as the magic she had inside of her was being drained. Aku finish snapped his mouth closed before a snapping sound was heard, the flow severing and leaving her cutie mark just barely visible. All the commotion brought the attention of two more ponies who saw their sister on the ground in pain and some stranger in front of her. Immediately, the large red one charged forth with anger on his face. Aku tried his best to make sure the mare was alright, but suddenly was rammed into by the hulking red pony which sent him flying back and rolling a few feet.

“What do you think your doing’?! That’s my sister, you son of a bitch! What did you do to her?!”

The big red pony grabbed Aku by his shirt and lifted him up in the air by his collar. Aku was still in a daze from both the tackle and the magic that he had just consumed. And as if a new meal was present before him, the flow of magic started once more from the pony’s chest right into Aku’s mouth. The stallion drops to the ground in pain and the struggle begins once more.

“Mac, get away from him!”

The mare called out to her brother. Crawling over to him to try and pry the connection apart while Aku struggled on his end once more. And same as before, as he bit down, the snap sound was heard as if a thick rope had finally given in. All Aku could do was scoot back in horror at what he had done and covered his mouth with his hand. He quickly got to his feet and ran past the group of ponies, a smaller yellow one joining the group as he took off. He runs as fast as he can, even tripping over himself a few times before he finds a huge rock to hide behind. Once the adrenaline had finally wore off from his experience, he started to feel the pain in his side where he had been rammed and tossed to the ground. He slowly slides down with his back against the rock and groaned in pain.

“What in the fresh hell is going on here..? And what did I just eat? It wasn’t food...but it tasted...good. It was like...something of a light and sweet flavor.it reminded me of pancakes with fresh maple syrup and butter with apple juice as the beverage..”

After having rested a bit, he looks in the distance to see a lone house and what appeared to be a grey half cloak hanging from its clothes line. He quietly sneaks up and takes it without its owner catching him. He goes back behind the rock and wraps the fabric around his shoulder and the lower half of his face, turning it into a shroud. Perhaps if he kept his mouth covered like this, whatever was going on wasn’t going to happen again. Of course, he was taking this logic from an old video game he played back when he was younger. As he was looking from out behind the rock to make sure he was clear, he turns back to see a cyan blue mare with a rainbow mane and tail and wings on her back with a look of suspicion on her face.

“What’s with the face cover, buddy? Planning to do something you’ll regret?”

Aku sighed.

“Sadly I have already done something I regret. And I don’t know how to fix it.”

“Hey, lemme see your face.”

She said as she reached for the shroud, he quickly pushed her away from him and shook his head.

“No!”

“Hey, come back here!”

He shouted before running off again. Though he got far, it wasn’t long until he was tackled to the ground by the mare. They both wrestled around on the ground, fighting to get on top of each other. The mare continued to try and grab at the shroud but he kept struggling too much to let it happen.

“Get..off me!”

She shouted as he finally got a foot underneath and kicked her in her chest off of him and quickly took to his feet again and ran as fast as he could. However, he was soon stopped and surrounded by armored guards who had been reported to about his presence. They had spears and swords drawn on him ready to attack at a moment’s notice. All he could do was sigh and raised his hands up and surrender. The guard in charge approached him and looked him over before nodding.

“Yep, this is the one. Though he seems to have his face covered. Remove the shroud from him.”

“Uh sir. Perhaps it wouldn’t be best to do so. The farm ponies who reported him said that he consumes magic if his mouth isn’t covered. Perhaps he uses that to prevent it from happening?”

The captain looks at him as he watched Aku nod in response. He nods back and takes the irons from his utility belt and claps them around his wrists. He then motions his men around Aku leads them to the local guard house.

“Comply with us and we can figure out what is going on. Something tells me you are just as lost as we are with this whole…’magic stealing’ business.”

“To be honest, sir. I don’t even know where the hell I am or how it was even possible for me to get here. Let alone how I am able to eat...what was it you called it? Magic? Magic isn’t even real where I come from...geez”

All Aku thought to himself that for now, it was best to comply. Best to avoid any premature execution for now to be sure.

Author's Note

For those who are wondering. He gets no special abilities or anything with the magic he consumes except when it discharges. And that's not under his control. The only thing he has going for him is being fit and martial arts. That's it. And no, his sclera isn't black at this point yet as he hasn't consumed any evil. That'll be at a later date.

May the darkness grant you peace.

Act 13: An Unexpected And Unwelcomed Visit

Celestia sat on her throne as she thought back to the day that Aku had killed Stricthoof and destroyed the trial room. While everyone else though of what he did was out of sheer evil, she knew well enough he did it because of the way that he had been treated for both his appearance and ability. SHe was conflicted about what she should do. Should she leave him to his own devices and let him live the way he wants or, should she send out who she could to bring him back and try to do what she could for him? Either way, it didn’t stop her from worrying about him and those around him if there were any. Just as her mind continued to wander further on the subject, the throne room door opened and several lightly armored informants approached her and got to a knee “Your highness, we have found where Aku has been hiding. In a small town just east of Equestria.”.

Celestia’s eyes widen as she sits up straight and listens intently “In a town? Which one?”. The solider handed her a scroll with the information on it. She took it into her hand and opened it immediately. “Kazoku. A rather interesting name. And from what I can see from your findings, they sound quite modern. But...it is certainly not what I expected to hear.”. She looks over at her notepad and begins to write a letter to Twilight. Instead of sending soldiers, she decided to send Twilight and her friends to see if there can be anything done with only words rather than force. “Prepare the elements of harmony for a long journey when they come to the castle, I want you to get them up to speed on everything you know so far.” she ordered. “At once, your highness!” they then stood up and made their way out of the throne room to do as instructed.

“Kiotsuke!” Aku shouted as his students stood at attention in their rows. “Bow.” he said as he bowed to his students at the same time they did. This was his adult teaching time, late in the afternoons when most of them had finished their jobs for the day. “Alright, that’s enough lessons for the day. You are all taking to this form of fighting quite well. I am very impressed with all of your progress. But for those of you who are falling behind a little, don’t get discouraged. Everyone learns at their own pace. And soon enough, all of you will know how to kick anyone’s ass who tries to get in your way or cause you harm. With that said, I hope you all have a food weekend and I will see you here monday afternoon again. Dismissed!”. As Aku made his way over to grab his towel and wipe the sweat from his face, one of the gryphons came up and whispered something to him. “Oh? Is that right? And you have informed the others about this? Good, if things get out of hand when they send someone, aim for anything not vital should I give the word. Hopefully they won’t be stupid enough to attack right off the bat.”

Aku stood in his kitchen preparing dinner now that everything had quieted down for now. The menu tonight was deep fried chicken and fried rice with a side of rolled omelette. Just as he was getting ready to settle down with a book, there was a knock at his door. He gets up from his couch and makes his way over to the door”Coming.” he called out. Once he opened the door, he saw that it was Iron Heart with a bottle in his hand. “Hey there, kiddo! Just picked this up from the store. Wanna hit it with me?” He asked with that big grin of his, holding the bottle up by its neck like it was a trophy. “Heh, sure. Knowing you, you are here to tell me something vital anyway. I’ll go grab the glasses, make yourself comfy.”

“As the two of them sat at the kitchen table drinking, Iron started up the conversation. “You know, I never, ever would have thought that I’d be sharing a drink like this with anyone in my life. Back in Equestria as a royal guard, I was the most straight laced soldier ever before I was sentenced of a crime that was no fault of my own. There was plenty of evidence to back my case of, but that damned judge worked with the nobles and got me convicted. I suppose I was the scapegoat they chose after what happened with the paper trail that my squad and I were investigating. Turns out the nobles didn’t like that one bit.”. He then takes a big gulp of the grape wine in his glass and smiles at Aku “But, here I am now, drinking with my right hand stallion. I know I have said it over and over. But thank you, Aku. You gave my people a fighting chance in this world. Homes, jobs, food and water, things we could only dream of back in those days.”.

Aku only smiled back at Iron Heart and waved a hand in dismissal”I should be thanking you for accepting me into all this in the first place. I finally have a home I can call my own, comrades I never had when i first came here. I have a place in this world now. And I couldn’t be happier. Here, you, I and others who have wanted a fresh start have made that happen and have become better people for it. Our little town is growing even more everyday. I bet when the time comes, we will have our own nation. And with you at the helm, there’s nothing we can do.” Iron lowers his head as he stares into his cup, a look of uncertainty coming across his features. “Yeah, about that. I am thinking of giving the leader position to you, Aku. I am just a soldier. I was never really good at being a leader myself. But it is because of you and your organization skills and the hope that you gave these people that you seem more of a perfect fit for the role.”. Aku’s eyes shifted to the right as he was completely taken back by this news from Iron. “I may have helped with this town’s quick development, but that certainly doesn’t make me leader material. I can promise you that.”.

Iron chuckled lowly and pointed to the stairs that led down into the dojo with his thumb over his shoulder “Your students seem to think otherwise, my friend. Both the kids and the adults. You run this place like it is a military training facility. But, everyone seems to be as happy as can be once the walk out those doors and return home. Who knew that one’s body could be turned into such a weapon with those styles. You called them ‘karate’ and ‘aikido’ right?”. Aku nodded as he gazed back at Iron “Yes, karate is strictly for offense while aikido is strictly for defense. Both are powerful styles of martial arts and when you have both under your belt, you are an incredibly hard target to take down. And of course with the weapon styles I was taught with the katana and staff, those further enhance one’s fighting style. Speaking of which…”. Iron nodded and gave a thumbs up “They have all been made and distributed to the samurai and ninja.”. Aku nodded again and lifted his glass to the hard working stallion “As soon I and the development team can figure out guns in this world, swords and bows will become completely outmatched, but will still remain useful.”

The two continued to talk for a little longer until it was about midnight. Aku walked Iron to his door and opened it for him. Before Iron left, he looked to Aku and gave a serious gaze. “Think about what I said, Aku. I know in my heart that you’d be an excellent leader to take my place. The other members of the council also share this idea with me as well. Have a good night, kiddo.” he said as he made his way home with a light stumble. Looks like he hit the bottle a bit too hard. Aku nodded and waved him off goodbye before closing his door and locking it for the evening. As he made his way upstairs for bed, the thought rolled over in his head over and over again about him becoming a leader, a ruler. Something he never ever thought would be an idea in his mind. He climbs into his bed and flops face first onto his pillow, slowly drifting off into slumber for a nice quiet night of peaceful sleep.

The next day came and Aku was already out doing his shopping and visiting the places he’d normally go when he wasn’t teaching his students at his dojo. Just as he got to his favorite market, a pony clad in samurai armor ran to him. But this wasn’t the old style clunky armor from his world. It was more streamline and form fitting without the platting being to bulky and heavy without sacrificing its strength either.The colors being the same as the gis that Aku’s students wore. “Sensei! We have movement heading our way. The ninja have reported them within half a mile away from the town.” said the dark blue furred and white haired stallion. Aku nodded and placed a hand upon his shoulder. “Good work. It makes me happy that the samurai and ninja teams I have put together work so well in unison. Tell the town ninja team to be on standby and split the samurai into four man teams at the other three entrances just in case they have some who try to sneak in.”

Aku made his way over to the main entrance of the town. Gone was that old clothing that Rarity had made for him. The man now wore a long black and snow white coat that flowed to his ankles and the sleeves grew wider the further down that got to his wrists, A tight silver underarmor shirt with black hakama pants. He certainly looked the part of being a master of his dojo and leader of a military force. As he stood in front of the entrance, a few curious onlookers from the streets gathered up behind him. He puts his arms out in front of the civilians as he looks back at them”If things get bad, I want you all to return to your homes!.” he commanded before looking back, seeing the figures approach the town. As they get closer, Aku’s eyes widen in surprise and darken in anger. He clenches his teeth a bit before eyes Twilight and her friends as they are stopped by a couple of samurai with their hands hovering over the hilts of their katanas.

Rainbow Dash took offense to this and was about to get in their face when Aku stepped between the two samurai with a completely displeased look up his face. “Just what the hell do you all think you are doing coming here? Did the princess send you all here to try and bring me back? Ifd that’s the case, all of you are leaving here empty handed.”. Rainbow Dash made a grab for Aku’s collar”Hey, we came here to bring you back and we aren’t leaving without-!” He words were cut short be a quick draw of the samurai to Aku’s right with the blade pressing right to her neck. The blade shimmering in the light with a deadly gleam. “You will not touch sensei Aku. Do you hear me..? Back. Off.” commanded the long white and pink maned mare.”Blossom, there won’t be any need for that. She is just a stubborn pegasus is all. Though you were very quick on the draw to defend me. Quite impressive. Keep on perfecting the style I have taught to you all.”. Blossom glared at Rainbow before sheathing her sword back and bowing deeply to Aku “Yes, sensei. Thank you, sensei.”

Aku placed a hand upon Blossom’s head and gave her a gentle petting before turning his attention to the six that stood at the town gate.”As you have seen, if you plan on trying to take me by force, it won’t be pretty for you.”. Twilight wanted to just run up to him and cling to his arms at this point. SHe decided she would do just that as she runs at him with all her might and pushes past the two samurai and begins to sob uncontrollably in his chest. “Aku, please! I am sorry! I am sorry for everything that had happened to you when you were in Ponyville, Canterlot! All of it! Just please come back! I was never even mad at you when you struck me down! We can fix the evil that has been growing inside of you because of all the magic you have consumed! I miss you just as much as the others who befriended you in Ponyville do! Please, Aku!” She said as she fell to her knees while still holding on tightly to his sleeves.

Aku looked down at the sobbing unicorn for a moment. His eyes remained the dark form they took earlier “No.”. He simply stated before stepping away and pulling his wrists away from her. Twilight’s tears only flowed further when he stepped back behind the samurai “I am never going back to that place full of hypocrites again. I found my place here with pony and other creatures who accept each other. And they have accepted me with open arms for the past two years. So your trip here was a waste of time. All of you go.”. As Twilight sat there in tears, Pinkie and Rarity got to ehr side to comfort her and a small voice called out to Aku.

“The Aku I knew was many things. But never cruel...this is not who you are…” Fluttershy said as she stood there with her hands balled into fists, tears welling up in her own eyes but a look of anger and hurt on her face was apparent. “The Aku I knew was a kind hearted stallion who would help out however he could. And would come see me to see how the puppies I was caring for were doing.”. Aku turned his gaze over to Fluttershy, those his expression did not change a single bit

”Fluttershy, you are the only person in that place that showed any genuine care for me. That is why I do not harbor any ill feelings towards you, nor will I ever. But as I said before, I found a place where I belong. However, I will allow you and your friends to come into this town should you want to visit it. Just know that I have eyes and ears all over this town and around it. But if I find out you are here to only cause trouble for these citizens and myself. And I learn that you are here as a pretense for Canterlot soldiers to come and obtain me, NONE of you will ever be welcomed here again. And I will personally cut down any royal soldiers who dare to step foot in this town we have worked so hard for.” He then looked toward the roof of one of the taller buildings “Eagle Eye, report!” and like a shadow, a hooded stallion leaped down and dropped to a knee before Aku. “Sensei, there have been no others spotted outside the town. All is clear.” Aku nodded and looked back at the group of mares “I want round the clock watch on these six. Inform the other ninja as well, please.” He then turns away and makes his way to his destination from earlier. “Enjoy your stay here at Kazoku. But make sure to not overstay your welcome.”

Author's Note

Whew, cranking them out lately x3

May the darkness grant you peace.

Author's Note

I believe that this is a good place to end this part of the story. Just like any anime or TV show, end on a good cliffhanger. If this story gets enough likes and positive feedback from both my followers and new readers, then I shall commence with part 2 which I will title "Eater Of Sin And Magic: Ascension Of A New Overlord'.

I have been noticing that other stories have been doing this in a similar fashion to see if the time and effort should actually be put forth to keep the story going. I love this story I am creating and I want it top succeed. But, other projects are calling my name. Thank you all who enjoyed the story thus far both followers and non-followers alike. New readers who discover this story and finish it to this point, if you want more then speak up. To my followers, same deal.

May the darkness grant you peace.