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.