A Warrior's Soul

Chapters

Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III

Chapter I

The path before him was a long and winding one. He could no longer remember the day or the month, but the man could only assume it was autumn due to the color of the leaves that drifted about him in the breeze. Through simple observation, the man had also noticed that, for the last few days of travel, the sun had moved very little, if any, as the day went on. It stayed at high noon most of the day, slowly setting at a given time. He hated the heat of the sun and was glad that winter was right around the corner. The man's thoughts turned unpleasant as he thought of what it would be like here in the middle of August. His clothes were a black t-shirt and a pair of worn blue jeans, simple yet practical. He never was fond of aesthetic clothing. The cheap boots and sandals he had had when he left were long since worn out, so he had gone barefoot for the last few weeks. He looked at it as another challenge in life, but hoped he could find some new shoes soon.

Stopping to rest, the man sat beneath one of the many trees in the surrounding woodland. He set down his backpack and the tall black case he carried. The pack was full of travel essentials: a comb, deoderant, a pair of jeans, an extra pair of socks and underwear, a couple of books, a small notepad, and...his knife. The man removed a black cloth bag that held his small treasure. Untying the small knot, he pulled away the sleeve. The knife was an eastern-style, called a tanto, with a frayed cord wrapped around its black scabbard. The hilt wrapped in simple ray skin and adorned with small floral ornaments. This was Toge - meaning "thorn" in Japanese - the blade that was a tool, a shield, and a burden. Admiring the folded steel of it's blade, the man noticed some minor imperfections on the surface. "I need to clean you," the man said nostalgically to himself.

He removed a small pinebox from his pack and set about cleaning the blade with oil and powder in a ritualistic manner. Once finished, he returned the knife to the black cloth bag and placed it in his pack. The man had removed his notebook to write a haiku on his surroundings, as he was known to do when the mood struck him, when a series of shrieks were heard. These were cries he knew: children in distress. The man unzipped his case and removed a length of wood that resembled a slightly curved sword. He moved quickly in the direction of the screeches, and arrived to an unnatural sight. A wolf made completely from sticks and branches, at least twice the size of any the man had ever seen, had cornered three small, colorful...horses? Ponies, maybe? He couldn't really be sure. All he knew was they were in danger and he was the only one who was here to help. The man took a breath to steady his resolve as he always did before undertaking something. Then, he stepped forward.

Holding the bokken at his left hip as though it were a sheathed katana, he knelt down in seiza position. "Oi, wolf!" the man said forcefully. The creature turned around to confront the seated figure. Good, the man thought, now I have his attention. The man rested his hand lightly on the hilt of his bokken, waiting for the wolf to be drawn into his attack. The three little ones had stopped yelling and were watching him with a mix of curiosity and apprehension. He watched the beast settle into a crouch, preparing to lunge at the man's throat. When it attacked, the seated warrior was ready. "Uuu-ooooooohh!" the man shouted as he struck. As though he were drawing a sword, he twisted to his right as he rose. The man continued to "draw" his bokken, turning it into a downward cut to the back of the wolf's neck and the top of it's head. The wolf yelped in surprise at the sudden pain that tore through it's skull. The beast lashed out at his attacker, but the man had already rolled away to a safe distance.

The man had been nervous before, but now that he had delivered the first blow, victory would soon follow, for the wooden creature now knew that this prey might not be worth it. Still, the man was ready for another attack from the wolf as he locked eyes with it, forcing his spirit into battle with the wolf's. He saw the monster falter and the man let it have a taste of his inner strength. The man shouted, "Ei!", with all of the power he could muster, stomping forward in the wolf's direction. The beast cowered and ran deep into the woods. He "sheathed" his wooden sword into his left hand as he gave a sigh of relief.

It was then that the man remembered the colorful horses. He turned to look for them, hoping they had not been scared off. They had, but not too far. The man chuckled to himself as he saw a quivering pink ribbon sticking out of a bush. He recalled one of the horses wearing it when he arrived because he had thought it looked cute.

The man walked towards the bush and crouched in front of it, placing his bokken behind him. In a soft voice, the man said, "Hey. You can come out now, little ones. The wolf is gone."

"Are ya gonna eat us?"

"No. Of cour-," the man hesitated. One of these horses had spoken to him. With a southern accent, no less. "Did you...speak to me?"

"Y-yeah," the voice said timidly. The man reached out in surprise and opened the bush to regard it's occupants. Three very small horses stared up at him: a yellow one, an orange one and a white one. The yellow one looked pretty normal with her ribbon tied in her red hair, but the other two were the strange ones. The orange one had purple hair and small wings, while the white one had pink and purple hair and a little horn in the middle of her forehead. "Who-," the man began,"what are you?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing," the orange one said. "Scootaloo, quiet! He might yell at us again," the white one said to her friend. "Scootaloo" looked concerned and was silent.

"Look," the man said,"if I promise not to hurt you or be loud, will you come out of there so we can talk? I'm not quite sure where I am or what you are for that matter."

The three ponies looked at each other quizzically. Then, they stepped out of their hiding place and stood in front of the the man. The one with the bow looked up at him with her big orange eyes, and said, "Well, mister, we're ponies from Ponyville. I'm Applebloom. This here's Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. What kinda...thing are you?"

It was strange how kids work: once they realize they aren't in trouble, they go back to being kids. Applebloom, as the one with the bow was called, seemed much more intrigued of the man than she was afraid of him. Sweetie Belle looked anxious, but Scootaloo just looked skeptical. After taking in the introductions, the man replied. "I am a human, Applebloom. My name is...Ryu. I come from a place very far away. I was resting when I heard you three cry for help. And, well, you saw the rest." Ryu observed the length of the shadows, judging that it would be dark in a couple of hours. He offered to guide the children back to town, to which the trio agreed.

After Ryu had collected his things, he slid the bokken into his belt. As they travelled, the children never stopped bombarding him with questions. "What's up with your front hooves? Why do you carry a bag of sticks? What does the symbol on your headband mean? Where do you come from? Do you have a 'Cutie Mark'?," they rambled on. Ryu did his best to answer most of their questions and interject with questions of his own. Eventually, Ryu learned a bit about how their society works. "Cutie Marks" are a symbol that appears on a pony's flank when they discover their special talent. Apparently, it was a pretty big deal, big enough that these girls had formed a club in order to earn there's. The name made Ryu laugh inwardly, as he had studied history in college: the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Night had fallen upon the land as they finally exited the forest. Ryu voiced his concern that they had not reached Ponyville yet. "It's just a few more miles, mister," Applebloom urged. He knew that he could not get them back in any short amount of time. Then, he spotted a small cottage beside a stream. "Come on girls. Let's ask the owner of that cottage if we can rest in their home. I promise i'll take you back in the morning." The girls got excited. "YAY! SLEEP-OVER AT FLUTTERSHY'S COTTAGE!," they shouted, and began running for the house. They obivously know the owner, Ryu thought, this will make things easier. The door opened as Ryu was coming up the small steps.

A yellow pegasus pony with a flowing pink mane stood partially in the door way, hiding behind a part of the frame. She gave a yelp as the Crusaders rushed inside. "I apologize for intruding, miss, but I was won-," Ryu was cut-off by a scream and a slamming door. "Brilliant," Ryu said. Luckily, Applebloom opened the door and let Ryu inside. The inside of Fluttershy's home was rather warm and welcoming. But, anything was welcoming when one has been traveling through woodlands in solitude. Ryu spotted the timid pony cowering behind her sofa. Not quite sure how to deal with her, Ryu found an open corner and set his things down. The Crusaders asked Fluttershy about food to which she quietly told them to help themselves.

With the children in the kitchen for a while, Ryu took it upon himself to meditate. He had much to think on and absorb. He also figured his presence would lower enough to calm down his hostess, as he had used similar methods on frightened creatures before. Soon he became lost in his breathing exercises. Then, he felt someone near him and jerked his head up, only to see a flash of yellow streak across the room behind the couch. So my method did work, Ryu thought. Glancing at the clock, Ryu suggested that the girls should go to bed. As he expected, they ignored him. Fluttershy noticed the time and asked them to go to retire. Strangely, they politely agreed. Fluttershy took them upstairs to tuck them in.

Ryu, believing that he was now alone, continued his meditation. His concentration was broken once more, but this time was much more pleasant. He heard singing coming from the second floor, and could only guess that it was Fluttershy. It was probably the most lovely thing he had heard in a long time. Ryu decided to close his eyes and listen. But, the more he listened, the more he thought. The more he thought, the more he remembered. He soon became haunted by his memories once again.

Before he went to deep, Ryu rose to his feet and pushed aside his thoughts. "I can't stay here," he said to himself, "I can't disturb the peaceful lives of these creatures." He began gathering his things and, as Fluttershy's song ended, he slipped out into the night.

Chapter II

Ryu had been deep in thought when he came upon a clearing bathed in pale moonlight. He watched the way the leaves fell from the surrounding trees and then danced in the wind about him. It brought a calmness to his troubled heart. Gazing at the lunar orb that hung above him, he gave silent praise to whomever had made it so clear and full every night.

So enchanted was he by the moon and the leaves that he barely heard the growl behind him. Instintively, he rolled to his left, avoiding the deadly leap of the timberwolf. Ryu quickly dropped his things and readied his bokken. The monster before him bared several broken sticks on the side of it's head, marking it as the creature that had attacked the Crusaders several hours before. However, he was not alone. Ryu heard more movement from the bushes all around the clearing. Giving a quick scan of the area, Ryu counted at least five other wolves. This would not be easy.

He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, settling his spirit. Ryu knew that he needed to be fast and focused. The first attack came from where he expected: left side, rear. Ryu pivoted on his left foot and brought his weapon down with a mighty crack. The wolf crumpled from his head wound. That's one, Ryu thought calmly.

Ryu downed two more wolves in a similar manner. He began to change tactics and move towards the outside, his back to the edge of the clearing. Three wolves crept forward and the first was beginning to stir. Ryu knew that he needed to run, but these monsters would chase him down in a matter of minutes.

He decided that getting behind them would be a good option, try and take out their back legs. Sensei would not approve of this, he thought smiling to himself. Shouting as he went, Ryu charged headlong at one of the middle wolves. They were startled by his bold move, but stood their ground. As he had been trained, Ryu extended his arms before him and jumped, easily tumbling like a wheel over his opponent. Landing in a crouch behind the beast, Ryu twisted around and lashed out with his bokken, breaking the knee with a loud crack. "Another," he said to himself.

Rising, Ryu was struck in the side from one of the injured creatures, and tumbled into a backward roll. He felt a sharp pain from where the monster's headbutt had hit his side. A broken rib or two would be a problem. Now that the wolves had dealt a blow, they moved quicker and with more ferocity. The warrior began to sweat.

Ryu managed to dodge a couple of them, taking several cuts from their jaws. He lost his weapon when one of them went high, but Ryu intercepted the attack with his bokken. His neck was saved, but in doing so, his weapon was torn from his grip. The warrior, now unarmed, was forced to rely on his taijutsu. He knew that death was probably very close.

Twisting between and around the wolves would not last long. Finally, one of them had gotten it's teeth around Ryu's right forearm. Ryu gave a growl of pain and then lashed out as hard as he could with his left fist, right into the beast's temple. The wolf's grip loosened and dropped to the ground, unconscious.

Unfortunately, the wolves continued there assault, and Ryu was sure he had injured his hand. He tried rolling over one of them again, but they were learning. He received a full headbutt to the stomach and crashed into a tree trunk. His vision was blurred slightly. He heard the wolves moving in for the kill. Thoughts from the past sprang into his mind: a warm wind...a stabbing phantom pain in his stomach...her lifeless face bathed in candlelight. Ryu heard her name escape his lips in a whisper.

"Aysha..."

He could smell the scent of pine and sweat, could taste blood in his own mouth. He heard the rustling of the trees. He heard the wolves whimper, then the sound of retreating steps and running.

In his blurred vision, Ryu saw a splotch of pink. Then, black.

Chapter III

In his restless dreams, he saw her face. That face defined what he once was: a man of peace, a teacher of his art, a soul filled with love. Now he was filled with self-loathing and a determination to escape that which lurks in his heart. The dreams continued for what seemed like an eternity, filled with pain and shadow.

Finally, Ryu awoke with a gasp.

For several minutes, he stared at the wooden ceiling above him, thinking nothing. Then he began to examine his surroundings. Recognizing the green sofa, Ryu came to the conclusion that he must be back in...who was it...Fluttershy? Yes, that was it: Fluttershy's cottage. The events of the night before all came back to him in an instant. The Crusaders, the lullaby, the fight with the wolves.

When he remebered the fight, he looked to his injuries. His right forearm was covered in bandages and the bite wounds would burn everytime he made a fist or flexed the muscles. His left hand was likewise encased in bandages but it had some sort of splint which kept Ryu from assessing the damage that was done. Slowly, he lifted his good hand towards his face, feeling the strip that had replaced his usually black, kanji-covered headband around his head. A lump had formed at the back of his head which hurt when he pressed on it. He figured that this was the reason for the bandage and headache.

The front door suddenly began to open and Ryu sat up out of reflex. Big mistake, he thought as he yelled in pain. Opening his watering eyes, he noticed that his upper torso was wrapped up tightly with some sort of ace bandage. Fluttershy walked in and jumped in surprise at Ryu's cry. "Oh my goodness!", she exclaimed, her voice filled with concern, "Don't move!"

"Don't worry," Ryu said through clenched teeth, "Broken ribs tend to keep people pretty stationary." Fluttershy set down the bag she had been carrying and rushed to Ryu's side. She gently helped him lie back down in his makeshift bed. Once he was lying flat, the yellow pegasus began re-arranging his pillows and blankets. "How long was I out?" Ryu finally asked when she finished fussing with the quilt. "Oh, um, maybe a day or two. You kept mumbling in your sleep and had such a pained look on your face. I was so worried!" she said in her soft voice. "You finally calmed down a few hours ago. So, I went out to do my morning chores."

"I see," Ryu said with a sigh, "I'm sorry to have troubled you."

"On, its no trouble at all. Its my special gift." Fluttershy said, finally cracking a smile. It was small, but it held nothing but kindness for a troubled soul.

"What is?" Ryu asked, not understanding what she meant by "special gift."

"Taking care of little animals!" she said happily. Ryu took a moment to glance at himself. "I'm not exactly little, Ms. Shy."

She giggled. "That's true, but at least you're not bigger than Mr. Bear." It was then that Ryu's stomach began to voice it's concern. Ryu lifted his head and gave the intruding organ a look of scolding. "That's enough out of you," he said sternly, "I know that you are empty, but I am in no condition to forage. All these months of travel and you still haven't learned any self-control."

Fluttershy giggled again. "Do you always talk to your tummy like that?" she asked. "Only when he behaves so rudely," Ryu said matter-of-factly. The pegasus stood and began walking towards the kitchen, and said, "Wait right here and I'll make something to calm that rebellious tummy of your's."

Ryu was about to protest when he noticed her long pink tail disappear into the kitchen. He recalled the wolves retreating and a flash of pink. He finally pieced together what happened. "Did she save me?" he whispered quietly to himself. He could not figure out how such a shy and gentle thing like Fluttershy could be capable of influencing those monsters in such a way.

Eventually, his yellow caretaker returned with a tray and set it in his lap. She then eased Ryu into a seated position so that he could eat properly. It was a bowl of oatmeal. Ryu thanked her as she sat beside him and reached for the spoon with his good hand. As he scooped up some food, Ryu dropped the utensil out of surprise when his middle and ring finger started to tingle and spasm. The spoon fell, dirtying the quilt. "Dammit," Ryu swore, "I'm sorry. I must have some sort of nerve damage." Flutershy just smiled and cleaned up the quilt with a nearby napkin. "Its okay," she said, "Accidents happen."

Ryu felt determined, and a little offended, by Fluttershy's maternal word choice. Again, Ryu reached for the spoon. Again, he dropped it. He tried several times, each met with the same result. He felt anger welling up inside him and felt like throwing the spoon away and going without food. But he knew that he would never do that, especially not when the food was free and he had been treated with nothing but kind patience.

After cleaning up the spilled oatmeal for the umpteenth time, Fluttershy took the spoon and scooped a bit of the porridge. She then held the spoon in front of his face. Ryu's pride would not allow him to be fed like a child. "Sorry, Ms. Shy, but that's not gonna work for me."

"I know you don't like it, but this is just so I can save my quilt and you can at least eat something."

"No."

"Please?"

"I said no."

"Why?"

"You've done a lot for me, but I ju-" Fluttershy quickly shoved the spoon in the warrior's mouth. She pulled the spoon out and scooped up more oatmeal. Ryu swallowed the food and sat there stunned by her underhanded tactic. There's more to this pony than meets the eye, he thought. This time, she said nothing. She just looked at him and waited. Ryu no longer thought it best to argue with his caretaker, seeing as how she somehow managed to chase off a pack of wolves that he could not defeat using force of arms. He opened his mouth grudgingly and allowed the pegasus to feed him. And it was very good. As far as porridge went.

When the bowl was empty, Fluttershy set the tray aside. "Thank you for being so cooperative," she said politely. Ryu nodded and finally said what was on his mind. "Fluttershy?"

"Yes?"

"Did you...save me from the wolves the other night?"

Fluttershy was silent for a second. "Yes."

"How?" Ryu said in confusion, "What did you do to make them react like that?"

"I have another special talent," she said, "I call it 'The Stare'. Sometimes, when I get angry, it just...happens. I look the monster, or animal, or pony in the eyes, and they listen or run away or get really scared."

Ryu looked at her quizzically. "How strange. You must have a powerful spirit to be able to project it like that. I've heard of masters in my own land who could do something similar, but not on that scale." He noticed that talking about her secret power was making her uncomfortable, so he changed the subject. "Why did you help me? You were so frightened by me when we first met."

Fluttershy smiled gently. "At first, you surprised me. You were big and scary. I had no idea what kind of creature was on my doorstep. It just made me nervous. Then, I let you have your space because I thought maybe you were just as scared of me as I was of you. That happens with animals sometimes. After I put the girls to bed, I came down and you were gone. It scared me to think that you had wandered into the Everfree forest."

She paused to take the dishes to the kitchen. She came back in to the living room and sat down in the same spot to continue. "I looked around for hours until I saw the wolves closing in on you. So I jumped in and used 'The Stare'."

"How did you get me back to your place?" Ryu interjected.

"Mr. Bear! He lived nearby and I asked him to help me carry you. The Crusaders were worried about you. I told them to come by today with my friend Twilight to see if she would know of a spell to wake you up, because she's the smartest pony I know."

"Spell?" Ryu asked, a little confused. "Like magic?"

Fluttershy gave an equally confused look. "Well, yes. She's a unicorn, after all. Is it really that surprising?"

"Yeah. In my world, magic and spells, pegasi and unicorns, none of them exist."

Fluttershy looked shocked. She began to explain the world of ponies to him and how things worked. Magic was something that confused her, but she tried her best with everything else. Apparently, the reason the sun and the moon don't move is because of the royal sisters, Celestia and Luna. The ponies viewed them as "Princesses", but Ryu thought "God-Empresses" was a much more accurate term. She told him about her friends, and some of there past adventures.

From what she said, this land wasn't nearly as peaceful as the Crusaders led him to believe. Dark gods of Chaos, manticores, hydras, and dragons constantly making trouble for the citizens of Equestria. Celestia and Luna must be at there wits end from all of this.

The conversation was stopped by a carrot hitting Fluttershy in the head. They both looked down to see a very irate little rabbit stamping his foot impatiently. "Oh hello, Angel Bunny," Fluttershy said sweetly to him, "Is it lunch time already?"

The rabbit simply opened his mouth and pointed at his stomach. "Okay," she told him, "let's get you something to eat so we don't bother, um, what was your name again?" She asked, looking rather embarrassed. "Ryu," the warrior said.

"So we don't bother Ryu."

When she was gone, Ryu let out a sigh. Looking to his left, he saw his backpack sitting there. Ryu stretched as much as he could and managed to slide it over to his bedside. He dug around inside until he found his little notebook and pen. That familiar spark of inspiration was back. Thinking for several minutes and tapping out syllables with his pen, Ryu attempted to write but he could not hold the pen correctly. Instead, he tossed them both into his backpack, deciding to write out the haiku later. He stored the following in his mind as he lay down to rest:

Fight under the moon

A timid savior of life

In Equestria.

-Ryu