Prologue: The Shinobi and the Psychologist
It was a warm and sunny day in Ponyville. The Summer Sun Celebration had just concluded, and everypony was in a great mood. Well, almost everypony. An orange, hooded unicorn-or so it seemed-entered town. His figure was gruff, but he looked soft-hearted in a way you’d have to see to believe. He was making his shopping trip, as was the usual when he visited Ponyville. He would admit other places had better gear, but this spot would do. And besides, he also secretly enjoyed being there.
Suddenly, a pink blur came barreling towards him at lightning speed, instantly tackling him to the ground.
“Hiiiii Cain!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, using her tail to spring herself upright.
“Ouhhhh…Pinkie?” Cain groaned, slowly getting himself up.
“Sorry about crashing into ya like that. Rainbow and I are chasing somepony who is quite literally running from a friendship problem.”
Cain had a sense of nervousness as Pinkie talked. It was probably because she almost revealed his wings several times in the past, but always seemed to shrug it off in the end.
“By the way, you’re always wearin that hoodie. Which looks great on ya, by the way! But how come it’s the only thing ya wear?” Pinkie inquired, as if on cue with Cain’s thoughts.
He quickly thought up a response.
“I, uh, really like Rarity’s casual line. Don’t fix what ain’t broke, yknow?” Cain lied, taking a sudden interest in a lamppost.
Pinkie had a suspicious look on her face.
Oh no, is this the day everypony calls me a freak and I’ll have to go into hiding?Cain panicked, dragging his hooves on ground rapidly.
“Hmmm…yeah, Rarity does a really great job, heehee! Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a problem to smush! Bye Cainerrrrs!” Pinkie called out as she sped away.
Cain hated being called that. Well, sort of hated it. Deep down, he was put at ease seeing that hope and fun still existed in Pinkie, and the world.
Meanwhile, at the School of Friendship, a bright and joyful pegasus was reviewing student files in his “office”. Well, technically it was a workspace lent to him by Twilight, but it served well. As he was reviewing session records, he couldn’t help but look out the window at the sprawling Ponyville below. He loved looking through it before the Storm King’s defeat, but now he loved it even more, observing Griffins, Changlings, seaponies, everycreature just getting along. The world had learned about friendship for the first time, and it seemed like everything was going to be great for many generations to come.
Just then, Starlight Glimmer entered his room.
“Morning, Kindred! How’s my favorite part-time coworker doin today?”
“Hey, Glim!” Kindred responded enthusiastically.
“Pfft, if that’s where we’re going, I might as well just call ya Kinnie,” Starlight remarked, elbowing him.
That made Kindred laugh a bit. He always enjoyed this playful coworker dynamic that they had.
“So, how have the sessions been going?” Starlight inquired.
“They’ve been going really well!” Kindred exclaimed. “It’s been a real joy, and I feel like I’ve made a lot of progress. Creatures who had issues with bullies have reported less negative emotions because I’ve helped them! Oooh, uh, didn’t mean to sound so braggy there.”
“That is amazing. You’ve been a real help, yknow. Even…to me, sometimes.”
Kindred did recall that Starlight had some feelings she wanted to talk to him about in the past, and he listened every step of the way. He was always grateful that he could help.
“Yeah, and I have a feeling I’m gonna be a good friend to everycreature else! Or, at least try.” Kindred said. Just then, he got deja vu of a strange dream in which he met another orange pony…but he shook it off and saw Starlight off. “Bye, Starlight! Have a good day!”
“You too, bud!”
Meanwhile, back at the Ponyville shopping center, Cain had just finished his supply run and was about to head back into the world, he ran into somepony-or rather, somecreature- who looked almost like Pinkie Pie.
“Oh, hi!” Silverstream exclaimed. “You must be new here! I’m Silverstream! What’s your name?”
“Oh, uh, actually, I’m not really new. Been visiting for years. My name’s Cain, I’m a totally normal unicorn.” Cain said, sweating discreetly.
“Uh huh. Anyway, nice to meet you! I’m headed back from Twilight’s school. She said I could use a dic-shun-air-ee. Am I saying it right? No, it was probably-“
“Wait Twilight’s school?” Cain inquired with confusion. “I thought only Celestia had a school. Also, where are the Pillars? Could’ve sworn they were just here…”
“Looks like you just might be a few months behind. A lot’s happened since the Storm King was defeated.”
“Storm King?!”
“…I suggest you swing by the library and catch up, buddy.” Silverstream suggested, and then suddenly gasped in surprise. “OhwaitI’mgonnabelatenicetomeetyoubyeee!” she said before flying off in a hurry.
Twilight’s School, huh? Cain pondered. He reasoned that he probably should catch up with recent events at Twilight’s library. After all, it would prove to be important for the future…
Meanwhile, at the school, Kindred was in the commons, about to sit and enjoy his lunch, when he heard familiar voices from the faculty tables.
“Hey, Kindred, over here!”
“Hello, darling!”
“Hihihiiii!!”
It was the Mane 6, beckoning him to join them for a chat.
He was not-so-subtly ecstatic when walking over to the table, wings slightly fluttering.
“Relax, Kindred.” Starlight said with a smirk. ”This is a casual conversation, not an autograph signing.”
“Agreed,” Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Although…if you find yourself interested in one-”
“Now, now, everypony,” Twilight interrupted. “Let’s get to the point first, then we can chat.”
Everypony went quiet and conceded the conversation, for they knew it was important.
“You see, Kindred, we’ve created a network of sorts for safety reasons. It includes us and the princesses, and can be used in emergencies. And we all think you’re more than qualified to be a part of that network.”
Everypony nodded in agreement.
“So I’d like to bestow upon you…” she began, but pausing for effect. “…the Friendship is Magic Communicator Mark 2! Don’t ask about what happened to the first model, it was buggy, heheh.”
Twilight put the device around Kindred’s neck. It was a purple medallion with a replication of Twilight’s cutie mark on it. It was around double the size of a bit.
“Anytime you feel Equestria is at risk, press the star and one or more of us will be there to respond. Do keep in mind to use it only for emergencies.”
Kindred nodded in understanding.
“Okay, now that that’s all cleared up…I’m so proud of you, Kindred!” Twilight beamed.
“Yeah! Finally, someone said it.” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
“You’ve got a good heart, sugarcube.” Applejack complimented.
“I agree,” Fluttershy said softly.
Unfortunately, the bell rang just as they began chatting.
“Welp, guess we all gotta head back, huh?” Rainbow groaned in disappointment. “Well, hit us up when you wanna hang! Especially me!”
“I certainly will!” Kindred shouted back with enthusiasm as he headed back to his office. And he meant it.
Cain arrived at the towering front entrance of the school, marveling at the smooth waterfalls and humongous doors. It caused his wings to flutter a bit under his hoodie. He recognized that wearing a hoodie to conceal his wings wasn’t the most practical thing to do, but he wanted to be comfortable, and a hoodie seemed to be the best choice at the time, and only his enemies ever saw his wings, if they chose doom as an option.
He started towards the library, but suddenly felt a breeze he couldn’t quite put into words. He shrugged the thought off for later, for this was a timely matter.
“That communicator looks great on you, Kindred,” Starlight said with great awe.
“Well, thank youuuu…” Kindred trailed off.
“What is i-“
Kindred and Cain found themselves face to face in the library.
“I don’t believe it…” they both said in unison. But they would have to save their disbelief later, for there was a very large explosion at the entrance, followed by a flaming figure with a laugh that sounded very familiar…
Author's Note
The nightmare has begun! Enjoy the setup of this grand adventure and feel free to give feedback!
