Small rays of sunlight shone through the grey clouds above Gongmen City. Small ships sailed about the harbor, clearing wreckage from the previous week's battle. The streets were devoid of activity, spare the occasion setting off of fireworks. Wolves patrolled the streets, searching every alleyway for scraps of metal.
In the royal district, wreckage from the Tower of Sacred Flame was being carted to the fireworks factory and made into charcoal for gunpowder. Gongmen city had gone from being the region's center of art and modernity to just another cog in Shen's war machine within twelve hours.
A small harbor was situated outside the factory. Wolves perpetually entered and exited the factory, hauling cannons, metal, and wood to various locations throughout the city. Ships of all shapes and sizes, from war junks to simple fishing boats, were floating in the docks. After the Furious Five destroyed Shen's original invasion force, he conscripted all sea worthy crafts into his navy. The entire complex was bustling with activity.
Down by the docks, two peacocks strode down the wooden walkways. The one on the left was eye-catching; bright white feathers contrasted with the red markings on his train. He walked with his beak held high, occasional barking orders to his minion working on the ships. The one on the right had less distinguishable features. His train was relatively small, and lacked the lush, green colors most peacocks possess. The one striking quality he had was his eyes; they were bright green and darted around constantly, which unnerved their wolf companions. The young peacock stopped in front of a ship bearing Shen's insignia on its mast. He opened his wings and shook his head in awe.
"Oh, what a glorious day it must be, Lord Shen, that we may see your standard proudly flying without fear of assault by our enemies!" A small crowd of workers had formed around the peacock, who continued to shout bombastic statements. He climbed onto the prow of the ship and pointed out to sea.
"Once China has been liberated from the shackles of ignorance, we shall enter a golden age that will last a millennium!" Wolves working on the boats dropped their tools so they could hear the charismatic peacock speak. "It has fallen upon you and I to assist our enlightened leader, to bring about this era of prosperity! Gather your weapons, we march to vict—"
BOOM!
Everyone turned to see Shen standing atop a recently-fired cannon located atop the factory ramparts. He gracefully glided down to the center of the crowd of spectators and forced his staff through the dock with a definitive shink!
"All of you return to your duties!" Shen shrieked. "If any of you choose to disobey my orders, I will execute you without hesitation!"
within five seconds, the crowd dispersed and returned to their mundane tasks.
As Shen pulled his staff out of the dock, the other peacock descended from the ship's prow. He hurried over to Shen and was met with a feather-blade against his throat. "You are here to lead, not entertain." The young peacock gulped and began to tremble uncontrollably. "Y-y-y-yes, L-lord Shen." Shen pulled the blade a few inches back. "What you have is not needed here, but on the battlefield," He completely withdrew the blade into his robe. "Let us keep it there." The other peacock stood up straight and quickly saluted. "It will never happen again, Lord Shen." Shen smiled for a fraction of a second before returning to his constant frown.
"I grow weary of this place. Continue inspecting the ships, Li." He began to ascend a staircase that led towards the factory when Li abruptly rushed in front of him. "Step aside" Shen said with a hint of irritation.
"I just wanted to say that it is an absolute honor to be chosen as the new commander of your mighty armies, Lord Shen!" Li clumsily saluted and reached out to shake Shen's wing. Although he was hesitant at first, Shen quickly shook Li's hand and pulled it right back. "I do not care how you feel; if you are defeated in battle, all is lost! Continue the inspection!" He said with a sense of urgency. "As for me, I have diplomatic issues to attend to." With that, the proud peacock continued on towards the factory.
"Lord Shen, I am certain that your gifts of persuasion will win over any potential ally perched on the proverbial fence!"
Gongmen jail was not designed for comfort; the halls were barely lit, and there was not a single soft surface throughout the entire complex. An air of despair permeated all who entered and stayed with them years after they left.
Well, at least with those who did leave.
Deep within the complex, an ox was strapped to a wooden board coated in iron. The board was suspended above a pool of water, and it could be lowered in at any time. Shen nonchalantly walked about the room, examining the various weapons on the wall. He pulled a dagger off the wall and flung it within an inch of the ox's face.
"Master Storming Ox, you know it is not in my nature to be so crude. All of this trouble could be avoided if you would just tell me what I need to know." Storming Ox vigorously shook his head.
"I am not telling you anything, Shen." Shen grinned and strode over to a lever mounted to the wall.
"If you insist."
He pulled the lever and the board was lowered into the water. The water was motionless for the whole two minutes it was under. Shen motioned for his guards to hoist it out of the water. Storming Ox had a blank expression on his face. To the untrained eye, he looked as though he was unaffected by the torture, but Shen saw through this façade. Little, split second movements were giving him all the information he needed; the Kung Fu master was beginning to crack. "I don't understand why you do not just give up," Shen glided over to the board and looked storming ox in the eyes.
"The Dragon Warrior is dead, and Gongmen city is under my complete control." Shen pulled the dagger from the board. "You are in denial, Master Ox; Kung Fu is no more." Master Ox hung his head down slightly, but quickly brought it to an even level. "Kung Fu will never die, Shen. It is you who is in denial." Shen turned away from Master Ox and pulled the lever once more.
"Your foolish prophecies do not scare me. I am Lord Shen, rightful leader of Gongmen Ci—"
He stopped speaking as an intense pain struck his entire body. It was a burning sensation that spread from his head down to his feet. Shen collapsed and began to lose his sight. A bright white light flashed in his vision before he fell unconscious.
Ponyville's record streak of sunny days was broken this morning. The Pegasi had moved the rain in the previous night, and would not remove it for two days. It cast an eerie gloom over the small town. While most ponies had taken advantage of the dreary day to get some rest, a certain gifted unicorn was hard at work.
"So Twilight, could ya run through that again?" Rainbow Dash raised her right eyebrow with suspicion. She, Fluttershy, and Twilight were in the library. The entire room had just recently been cleaned and the floors were slick from constant mopping. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were lying on couches at opposite ends of the room while Twilight looked through her papers.
"Well, Rainbow Dash, I want to test out a new spell." Rainbow Dash looked over at Fluttershy in confusion. "What are you gonna do?" Twilight trotted over to Rainbow and patted her colorful mane. "Don't you remember? I was going to try and share one of your memories with Fluttershy." Rainbow looked down at the floor nervously.
"Uh…yeah…kinda…" Twilight put her hoof over the blue Pegasus's shoulder. "Are you sure you want to do this? If you're not comfortable with it, I'm sure Rarity would be happy to—".
"What? You think I'm scared or something? Let's do it!" Rainbow began punched at the air with her hooves.
Twilight made her way over to Fluttershy, who was completely relaxed. "Fluttershy, are you sure you want to go through with this? I'm sure it sounds a little scary." Fluttershy smiled and gently shook her head.
"Oh no, Twilight, I'm sure it's perfectly fine. I want to help you whenever I can." Twilight nodded and returned to the center of the room. "Alright, both of you need to stay completely still, got it?"
"Got it."
Rainbow Dash's eyes darted from side to side. "Got it…"
Both Pegasi lay in repose on the sofas as Twilight began channeling her magic. The room darkened, and swirls of a bright blue mist flew about the room. The mist circled Rainbow's head and reached across the room to Fluttershy's ears. Rainbow began to shiver as the mist flew through her head; she felt one of her memories disappearing.
"No," She whispered.
"No, no, no!" Rainbow rolled off of the sofa and scrambled for the door. "Sorry, Twilight!" She almost knocked the unicorn off her feet as she sped out the door.
"Rainbow!" Twilight admonished. She pressed her hoof against horn. "That's the second time. I should really just stop asking her." Twilight began picking books Rainbow had knocked over during her hasty escape. "Well, Fluttershy, you can go now if you want." She brought over a broom and dustpan to begin sweeping the floor.
"Fluttershy?" Twilight turned around to see her friend lying unconscious and slipping off the couch.
"Fluttershy!" She ran over to check her pulse.
"Spike, Spike! Get Nurse Redheart! Fluttershy's passed out!"
Fluttershy awoke early the next morning. Rainbow Dash had stayed with her the previous night and anxiously awaited her return to consciousness.
"Hey, Fluttershy; how are ya doing?" Fluttershy hadn't even opened her eyes when she heard that unfamiliar voice.
"What is a 'Fluttershy'?"
She opened them and found herself in an unfamiliar place. The walls were plain and the corners were covered with nonsensical designs. The floor was a minefield; toys over here, cabinets over there. There was no sense of structure in the room. Strangest of all was the cyan Pegasus smiling at her from the end of the bed. Its mane was unnaturally colorful, and the flank had unusual markings on it.
"What manner of creature are you?" Rainbow cocked her head. "Uh…it's me Fluttershy. You know, your friend…" Fluttershy panicked and looked about the room rapidly. "Where am I? Where have you taken me?" She looked down at her legs.
They had hooves.
"Fluttershy, you're in Equ—"
"SOOTHSAYER!"
And then Shen was the pony
the end.
Originally, I wanted my first crossover to be MLP/KFP and have applebloom as its main character. I guess the powers that be decided this story was better.
Really, this story is like a stress reliever. I always write more serious stuff, so I thought it'd be best if I lightened the mood a little bit. If you read my other two stories, you'll notice I changed to a less objective narrative style. please tell me which you think is better!
I always like to make people laugh, so naturally I hope this makes you laugh.
Translation:
Li=Competent.
For those of you out there who speak Chinese, I'd like to apologize for possibly butchering your language. If I didn't, well, that's great!
Hope you enjoyed it and please review!
