Update time! It has been long since I did something on this website, I sincerely didn't knew how to handle this chapter, should I have added more details?, no timeskips?, did I made someone way too OC. Let me know in your reviews, its appreciated as always. And I promise that I may update more sooner, or who knows XP.
Chapter 4: Strange Meetings
It was sunset in the town known as Ponyville, somewhere in the town there is a bakery called Sugarcube Corner. Inside of the place that was beloved by ponies of Equestria, the kitchen was a total disaster, or more likely a delicious disaster for the pink colored pony.
A spiky orange-haired shinigami opened the bakery oven, and take out a pistachio cake. With it he walked to the nearest table, in that table, there is an empty box made of paperboard. He put the cake inside of the box and with duck tape, he closed it.
In the other side of the kitchen, Pinkie Pie smiled and underlined with a marker the last name on the list.
"And done!" She exclaimed as the shinigami himself exhaled gratefully, "Thank god!".
Ichigo spent an hour in training on his baking skills, with the basics that the pinkette gave him, they baked every single order that was on the list in less than five hours.
Oh, well actually Pinke Pie was the one who did most of the orders, and Ichigo only baked three of those. At least the pony admitted that he has done a good job, considering that he's a novice.
Pinkie trotted to Ichigo and handed over a brown bag with a total of fifty five bits, "Here you go, amigo!" The pony said keeping that smile of hers.
The teenager looked at the bag, 'It's quite a lot'.
Zangetsu smiled at his bearer's enthusiasm, it looked like accepting the job was a good decision after all.
Ichigo put the bag on his pocket before asking, "I'll come back tomorrow?".
"Yup! In noon if you can" The pinkette replied, and Ichigo nodded.
The shinigami began to walk away outside of the bakery, until some pony called his name, "Wait!" The teenager turn his gaze on her.
"Are we friends?" She asked, an question that Ichigo didn't expected at all.
He shrugged before saying, "I guess, you've been calling me friend for a while now"
Those words made the pony extremely happy, "Yes!" She raised her hoove victoriously.
Ichigo rolled his eyes but kept a smile for himself before exiting to the exterior. He couldn't help it but his stomach began to grumble.
"You have to eat, Ichigo" The old man said and Ichigo waved his hand lazily.
"I know, you're not my mom".
Ichigo walked in the now darker Ponyville, the lamps were the only thing that illuminated the dark streets, and a few ponies were outside while others are either in their homes or in an establishment.
The shinigami decided to look for a cheap restaurant to order something light, or at least to satisfy his hunger. And the first place he found was a cafe called 'Nighthawks Coffee'.
"What's up with that name?" Shirosaki wondered, looking confused by the chosen name of the cafe.
Zangetsu lift an eyebrow not understanding the problem, "What's wrong with it?"
"It sounds like an username of an artist in a social media who probably stopped drawing stuff five years ago"
Now it was Ichigo who frowns at his attempt of doing a reference
The place didn't have a similar appearance to any house in Ponyville, the exterior looked cleaner than most places and there are other objects like round shaped tables, which two out of four were occupied by ponies.
Inside of the building there are several tables that were bigger than the ones outside, many tables and only two were occupied by ponies and are being attended by a waiter.
The teen took a sit in one of the tables that is besides of the huge window of the establishment, that gives Ichigo a perfect view of the streets..
One of the waiters noticed the shinigami and trotted to him, with a menu being levitated thanks to the magic coming from the waiter.
"Good night, sir" The unicorn said before putting the menu in Ichigo's table, "Thanks" the boy said as he grabbed the menu with his hands and takes a look.
It was a surprise when he found out that nothing in the menu had anything related to meat, and the ones that includes meat on his world was completely removed, like in the sandwiches section where every sandwich didn't include ham while all the condiments, and vegetables stays.
Shirosaki grunted completely against the idea of eating vegetables or any vegan food, for him the meat of a prey was everything for a predator like him. Considering he's a spirit.
As for the old man in black clothes, he found it understandable and it makes sense. Horses are hervivore, or for short, animals who only feed themselves with vegetables and/or fruits.
Ichigo made up with his mind and decided to order just one order of pancakes, one of the most cheap dishes of the menu, with the price of only eleven bits.
The shinigami waited for several minutes before the waiter came back with what Ichigo ordered.
What happened next can be summarized with Ichigo eating the delicious dinner, and after that, he asked for the bill and payed to the pony who was in the cash register.
After his debts are payed, he left the place and began to look for some kind of motel where he can stay for the night.
His efforts would be payed off when he found a square-shaped building with the name of 'Stallion's Sleep'.
Inside there is a lobby with comfortable brown chairs asides of a short table with magazines over it, also there is a counter with the orange-skinned manager sitting there, either bored or sleepy. It was impossible to tell when he had some weird green hat that is large enough to cover the stallion's eyes.
"Hello?" Ichigo greeted to the sleepless pony, he lifted his hat revealing his green eyes and glared at the visitor, not looking so alive in his opinion.
"May I help you?" The shinigami nodded, "Just a room for tonight".
"Five bits" He simply said as the boy handed the bits he was asked.
The pony grabbed slowly the coins and put them in a drawer, he pointed to one of the halls of the motel "The room twenty two" he instructed.
Without anything else to say, Ichigo walked in the halls until he stood there in front of a door with the number twenty two drawn in the wood.
Inside of Ichigo's room there is a wooden desk, a bed, a drawer, and a window with curtains around it.
Ichigo placed Zangetsu asides of the desk and fell to the bed, the young one couldn't help it but huffed in exhaustion. It has been a long time since he could lay on a comfortable bed like he did back in his world.
It has been very weird these days since the moment he arrived in Equestria, the dominant species appeared to be some magical ponies, he's very short of money, the food he could eat is all for vegans.
The only way to reach to the princesses is getting that expensive pass, he could keep his job with Pinkie's and look do some tasks, missions, whatever is necessary to win extra money.
"Well, what do we have here?" A voiced is heard by Ichigo inside of his room, startled by it, he inmedietly jumps out of the bed and looks around the room trying to find the source of the voice. But he found no one.
Ichigo was about to think that it was only his imagination, but then he felt a strange presence in the room, not only strange but chaotic as well. But how didn't he felt it before? Why now when he spoke?.
"Who's there?" The boy asked, still trying to find the presence.
Then from the nowhere it chuckled before replying, "Right here".
The shinigami finally found out where the voice was coming from, it was from a cup in the desk. It became more obvious when he saw a unrecognizable drawing of a being waving at him trying to get his attention, something that it succeed.
Now that he found him, with a puff the a bigger strange creature appeared in front of the boy, with a smug and curious eyes over the teenager.
Ichigo was sincerely surprised by the appearance of the powerful being, it has the head of a goat with deer antler and a blue goat horn, and also a goat beard, his body consists in a right arm of a lion, the left claw of an eagle, the right leg of a lizard, and the left leg of a goat. He has the wings of a bat, and a dragon-like snake's tail with a white tail tuft. The shape of his body was from a snake. It wasn't the scariest thing he has ever saw, but it was indeed the freakiest.
The mysterious chuckled again by his reaction, clearly demonstrating that he isn't used to see things like himself.
"Well, aren't you are a strange one? Not only do you have a stronger magic than of an average unicorn, you are also a not very well known breed in Equestria" It noted keeping that smug of his.
The surprise of the shinigami was soon faded and replied, "You're the one to talk!" He said before pointing out, "And you still haven't answered my question, who the hell are you?".
"Oh right! Where are my manners..." It excuses himself with embarrassment, or that's how he wanted to apparent.
"My name is Discord, the spirit of chaos and disharmony, an former member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and a honorary...good guy" The draconequus introduces himself, and at the last part he passes to Ichigo a presentation card with Discord's face drawn at the left of the card, with some vague descriptions of him besides of the drawing.
The boy simply throws away the card and looked at the him with serious eyes, not seeing the draconequus trustworthy.
"What do you want?" The shinigami asked with crossed arms.
The reason on why be was in such state of disbelief, is because of how sudden the whole thing is. A random weird guy who proclaims himself as a spirit of chaos, appears in his room this late of the night when he was trying to sleep.
"To see you of course!" Discord said like if it was the obvious thing in the world, "I was enjoying my day like any other, then I saw you walking aimlessly in the town. And I was so curious about you that I followed you"
'Great. He's stalker' Ichigo thought with annoyance because of the fact.
"If you're done, then can you leave already? I want to sleep" He asked almost demanding to the draconequus, who in response rolled his eyes.
"Alright, alright, I'll leave you be so you can have your 'sweet dreams'," The draconequus replied obviously with a grin, for the annoyance of the teenager.
The draconequus raised his claws ready to snap his eagle-like fingers, but before that, he said.
"Oh! And welcome to Equestria"
And with a snap he disappeared in a blink of a eye, leaving a sleepy Ichigo on his rented bedroom almost on his own.
"I like him!" Shirosaki commented for the annoyance of Ichigo.
In the morning after that strange encounter, Ichigo decided not to eat his breakfast in a restaurant since he didn't have the bits for doing so occasionally.
So he decided to bought something from the market, where several stands were open. When he was heading there, he was attracting more eyes than the first time he arrived in Ponyville. It was weird.
Once he finally arrived at the market, unluckily there was only one stall that was dedicated for fruits or food related. That one was selling apples.
The seller was orange-skinned, green eyes, and at the top of her light olive mane she was wearing a cowboy-styled hat.
He approached her, and the mare was the first to talk, "Howdy!" She greeted, "What can ah do for ya?".
It was weird for Ichigo to hear that cowboyish accent but he quickly ignore it and responded, "Just an apple".
With his commands, the mare pulled out from a cabinet, a red and delicious red apple. "It will be two bits, partner" The cowboy said with a genuine smile, something surprising for Ichigo. Usually back in Karakura Town, the workers would always do their jobs with an agonizing look in their faces, especially in some food stands.
With curiosity, he suddenly asked, "You must like your job" The cowboy was slightly taken aback by the sudden question.
"Of course ah do! Every member of the apple family has been doing this for several generations! From the grandfathers of granny's Smith to mah generation" She replied with pride and enthusiasm.
'The apple family' Ichigo thought with a pensative look on his face, if it is true that they live in a farm, then they must do the same hard work like in any other farm back in his world.
With some thought in what he was going to say, he asked, "You're from the apple family, right?" The pony looked at him blankly as if it was obvious the answer but she still nodded.
"So, do you have any work for me in your farm? I'm saving some bits since I'm new in town and all" Again, the cowboy was surprised by the question, it's been long since the family has ever asked an outsider of the apple family has asked something like that. Well that's not quite true.
After meeting her friends, she had done many things for them and her friends has helped in her problems, even the ones that has something to do with the apples. Not only once, but several times.
Applejack with some consideration, said, "Well, ah don't think we need help today, but tomorrow there'll be a lot of work to do, and ah think we don't mind having another pair of hooves".
Ichigo nodded before he gave to the cowboy those bits and grabbed the apple he purchased, "I'll see you then" The shinigami said before he spaces out from her as he began to give his first bite to the apple.
"Hehehe" The freaky hollow grinned, almost too perversely for the preferences of the shinigami.
"What are you up to?" The boy asked as he munched the apple.
"Nothing, King, hehe"
Zangetsu with curiosity got near to Shirosaki's ear and asked, "What are you thinking?"
The hollow with a chuckled said, "Let's say...that if I had to pick a pony to marry me...well you get the idea!"
The old man simply stared at him blankly, "Now I've seen everything"
Ichigo meet the most powerful thing, and also the last opponent he would want to fight with. And also he met an honest pony who was born in a farm. Who know what's going to happen next.
Without anything to comment, we'll see each other in other time!