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Honor and Deception (Bellosh & Pretzelpony)


Bellosh

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If a stallion searched long and hard enough, he'd never suffer from want of a job. Such was true of Tsuyo Yamabushi, a samurai excommunicated from the Neighponese Army's most elite fraternity. The archipelago nation of Neighpon was a realm of peace, with scarce opportunities for masterless ronin to practice the Way of the Warrior. And so, like countless others before him unable to utilize their talents at home, Yamabushi looked overseas to distant lands.

 

Equestria was one such place; although blessed with a heartland full of harmony, its frontierland was great in size... and more importantly, untamed. Out there on the northern marches, one could still run into danger. For Yamabushi, that meant a fine opportunity to make a respectable living. Outlaws and other mysterious creatures prowled the Northern Equestria wilderness, making it an unwise proposition to conduct commerce along the lonely roads between towns without an escort. And who better to safeguard goods than a ryuma samurai of Ryushima Island?

 

Yamabushi's latest job: escorting a... humble ramen cart. Or to be more precise, the chests stored inside that cart. Pulling the ramen cart along was its owner — and partner of the swordstallion — a ryuma mare going by the name Shiori Rin. The ronin wasn't too terribly acquainted with the mysterious Rin, other than that she was skilled in the martial arts and the cooking of ramen. Frankly, those qualities were more than enough to encourage Yamabushi to take on Rin as a junior partner. Only a fool would refuse the services of a noodle maker!

 

As for the actual chests themselves, Yamabushi had no clue what lay hid inside them. All his client told them that they were rare herbal ingredients being sent to an apothecary over in some isolated town deep in the northern taiga, and that the ingredients would be ruined if the chests weren't opened in an appropriate location. Given the large chunk of bits riding on this successful delivery, Yamabushi asked no questions. He was simply glad to be one step closer toward finally paying off his dishonorable debts.


Although deep in the northern marches of Equestria, the late-summer air meant that the day was not too cold. Wearing his kimono comfortably and bearing his two swords, Yamabushi took point up front as he scanned the pines surrounding them for anything that looked off. So far... nothing. And yet, the samurai remained deep in thought.....

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The creaking of the cart's wheels took up most of the young longma's attention for the time that she had been hauling it. She'd been worried about the strain the weight of these chests would place on the wheel's and frame. Things had been moved and unnecessary items had primarily been tossed out to make room for the cargo, and thanks to Rin's past training back home she had enough endurance to haul this load as far as she needed to... That didn't make it any less tedious however. Chirping crickets and singing cicadas filled the path they traveled down in addition to the rattling of the cart and it's contents.

 

The northern marches of Equestria were one of the places that Rin had not really learned much about. For obvious reasons her interests drew her more to the south and western regions of this land, but work was work and Yamabushi-Sama seemed like a nice if REALLY guarded stallion. Plus: He was a Ronin! While far from what this Ryuma considered the utter apex of coolness, Ronin were in her mind the eastern equivalent of that which she so idolized. Her grandpa Hanzo told her many stories of The early Ronin who had founded the Shiori clan. Wandering heroes who cleaned up town from corrupt officials until they all met up together in the secluded village in the mountains. The very Village that Rin grew up in. 

 

"Oi oi! Yamabushi-Sama... We are nearing the Drop off point, right? I made sure to bring along a few extra ingredients in the cart to make a special bowl that my family makes back home!... Once we're all done here of course!" 

 

Rin's outfit was simple, a black kimono with a floral print on it that covered up her wings... It came in handy since her fetlocks were -just- fluffy enough to pass for a Kirin if she needed too. "Also... I wanted to thank you again, Yamabushi-Sama."

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

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She may not have realized it, but Shiori Rin just said the worst possible thing to mention in Tsuyo Yamabushi's presence. No, the ronin's sensibilities weren't offended in any way whatsoever. What Rin did was far worse; mention food. The two ryuma had been at it for several hours now since breakfast, and the samurai deep in thought was mostly concentrating on the rumblings of his stomach. By Yamabushi's reckoning, they wouldn't reach their destination for at least another hour or so. Why wait til then to quell a hunger for ramen?

 

"A samurai does not require thanks for deeds expected of him." Yamabushi stopped dead in his tracks, a grin breaking out on his face as he turned towards the noodle stand; "But I do say that we should take a break and eat now. Doesn't your belly hunger for food, too?"

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  • 2 weeks later...

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"Well, I-"

 

She was about to brush off such a question, but she was cut off by a loud rumble that came from her own stomach. Honestly, the sound that came from her was more not so much a growl but a small roar: the kind you'd imagine one of those baby oni from the legends would make. The ryuma mare grinned nervously in embarrassment at her body's undignified outburst.  She brought one of her fluffy fetlocks to neck and rubbed at it awkwardly, "I... I suppose it might be in need of some nourishment. Just give me a moment to get out the portable cooker."

 

The mare unattached herself from the cart. The straps and things that held her to it falling limp once she was away, walking to the back of the cart with a pep in her step. A creak could be heard as she opened up some compartment and pulled out a large metal pot with symbols on the bottom. Around it was a stand that kept the bottom from touching the ground. She set it up in front of Yamabushi and soon went back to retrieve a bag from the cart that had a thin coating of frost on it and then a jug of water. She carefully poured the contents of the jug into the pot until it was mostly full.

 

Rin's nostrils flared as she took in a deep breath, filling her lungs and slowly let out a red flame that moved and engulfed the bottom of the pot. The runes behind the many tongue of flame licking away began to glow faintly and soon the water was at a steady boil. Once that was done she closed her mouth, cheeks glowing and puffed before she turned her flames on the frost encrusted bag, bathing it in heat until the ice was gone, the remains of it now dripping of the bag and into the grass at their hooves. A cloven hoof poked and prodded the ingredients, "Alright! Seems we're set." She opened up the bag and began to fill the pot with the noodles and all the other pre-prepared fixings.

 

A heavenly aroma was already coming from the pot, the smell of eggs, sweet peppers, garlic, soy sauce and many other almost hypnotically delicious smelling scents filling the senses of the near the cooking process.

 

"Just give it a few minutes... I'd say five."

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  • 2 weeks later...

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Off in the distance... someone was watching Yamabushi and Rin. Unseen and concealed in a bush, there was no way either ryuma would notice the observer. Using binoculars, this scout was able to see that the two Neighponese ungulates were stopping to make a meal. Taking note of what was seen, the observer started communicating in bird calls, no doubt signaling allies nearby.

 

 

Back at the noodle cart, the rich set of smells issuing forth from the pot were driving Yamabushi mad with the ravenous desire to eat. "Five minutes?" The impatience in the ronin's voice couldn't have been any more obvious. "I don't know if I can hold out for that long!" Aside from tapping his hoof on the ground, Yamabushi was giving the ramen pot a thousand-yard stare, fixating solely on the cooking ingredients and the aromas.....

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