The walk through town was as unpleasant as the one before.

Wherever Shinobu walked, ponies cleared out of her way, and those with foals protectively covered them.

She tried to pay them no mind, as doing so only amplified their effect on her, and made her so far bad day that much worse.

During the walk, Shinobu had decided that her next stop would be to go to Fluttershy's house, since she seemed like the one who'd be the most accepting of her, according to what Twilight said.

She remembered that during their talk, Twilight mentioned that Fluttershy lived near the Everfree Forest, so logically, Shinobu took the one road that led to that direction.

It was pleasant as soon as she got out of town, now that she wasn't bombarded by wary stares or ponies cowering out of her way. The peaceful walk allowed her to focus on ways that she could relate to Fluttershy.

She remembered that Fluttershy was into animals, so maybe they could bond over that.

Shinobu herself wasn't very good with animals, outside of a pet dog that she had when she was a little girl, but that would be a part of the bonding experience: Fluttershy could teach her how to take care of each one, and they'd be friends in no time. She was supposed to be the Bearer of Kindness after all, so how hard could making friends with her be?

The cottage came into sight around the bend, and Shinobu once more assessed the area.

It looked like something straight out of a fairy tale, with all the greenery, a river running past it, but most striking of all were all the animals that could be seen.

In the river, frolicked otters, seals, and all kinds of fish.

The trees were lined with small, wooden houses that had tiny birds and squirrels living inside.

Other small rodents, like rats and mice could be seen as well.

Even things like tortoises, snakes and spiders could be seen around the area.

"Walt Disney, eat your heart out," Shinobu thought as she walked across the bridge to the cottage.

Her progress was impeded by a line of birds and rats who all stood their ground, keeping her from progressing. She smirked at the tiny platoon before her, and gently pushed them all aside. With them out of the way, Shinobu walked up to the front door and knocked.

After a few moments, she heard quiet steps coming towards the door, no doubt from the timid little shut-in.

The door cracked open, and a fearful eye appeared in the open space.

Shinobu put on her best friendly face and greeted with an enthusiastic, "Hi."

Fluttershy responded with an, "Eep!" And promptly shut the door. Or at least she tried to.

Shinobu had anticipated that she would have the door slammed in her face, and she placed her hoof in the bottom of the door to keep it from closing.

"It's a nice place you've got here," Shinobu said, trying to relate to Fluttershy as she tried to squeeze through the door, though she found the yellow pegasus to be much stronger than she anticipated. "Did you make all of these animal houses yourself," she asked in a strained voice.

"Y-yes," Fluttershy stammered, for fear that Shinobu may get in, "I make all of the homes for the animals. And I feed and take care of them all too." She then felt her hooves sliding backwards as Shinobu began to push her way in. "It's very--satisfying--work," she grunted as she pushed back on the door.

Shinobu was growing weary of the game they had going on. She tried to think of a way to end it, and get into the other pegasus's good graces. She had an idea to jam her sword in the door frame and force her way in like that, but she decided that may be a touch too intense for Fluttershy. She opted for a gentler approach, and tried to persuade her to open the door.

"Well--maybe we could do it together. I bet it get's really tough--looking after all these different animals at once," Shinobu said as she tried to push her way in.

"It's not trouble at all. I've always been able to do it on my own," Fluttershy said as she finally pushed the door closed. "Thank you for the offer," she said from the other side.

Shinobu wasn't about to be shut out. She went there to make friends, and that was what she was going to do.

She began circling the house to look for another way in. She found it in the form of an open window, just like what happened with Rarity.

When she walked over to it, Fluttershy appeared from nowhere and closed it.

The yellow pegasus then proceeded to board up the window with an amazing speed.

That way was a bust, so Shinobu decided to try the next window.

That was boarded up the same as the last one.

So, she tried a third window, and almost got inside that time.

She would have succeeded, if not for Fluttershy appearing in front of her and hoofing her a watering can.

"Could you please water my flowerbed outside this window," she requested.

Her action was so sudden that Shinobu recoiled back outside the window, which was then shut and boarded up.

"That is...if you want to," Fluttershy finished her request.

With a quiet growl, Shinobu dropped the watering can to the ground, which spooked the nearby animals. She kept trying to use the windows, but time after time, Fluttershy beat her to each one. She tried assessing the layout to find another, more unconventional way in.

She dove into the river, thinking that maybe there was a channel that connected to the house's plumbing.

No such luck there, as all she found was a bunch of angry otters who chased her right out of the water.

Then she saw something that should have been obvious to her.

On the roof was a chimney, but unfortunately, it was smoking violently as if there were a roaring fire down at its base.

Shinobu flew to the roof and tried to take a peek inside to see how bad it was, but the smoke was too thick to anything down there.

She really didn't want to do it, but after all the other entrances were barricaded, she was left with little recourse. She dedicated herself to making a friend that day, and she would do anything to do that, even taking a fiery plunge.

She took a deep breath to psyche herself up, and with a quiet, "This is gonna suck," she dove in, half gung-ho and half temporarily insane.

"I think that should take care of it," Fluttershy said after she threw one last log into the fireplace. She then stepped over the couch where Rainbow Dash was sprawled out, still out of commission thanks to the nearly fatal injury she'd sustained.

Dash's side still ached something fierce, and she couldn't fly due to the wound still not being completely closed, but with a friend like Fluttershy, her ordeal was going to be much easier than it would have been.

Fluttershy went about massaging Dash's back.

"Flutters, you got magic hooves. You know that," she sighed contentedly, as she shifted to a more comfortable position and sipped the drink that had been gotten for her earlier.

Fluttershy giggled at the compliment and started massaging a little deeper.

"Don't worry, Rainbow Dash. Whatever you need, I'll get it for you. My hooves are at your service," she said, genuinely delighted to help a friend in need.

Their pleasantries were interrupted by a sudden bumping sound inside the chimney.

Curious as to the source of the noise, Fluttershy threw a bucket of water onto the fire and cautiously looked up the flue.

With a thud, Shinobu came tumbling into the room with a trail of ash and smoke behind her. She coughed a few times before she stood up and spoke.

"Dammit! I just made this outfit," Shinobu lamented, looking over her now dirty, sooty clothes. She stopped worrying about that when she noticed Rainbow Dash lying on the couch.

In that moment, a new level of uncomfortable was discovered when she realized why she was being kept outside.

"Hey," she said trying to break the ice.

No such luck since all Rainbow Dash did was clench her teeth over the straw in her drink.

Fluttershy looked around nervously as she tried to think of something that would relieve the tension in the room. All she could think to do was what she did best: helping others with what they needed, and Shinobu really needed to be washed off.

"Um...hold still, please," she asked as she began to wipe Shinobu down with a washcloth she had nearby for Dash's wounds. She hesitated when she saw Shinobu look apprehensively at her, "If you want to..." she finished with the usual timidity.

"Do what you have to," Shinobu answered, and allowed Fluttershy to wipe the soot from her body.

As Fluttershy cleaned her off, she locked eyes with Dash once more, and though she said nothing, she could tell that Dash wanted her out of the house. She figured that she'd better try making conversation to kill the awkward atmosphere, "Do you get a lot of guests out here?"

"No," Fluttershy meekly answered as she wiped off Shinobu's front legs, "Not many ponies go near the Everfree Forest, so the only visitors I get are my friends and ponies who need me to take care of their animals." She then moved to Shinobu's face and chest area.

"I don't see why. This place is like a petting zoo. Don't any kids come by here to see the animals," Shinobu asked, nearly giggling under Fluttershy's washcloth that moved to her nose.

"Kids," Fluttershy asked, not understanding the human phrase. Then she remembered that Travis told her about it during a talk they had when he first arrived in Equestria. "Oh, you mean foals? No, not many foals come here, because they're all afraid of the forest. Except for a few times when I have to foalsit."

Fluttershy didn't understand why, or maybe it was because Shinobu was being so passive, but she began to grow accustomed to the assassin's presence.

"Sometimes it's a little difficult, but having guests is nice no matter what. I-In fact..." she hesitated as she worked up the nerve to convey her message, "If you wanted to...you could maybe...visit...some..."

She trailed off as she remembered one important factor: Rainbow Dash.

Over on the couch Dash was glaring at Fluttershy, silently warning her against finishing that sentence.

Fluttershy got the message and went back to wiping off Shinobu's wings.

Shinobu's mood was ruined as soon as she looked at Rainbow Dash. She knew that it would do no good to start a conversation with her, but it was worth a shot anyway.

"So," she began awkwardly, "Sorry about almost killing you last night?" She wasn't sure what the right way to apologize for something like that was, so she went with the blunt, straightforward approach.

It did no good, as all Dash did was growl quietly as she tightly clutched her glass to the point that it almost broke in her hoof. The best thing to do would have been to help take care of her injuries, but she didn't think that Dash would go for that.

Instead, Shinobu observed the drink that Dash held and noted how appealing it looked. The color was sky blue, the same as Dash's coat, and had a small parasol in it. Stuck on the parasol was a single red cherry that leaked its juices into the rest of the drink. The texture appeared thick and icy, almost making it look like a smoothie.

"That drink looks pretty good," Shinobu said, grasping for a conversation starter, "What is it?"

Dash still said nothing. She wasn't ready to talk to Shinobu yet, and chances were that she'd never be ready no matter how much time had passed. A small part of her was relieved that Travis didn't kill her, but if he had any sense in his head he would have sent her back where she came from instead of allowing her to stay. She sipped her drink as she continued to shoot her death stare at Shinobu. She had no intentions of saying or doing anything as long as that thug was in the room, but she was soon spurred into action.

As Fluttershy wiped Shinobu down, her muzzle accidentally nudged her sword a half inch out of its sheathe.

Fluttershy gasped at the sight of the weapon and the sound of the metal being unsheathed.

Seeing Fluttershy distressed made Rainbow Dash drop her drink, fly off the couch and slam Shinobu into a wall.

"What the fuck are you doing," Shinobu yelled as she tried to push back against Dash.

Dash was about to tell her to stay the buck away from her friend, but she suddenly keeled over and held her injured side.

"Oh, Celestia! Why does it still hurt so bad," she groaned.

Fluttershy immediately helped her up and guided her back to the couch. She investigated the wound, and saw that it had reopened as evidenced by the fresh bloodstains forming under the bandages, most likely from Dash flapping her wings. She then started undoing the bandages to see the damage.

"Oh no! You popped a stitch," she said in a near state of panic. She then hustled to close the wound up.

Shinobu was beside herself with guilt. She tried to make friends, and very nearly did, but all she did was ruin it in the end.

"I'm sorry," was all she could think to say at the time. She knew it wasn't good enough, but there wasn't much else she could say to make the situation better.

Fluttershy wanted Shinobu to leave, but didn't want to seem like she was kicking her out. She quickly remembered that Mr. Bear still had some leftover fish that he didn't eat, and decided that it would be a good way to send her off.

"It's alright. Really, I can take care of this," she said hastily, "But if you want to help around here: I usually feed the timber wolves in a clearing about a mile and a half into the forest around this time. Could you please take them their fish? The bucket's around the back in an ice chest."

Shinobu decided that she had better do what she was asked to try and lighten the mood. She wanted to say something comforting to Dash before she left, but decided against it. Without another word, she left out the door and went around back, but the two mares inside could hear her kick something hard across the property.

Shinobu vented her frustration by kicking an unfinished birdhouse across the yard, where it broke against a tree. She then quickly swooped in and out of the river to wash the rest of the soot off of her body before she flew out back to get the bucket of fish.

It was right where Fluttershy said it was, in an ice chest that stank like fish, which only worsened Shinobu's foul mood. After she collected the bucket, she took to the air and flew over the forest, looking for the clearing.

She found it easily enough and placed the bucket on the ground. As soon as she did, she heard growls coming from all around her.

"That sneaky little bitch," Shinobu said as she drew her sword, knowing that trouble was coming.

Out of the thickets on the sides of the clearing came a group of five wolves made of branches and leaves.

"Timber wolves...cute," Shinobu said, understanding the pun.

The wolves all circled her hungrily, waiting for the right time to attack her. But their prey was not as helpless as they anticipated.

Shinobu was not about to be done in by a bunch of lower lifeforms, so she made the first move with a quick draw that sliced one completely in half, and then another and another until all of them were shambles of branches.

She knew that she wasn't done yet. She'd watched enough movies and played enough video games to know that whenever something broke apart like that, it would put itself back together, sometimes combining into a larger, more powerful form.

Sure enough, the branches started to rattle, and Shinobu was on it with a vicious wave of sonic slashes. It looked like she had taken care of them, since they remained a pile of lumber.

With a huff, she tossed her sword over her shoulder and caught it in the sheathe.

Shinobu felt betrayed by Fluttershy for being sent into the woods to be eaten by a bunch of her little animal buddies after they started making a connection. She wanted nothing more than to go back to the cottage and trash the place, using Fluttershy as a sledgehammer to break everything on the property.

But no. She had to make a good impression. Rather than going back, she decided to pay a visit to her final prospective friend.

Shinobu chose to fly to Sweet Apple Acres, figuring that she'd recognize the orchard from high above.

Sure enough, along the treeline of the forest, she could spot a large plot of farmland. She flew towards the largest building on the property, the barn, in hopes of finding Applejack, or another person who could tell her where Applejack was.

As she flew closer to the building, she found it to actually be a house that was designed to look like a barn. Or maybe it was a barn that was refurbished into a house. She couldn't tell for sure, but the one important detail about it was sitting right on the front porch.

Like Rainbow Dash, Applejack was out of commission thanks to her injury. Since she couldn't work in this condition she just passed the time idling in a chair on the front porch, and wished that she could get up and do something.

It wasn't all bad, though: she had her younger sister, Apple Bloom, and their dog, Winona, to keep her company.

As soon as Shinobu landed, the yellow filly hid behind her sister's chair, and the dog stood up and growled at her.

"Is that her, sis," Apple Bloom asked from her hiding place. Apparently, Shinobu had been the topic of their discussion before she arrived.

"Yep. That's her," was all Applejack said as she glared at the unwelcome guest.

"Is it true ya tried to kill my sister?"

"I don't know what she's been telling you, but I never actually tried to kill her at all," Shinobu told Apple Bloom. "She just got hurt when she stepped out of her league by fighting me."

"Y'all don't seem to remember how I trashed yer sorry hide in the cider bar," Applejack shot back, "And ya better watch how yer talkin' to my sister, or I swear to Celestia: I'm puttin' ya in the dirt!"

Winona barked aggressively a couple of times after Applejack finished as if to agree.

Shinobu didn't even bother trying to be friendly anymore. She just wanted to get that day over with by that point.

"Whatever," she said, not wanting to aggravate the situation and leave, but she figured she'd offer a courtesy for the hell of it, "Let me know if you need anything done around here."

"Don't hold yer breath."

"Ya could do Applejack's work for her," Apple Bloom suggested.

During their talk, she learned that the assassin was supposed to be making friends with her sister, and and decided to help the process along. But she grew uncomfortable when the two older mares turned their attention to her. She could tell that Applejack didn't like the idea at all, but she allowed her sister to finish.

"Applejack's hurt, and she can't go apple buckin'. So, maybe ya could do it instead?"

Applejack thought it over for a second. "Ya think ya can handle it?"

"I've done farming before," Shinobu answered, as this was another facet of her warrior training when she was younger.

"This ain't farmin', it's apple buckin'. If ya have any trouble, y'all can ask my brother fer help. And that's all I want ya doin' to my brother, ya hear. 'Sides that, I don't want ya anywhere near him," she said accusingly. Like all of the others, she wasn't about to trust Shinobu very easily, and especially not where her family was concerned.

"Yeah, yeah. I got it," was all Shinobu said as she flew off to the orchard.

She scanned the trees in the area, and saw no sign of a pony who could be Applejack's brother. She gave up searching for him and landed on the ground at a tree that had some empty bucket at its base, most likely left there by Applejack's brother.

Shinobu looked around on the ground level to double check for him, but after not seeing him, she decided to dive into bucking. The problem was: she didn't know exactly how to do it.

She looked at the tree before her, wondering if there was a certain technique to doing it. Then again, how hard could it be? It was an apple tree, and she was going to buck it.

Shinobu turned around and thrust her rear hooves against the trunk, only to have a ripple of pain shoot from her rear legs all up and down her spine. With a loud curse, she looked up at the apples hanging from the branches. Not a single fruit fell, but they did shake ever so lightly as if to taunt her.

She tried different approaches to the apple bucking process, like a roundhouse kick, a dropkick, and even a divebomb.

All of them ended in failure, and a serious pain in her hooves.

In an act of desperation, she started punching the tree with her front hooves over and over.

After nearly wearing through the bark, she stopped to see her results, and only one single apple dropped from the tree.

Shinobu eyed the apple angrily. After all that energy she poured into shaking the apples loose, she began to lose it.

She drew her sword, and rapidly slashed the branches, severing the fruit from the limbs. In no time at all, she was finished, and she stood triumphantly before the tree.

Her bravado left her as soon the limbs that were holding the fruits all fell of shortly afterward.

Shinobu looked at the mess before her. This was not going to go over well with the Applejack. She kicked some dirt as she paced back and forth trying to think of a way to fix the problem, before she noticed that she was joined by someone.

He was a large, red stallion with a yellow mane, who she assumed to be the brother that Applejack mentioned. All he did was stare blankly at Shinobu, which annoyed her to no end.

"You have a problem?"

"Eeyup."

"The tree?"

"Eeyup."

"You know something: fuck your tree! Fuck all of these stupid, fucking trees," she raged at the entire orchard.

"Nope."

"Don't you have anything helpful to say?"

"Eeyup."

"So, cough it up already!"

"I think I can help ya with that buckin' technique o' yers if ya stop actin' like a rabid animal," he said, finally contributing to the conversation at hand, "Wait over by that tree while I haul these outta here".

After he hauled away the bounty of apples that Shinobu cut down, they set up another group of buckets under a different tree, and Big Macintosh began his coaching.

"First thing's first: turn yer back to that tree like yer about to buck it," he instructed. Shinobu did as she was told, "For when yer buckin', ya gotta keep yer legs in line with yer back. That way ya don't hurt yer legs or yer spine when ya buck. Like this."

He demonstrated on a nearby tree.

"Now you try."

Shinobu observed his technique, and tried to emulate it. She was about to buck when she was suddenly stopped.

"Almost forgot," Big Macintosh interjected, "There's a sweet spot that ya gotta hit 'round the lower-middle of the tree. That way ya shake the most apples loose without hurtin' the trunk."

With that last bit of information, Shinobu let loose a buck that shook several apples from their branches. Though many apples remained steadfast, at least she was making progress, and she felt proud of herself for it.

"Not bad for a first time, but the idea is to get 'em all in one go so ya don't hit the trees more than ya have to." He then gave the tree a buck that dropped the rest of the fruits.

Despite her success, Shinobu couldn't help but be confused. He was Applejack's brother, so what was his deal? Did he not care that she was the one who injured his sister? She had to find out.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Doin' what?"

"You know who I am, don't you? And what I did to your sister?"

"Eeyup."

"So, why are you helping me?"

"'Cause ya need it."

Shinobu couldn't help but smile when she heard that. That was probably the statement that summed up her whole day. She needed some serious help, not only with bucking, but also with the 'making friends' thing. She realized that maybe Big Macintosh wasn't as simple as he seemed.

"Saw right through me, didn't you?"

"Eeyup," Big Macintosh said with a smirk.

If there was anything he learned from his younger sister, it was that even the most horrible villain could be redeemed (not always, but some of the time), and it seemed like this assassin was well on her way to doing so. He heard all about how she injured Applejack, and almost fatally wounded Dash, but to him, Shinobu acted like she genuinely wanted to mend her ways, and that made her alright in his eyes.

They continued their bucking in the orchard a few more times, and each time Shinobu got a little better.

At one point, they stopped and needed to take their haul of apples to market.

During their walk, they kept up their conversations about various things, such as how Shinobu liked Ponyville so far, and what she thought of her first apple bucking experience.

Their talks continued after they set up shop, stopping occasionally to help a customer.

Each customer was wary of Shinobu, but after seeing that Big Macintosh trusted her, they looked like they warmed up to her ever so slightly.

To Shinobu, it was her chance to get into everyone's good graces, but she soon learned that good things don't last.

"Applejack, please! Don't do this," Twilight said as she tried to reason with her friend.

Back at the orchard, Applejack asked her sister to go see how Shinobu was doing (from a safe distance, of course) and reported that she saw her heading into town with Big Macintosh. It was then that Applejack decided to go after them.

On her way into town, Twilight saw her limping friend and tried to offer her help, which was refused. When asked what she was doing, Applejack told her about the situation between Shinobu and Big Macintosh.

Applejack didn't care if they were getting along, because to her, it still didn't mean that Shinobu could be trusted. She told Shinobu to stay away from her brother, and she meant it. She felt that it was her responsibility to keep him safe no matter what.

Twilight tried to reason with her, stating that Shinobu was making friends like she planned to do, but that wasn't going to stop Applejack.

"What the hay do ya think yer doin'," she sternly asked when she approached the assassin, "I told ya not to go near my brother."

"So what? He doesn't have a problem with me," Shinobu rebutted.

"Nope," came Big Macintosh's agreement.

Twilight thought that the issue was pretty much ended, but if she knew Applejack, she knew that she wouldn't be convinced by something as trivial as how other ponies felt. She decided that the best way to convince her was to relate it to her.

"See, your brother's alright with her," she began, "You know what an excellent judge of character he is, so don't you think she might not be all that bad?"

"Y'all know what she tried to do to us all last night! For all we know, that could just be a part o' her ruse," came the farmpony's response.

Twilight's strategy didn't work. She tried to diffuse the situation before it was too late. But she already was.

"Ruse," Shinobu yelled as she got in Applejack's face over the aspersion, "I've done nothing but try to make friends all day! I don't get what's so hard to understand about that!"

She would have gone on and on, but she felt Big Macintosh's hoof on her shoulder.

"I think ya should go," he said calmly. As much as he hated to send her away, it was the only thing left to do to before the argument became another violent brawl. He knew that they were becoming friends, which made it hurt even worse when he saw the way that Shinobu looked at him. It was a look of pure sorrow and betrayal, like he let her down hard.

"...Fine," was all Shinobu said as she stormed off down the road.

But Twilight wasn't about to let a pony in need of a friend go so easily.

"Wait," she said as she trotted ahead of her, "Shinobu, wait. We can still find a way to make you some friends around here. We just have to come up with a way to make everypony trust you."

"Trust me," Shinobu said incredulously, "You think anyone around here would trust me!?"

"Well, yes," Twilight began, almost doubting herself in that moment, "All we need to to do is think of something that you can do to earn everypony's acceptance and--"

"Would you listen to yourself," Shinobu interjected, "You think that by doing some spontaneous act of goodwill, I won't be seen as some kind of pariah!? Don't you see how simplistic and unreasonable that is!? I'm not wanted here, and I never will be!"

Twilight didn't answer. Things like earning trust always worked for her, but maybe things were different where Shinobu came from. Wherever that was, it must really have been terrible.

"Just...fuck off," Shinobu's voice choked as she nearly broke down crying. With a flap of her wings, she flew away to be alone somewhere.

"Good riddance to bad apples," Applejack said as she started to limp back home.

But Twilight wasn't about to let her get away. Her hoof shot out and grabbed Applejack's mane, painfully stopping her in her tracks.

"What're ya doin'!"

"We need to talk. Now," Twilight said sternly and walked away, dragging Applejack behind her.

"Hey, hey! Slow down, Twi! I only got three good legs," she futilely protested.

As she flew, Shinobu looked for an isolated place to go for a while. She found a place in the park where only a few ponies were.

She alighted on a bench, and the few ponies nearby cleared out. With a sigh, she laid down on the bench, a myriad of emotions raging inside her. She was too sad to vent her rage, but at the same time she was too angry to cry.

Minutes passed, and Shinobu tried to enjoy what little peace the solitude gave her, until she heard a familiar voice to her side.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks like you're having a really crappy day."

Shinobu was slightly relieved to find that the person talking to her was Travis, who had a garbage bag, and one of his swords out with a piece of trash stuck on the end of it.

"I don't want to talk about it," she answered with a sigh.

Travis discarded the trash on his beam katana into the trash bag, sheathed his weapon and sat down next to her on the bench.

"I can't really blame you. I can only imagine the kind of day you've been having. I bet it's been a bitch trying to get anyone here to accept you," he said, striking every nerve in Shinobu's body.

"Oh, fuck off," she snapped, "If you don't want to help, why don't you go back into town and hang out with all of your friends!? I bet they'd be happy to see a violent psycho like you hanging around!"

Travis didn't actually have to go far to find his friends. After Shinobu visited each one of the Bearers, they began to seek her out for their own reasons.

After a talk with Mr. Cake, Pinkie decided that maybe she was a little harsh on Shinobu and wanted to apologize for her behavior.

Rarity noticed that Shinobu left her ninja gear in her sewing room, and wanted to return it to her.

Fluttershy found the birdhouse that Shinobu broke, and when Dash found out about it, she stormed into town to give her a piece of her mind. Fluttershy tagged along to try and get Dash back to her house.

And finally, Applejack had gotten a serious earful from Twilight about how she treated Shinobu, and demanded that she apologize to her. When Applejack refused, Twilight dragged her around town looking for the assassin.

They all heard that she was last seen going to the park and headed to that direction, all of them arriving at nearly the same time as Travis. But they all stayed back when the two of them started talking, curious to hear where their conversation would lead.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something," Travis said, "How did you get here in Equestria?"

From her hiding spot behind a trash can, Pinkie grew hopeful to the answer. Maybe there was a way that even if Travis went back to Santa Destroy, he could still come back through some other means.

"I took an akashic point to get here. It was a few cities over in San Romero," Shinobu answered.

Pinkie and Travis's hearts both became all aflutter at the news that there was another way to Equestria. If it wasn't for the serious mood at the time, Pinkie would have leapt out of her hiding spot and kissed Travis.

"The problem is that it only opens once every three years. So I have to stay here until I can go back home."

There had to be a catch. Of all the stupid, bullshitty, dumb fuck reasons to not be able to come back, that had to be it. By the time three years had passed, Pinkie and Travis would both have moved on with their lives. Chances were that they'd barely remember each other after that amount of time, and be in new relationships.

Travis was crushed, to say the least, but then something occurred to him, "Oh... Well, why do you want to go back to Santa Destroy?"

"Because there's nothing for me here. Everyone hates me, and I can't make friends no matter how hard I try," Shinobu decided that she could confide to Travis about her problems as the only person that she could relate to, "You know your girlfriend? She and I both know how to bake, so I thought that we could make a bunch of pastries together. But as soon as she learns that everyone likes my stuff better than her's, she kicks me out of the bakery!"

Pinkie never considered how Shinobu might have felt about that. All she cared about at the moment was being better than she was, and at the same time, making the watchers past the wall laugh. She almost went catatonic when she realized her worst fear: she really was as bad as Mean-Old-Mr.-Glass-Tits. And she wished shame on all of the watchers who laughed during the scene at the bakery last chapter.

Meanwhile, Shinobu continued talking to Travis.

"I tried Rarity next, but she was even worse. We tried making casual clothes together."

"Hence the new clothes?"

"Yeah. But she had no idea how to make them, so I tried to help her. After I showed her what casual was, she pushed me out of her work room!"

At her hiding spot behind a tree, Rarity clutched Shinobu's clothes closely to her. It was a serious blow to her pride that somepony else could do something that she couldn't in the field that she was best at, and that was why she wanted Shinobu out of her house. It was after she left that she saw Shinobu had left her clothes behind, so she began studying them, to try and find out what made them unique from the clothes that she normally made. Though they weren't in line with the 'casual' idea, they were still different from her usual repertoire.

She also looked over Shinobu's sketches, and wondered how she made something so close to the original design so easily. She really did admire her for that, and as soon as she got the hang of it, she was going to make Shinobu a whole closet worth of casual wear as thanks for her help.

"And don't even get me started on the shut-in and her friend."

"Did you hear what she just called you," Dash seethed as she tried to step out from behind their hiding spot behind some bushes to give Shinobu what-for.

"Wait! Wait," Fluttershy said as she pulled Dash back, "Listen."

"I only wanted to be nice to them. I even wanted to help Dash with her injuries, as a way to make up for hurting her. I don't know what I did to piss her off, but she flew across the room and attacked me! And then her stitches broke, and suddenly I'm the bad guy, even though I wasn't doing anything!"

Shinobu's tone began to sound low and angry as her body began to tremble.

"But that was nothing compared to what Fluttershy did. After Dash got back on the couch, Fluttershy sent me into the woods with a bucket of fish to feed the timber wolves, but then it turned out that it was actually bait so I could get eaten by her pets!"

"I didn't think there'd actually be timber wolves there," Fluttershy said as tears leaked out of her eyes. She never felt so guilty in all of her life. She never meant to bring harm to anypony, no matter who they were or what they did. The mere thought that she accidentally put Shinobu into such danger broke her apart. Not even Dash's comforting embrace made her feel better.

Even after what was done to her, Dash felt bad for her would-be assassin. All that she tried to do was protect Fluttershy, but she never thought about the consequences of her actions. It was always a weakness of her's, but it never got her into serious trouble. But now she realized that she pretty much ruined somepony else's day. Somepony who only wanted to help her, for that matter. For the first time in her life, she felt remorse for her impulsive behavior, and wished that she could change the way she was.

"But Applejack was the worst out of all of them," Shinobu continued, still seething with rage, "I didn't even bother with her, but her brother was so nice to me while I was there. He taught me how to buck trees, and while we were in town, he got other ponies to start accepting me."

"And then Applejack wants you to stay away from him, right? Travis asked.

Shinobu stared curiously at Travis, wondering how the hell he knew something like that.

It seemed that Travis understood what she wanted to ask, as he answered, "Family always comes first with her. She's pretty protective of them."

"But that doesn't mean that I can't be friends with her brother," Shinobu nearly shouted. "I was so close to making a friend, and then that apple-sucking fuck head ruins it for me!"

Travis couldn't believe what happened next, something that he never expected to happen: Shinobu began to cry. It was very quiet, and there were no tears, but she was still shuddering the same as someone who had been very hurt.

"I yelled at Twilight too," Shinobu said in a quiet voice, "She was the only one who wasn't afraid of me, and I told her to fuck off."

Behind the low stone wall, Applejack's steadfast and stubborn nature finally wavered. Never before did she feel such empathy for another pony, and it made her feel awful for the way she treated Shinobu. It was a very, very bitter, hard, terrible feeling, and she hated every second of it.

Twilight didn't know whether to feel relieved, or sad. She was glad that Shinobu had genuinely tried to make friends, and that Applejack was remorseful for her behavior, but at the same time: Shinobu had such a bad day, and she never liked seeing her friends sad for any reason. She nudged Applejack so that they could listen to more of the conversation.

"I just want to go home," Shinobu sobbed as she buried her face in Travis's shoulder. The feel of Travis putting his hoof around her quelled her sobbing momentarily.

"You know: there was a time when I thought there was nothing here for me," Travis offered his comforts, "But the great thing about this place is that no matter how bad things get, they always work out and become better. I know it seems crazy, but this world is built on things like friendship, redemption, forgiveness and the idea that everyone can get along."

Shinobu thought that was bullshit. It was an entirely different world from her own, but she didn't buy that such a utopian place could exist. And even if it was true, this place sure didn't feel like utopia.

"Don't worry. I'm sure things will work out here. And until then, stick with me. I'll make sure nobody gives you any shit," Travis assured.

Travis's words managed to lift Shinobu's spirits slightly. With a sigh and a smile, she stopped crying and planted a kiss on Travis's cheek. It was a small, harmless gesture of thanks, but they both couldn't help but feel like there would be trouble if anyone saw them. And then their hearts stopped when realized that someone did.

Pinkie had come out of her hiding spot to give her apology, but didn't expect to find Shinobu smooching with her coltfriend. Strangely though, she didn't care about that. She knew that it was what would make Shinobu smile, and decided to let it slide. After all, it wasn't like they were making out.

"Pinkie! I swear, this isn't what it looks like," Travis said, nearly panicking.

Pinkie calmed him down with a small kiss to let him know that she understood before facing Shinobu.

"I'm sorry," she began, "You really are a good baker. Almost as good as I am. And I know that you won our bet fair and square. It wasn't right the way I treated you for it."

"I wasn't really fair to you either," Applejack said as she and Twilight both approached Shinobu, "I mean, who am I to say who ya can an' can't be friends with? It just ain't right. If ya wanna see my brother again, I got no problems with ya visitin'."

"Nor do I," Rarity added, "Please, accept my most sincere apologies. I only wanted to be better than you at something I've never before attempted. Do you think you can find it in your heart to forgive me."

Rarity's eloquent speech made Shinobu chuckle, because seriously: who talked like that? "Alright. I forgive you, Scarlet Pimpernel."

"Who?"

The cheery mood was lessened significantly at the sounds of sobbing, which came from Fluttershy. She was still upset over the fact that she sent Shinobu into a den of timber wolves, and desperately wanted to make up for it.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed, "I didn't mean for you to get hurt in the woods. I swear, I've never seen timber wolves there before!"

Shinobu would have been more angry at her if she couldn't tell how sorry Fluttershy actually was. "It's alright. I didn't actually get hurt," she said, trying to calm the crying pegasus down. It was a bit awkward for her, since that kind of situation didn't normally happen to people, but she remembered what Travis said about things being built on forgiveness here, and decided to try her hand at it. "Just...try not to do it again, okay?"

It seemed that Fluttershy had accepted her forgiveness, since she stopped crying and nodded.

Twilight was delighted to see that even though Shinobu didn't earn everypony's trust, she had earned something just as valuable: their forgiveness, and their empathy. She realized that she hadn't written a report about empathy yet, and thought it would be a perfect thing to add to her repertoire of things she learned about friendship. She briefly wondered if maybe that was how they made friends where the two former humans came from, but decided not to ask. Right now, they had to get to know each other better.

"Shinobu, if you're not doing anything right now: I need some help at the library," Twilight offered. She figured that as long as the patrons there saw that she was a plain, average mare in a gentle, quiet setting, they might stop being afraid of her.

"Thanks, but I still have something to do. I think that I owe Rainbow Dash more than just an apology," she said, feeling her sorrow leave her. "Dash," and that was as far as she got. She didn't know how to ask Dash if she could be her caretaker, or if she would accept her help. Dash finished for her.

"If you wanna come by Fluttershy's place, it's fine with me."

"Okay, I will. And Fluttershy: if you need a break from Dash, I'll gladly look after her," she said, feeling more comfortable pitching her offer to Fluttershy, since she wasn't the one she injured. Fluttershy didn't know if that would be okay, since she had been taking care of Dash that whole time.

"I'd be okay with that," Dash said, saving Fluttershy from a mess of flustering.

It seemed that Travis was right: here, the rules of friendship conquered even the worst of things. Shinobu wanted to grab all of them in a massive group hug, but decided that the sudden show of affection may have been somewhat off putting.

"Alright, Dash. Let's get you back on that couch," she said as she put Dash's hoof over her shoulder to support her, and they began to walk to Fluttershy's house. "So, what was that drink you had?"

"I don't know, but Fluttershy's great at making them. We'll have some when we get back to the house," Dash answered.

As they walked, the other mares started with them as they left to go their own ways. Rarity offered Shinobu her clothes back.

"I'm sure that you'll want these back, darling," she offered. But Shinobu declined

"Keep 'em for a while. I'm sure you can modify them to get that casual look we were trying to do," Shinobu said.

"Alright, but only if you're present at the time. I would die if I ruined these."

Pinkie had attempted to follow them all, but was stopped when she felt Travis's hooves around her waist.

"I think I promised a combat lesson around noon," he said as he kissed her cheek.

Travis grew more passionate, and his kiss became a tender love bite when he heard Pinkie's breathing grow more rapid and saw her lick her lips at the promise of combat. Her lesson was going to be very interesting indeed.

Author's Notes:

Hmmmm...I'm not so sure about the last part of this chapter. Ah well. If there's actually anything wrong with it, I'm sure one of you can tell me and I can fix it.

In case anyone is wondering what that drink Dash has, it's a Blue Hawaiian. They're crazy easy to make, and really great for hot summer days.

And Big Macintosh's explanation about the bucking technique? Sorry, but I have no idea what the fuck I'm talking about there. I just spouted off what seemed to make sense for a pony's body structure.

Also, that reference to San Romero: I read somewhere that No More Heroes and Lollipop Chainsaw take place in the same universe. Whether or not this was true, I don't know. But good god damn, that would be interesting.

I also know that almost all of you were laughing as Pinkie wished shame on you, which was kind of the idea. You know: to be funny. I'm not writing this to make any statements, I'm just working with what the characters give me. And don't feel bad about laughing during the bake off last chapter, because that was also meant to be funny. Have a nice day. Rock on \m/