“I can’t believe ya’ll followed us all the way out here!” Applejack ranted as she paced the floor of the Turtles’ Lair. “What were you thinking?! You could’ve gotten hurt! Or worse!” She was yelling at a group of four girls and one boy.
“Applejack, cool it!” A girl with purple and green hair said. “It’s my fault, okay? I told them to follow.”
“But why, Starlight?” Sunset asked.
“Because… I’m tired of being left out.” Starlight replied.
“Will you guys just DROP IT ALREADY?!” Raph screamed. “Master Splinter and Celestia still aren’t here!”
“Yeah. I hope they’re okay.” Leo said.
“Me, too.” Donnie chimed in.
“You guys don’t think the Super Shredder got them… do you?” Mikey asked.
“Oh, I hope not.” Fluttershy answered, wrapping an arm around Mikey’s shoulders to comfort him.
“My… my sons!” A weakened but familiar voice called.
The Turtles, April, and Casey shot up at the sound. They turned their heads and were overjoyed to see Master Splinter enter the Lair carrying Celestia in his arms.
“Sensei!” They cried, running over to greet Splinter.
“Principal Celestia!” Sunset exclaimed as she and Luna ran over to see Celestia hurt. “What happened?”
“What did you do to her?!” Luna demanded.
“Shredder nearly had us and we escaped, but Celestia is hurt.” Splinter answered.
“Don’t worry. Just take her to my lab and we’ll see what’s wrong.” Donnie said, leading Splinter to his lab.
Celestia was laid down on the table next to Donnie’s computer.
“Anything, Donnie?” Twilight asked.
“I’m running a scan right now to see if…” Donnie started before a few images appeared on the screen. “Okay, here we go. Aside from a mild concussion and a cracked rib or two, she seems fine. But she’ll be out for a while.”
The Rainbooms gave each other worried looks before Donnie turned his computer off.
“Maybe we should leave her alone for a while, just until she wakes up.” He said.
“Good idea, bro.” Raph said.
“I hope she’s okay.” Pinkie Pie said.
Splinter then pulled up a chair next to where Celestia was lying and sat down before the Turtles and the Rainbooms left him alone. Luna stood in the doorway and stared at Splinter and Celestia with a solemn look on her face.
“You don’t trust me.” Splinter commented.
“What?” Luna asked, taken aback by this sudden statement.
“There is no need to pretend. I know you do not trust me around Celestia.” Splinter continued, turning his head to face her. “You see me as a monster that only wants to harm your sister. But I assure you, Luna; I am not evil nor am I a monster. I may not be human, but I still have my humanity. And I assure you that I mean no harm to Celestia. All I want is to protect her and keep her safe… You would do the same, I presume.”
She nodded before letting out a defeated sigh. “I… I’m sorry, Yoshi.” Luna said, sounding ashamed. She frowned and looked away from Splinter. “I’m really, very sorry for misjudging you so many times. It’s just… hard for me to see my sister with someone else after…”
“Sombra?”
“Yes.”
“I understand.”
“I’m just afraid her heart will get broken again.”
“Sombra did not leave Celestia for Cinch.”
Luna’s eyes widened. “What?”
“Cinch attacked Celestia the night of the fire, Sombra stepped in to protect her… and Cinch struck him instead of Celestia. Cinch was consumed by her own anger, hatred, and jealousy that she lashed out at an old friend, and took away everything that was precious to Celestia. Her husband, her son, her old home… Cinch has lied to you, hasn’t she?”
Luna was shocked; she had no idea about any of this. She was told many times that Sombra had left Celestia behind and took their son with him. Luna realized that Splinter was right; she had been lied to. She walked over to Splinter and reached out her hand. He gladly shook it and he smiled at her.
“I really hope she’s okay.” Luna glanced over at Celestia.
“I do, too.” Splinter’s eyes softened at her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Ugh, what?” Celestia groaned, begrudgingly waking up.
She slowly sat up and rubbed her head; her vision was blurred and she couldn’t recognize the room she was in. She then looked under her shirt to see that most of her torso was bandaged up; then he remembered the Super Shredder, Cinch, and Warren… and Splinter.
“Celestia?” Splinter’s voice said.
Celestia turned her head and saw Splinter sitting next to her with a hopeful look on his face. She smiled and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. He immediately hugged her back with fresh tears of relief streaming down his cheeks.
“Yoshi! You’re okay! Thank goodness! I thought I’d lost you!” She cried.
“Me? I was worried I had lost you!” Splinter exclaimed.
They parted. Celestia quickly noticed Splinter tears and she gently wiped them away; she smiled at him as he helped her back onto the floor.
“Principal Celestia! Hey, everyone! She’s awake!” Spike cheered, running out of the lab.
Celestia tried to walk to the door, but her injuries prevented her from doing so. Thinking fast, Splinter had Celestia lean up against him for support and he slowly and carefully led her out of the laboratory. In the Lair, Celestia saw her students and the Turtles talking and eating pizza together. The girls turned their heads and they smiled at the sight of their principal.
“Celestia! Thank goodness!” Luna quickly went to hug her older sister.
“Principal Celestia, you’re okay!” Sunset quickly joined the hug.
“Oh, I was so afraid we were going to lose you!” Fluttershy chimed in.
“Girls, girls! Please!” Celestia cried. They all slowly backed away. “It’s okay, I’m fine. But… what happened?” She rubbed her head with her free hand. “The last thing I remember was Warren and Cinch coming at me and Yoshi. Then lights out. Care to fill me in?”
The Rainbooms looked at the Turtles, nonverbally telling them to tell her everything. It took a while, but by then, Celestia, Luna, and the Rainbooms knew pretty much everything about the Turtles, what they went through, and everything that had led up to this point.
“Wow… that is quite the story.” Rarity commented.
“Yeah. If you weren’t sitting right in front of us, I probably wouldn’t have believed it.” Rainbow Dash added.
“Although… I’m still disappointed that you all followed us here.” Luna glared at Flash, Starlight, and the Crusaders.
“Yes, why are you here?” Celestia asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Because we wanted to help!” Scootaloo said.
“Me, too.” Flash commented.
“So did I.” Starlight added.
“You guys always get to save the day!” Apple Bloom said.
“Yeah, we wanted to be part of the action for once!” Sweetie Belle chimed in.
“Well, this is NO way to do it!” Rarity scolded.
As the adolescents continued to talk amongst themselves, Celestia leaned closer to Splinter and whispered into his ear,
“Yoshi, can we go somewhere more private? I need to talk to you. It’s… really important.”
Splinter understood and he led her to the dojo where they could speak alone. The Turtles and the Rainbooms didn’t even notice… except for Spike. He quietly followed after the two adults and stopped at the door so he could listen to their conversation. The early morning sun shined into the dojo through the grate in the ceiling.
“What troubles you, Celestia?” Splinter asked.
“You don’t know how I found you, do you?” Celestia asked.
“…No, I don’t. Now that I think about it, how did you know where I was?”
Celestia took in a breath and after a moment, said, “Ever since Luna and I left New York a few months back, I’ve been having the same nightmare for the past several nights. And that nightmare… was about you. I saw your death, over and over again. I kept on seeing that bladed monster murdering you right in front of me. And finally, after what you said in my latest nightmare… I just couldn’t take it anymore. I… left Canterlot High in the middle of the day and came back here to find you. I couldn’t let that horrible vision come to pass, I just couldn’t. I-I…” She began to cry.
Splinter wrapped his arms around her to comfort her. “…You have saved my life, and you and your students helped me and my family. Your visions have brought you here for a reason, and who am I to argue with that?”
She smiled and hugged him back. They parted.
“You say I spoke to you in your dream?” Splinter asked.
“Yes.” Celestia answered. “It was in Japanese, but after a quick translation, I… learned what it meant.”
“And that is what pushed you to come here and save me.”
She nodded.
“Well, you know as well as I do that dreams are often symbolic, not literal. It is rare for a dream to—”
“Yoshi… you told me you loved me.”
Splinter’s eyes widened in shock and he froze. “I did?”
Celestia nodded.
“Oh no. Oh no, oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no.” Splinter leaned up against the tree with his back facing Celestia; he covered his eyes with his hand and started muttering to himself in Japanese as she slowly approached him from behind.
“Well… maybe it was just a fragment of my subconscious mind. Or maybe it was something I wa—” Celestia started.
“No, it is not a fragment of anything. It is… all of Yoshi.” Splinter said. “…It’s true. I’ve felt like this since the beginning. But I am not a child; I know you don’t fall in love at first sight.” He turned around to face her. “I cannot explain it, but at the moment we first met, I… I have felt this strange sensation deep down inside. It was warm and fuzzy, my hands are sweating, my heart is racing, and my stomach is in knots. And this feeling inside of me just continued to grow and grow every moment I spend with you and I know it is in the way.”
“In the way? Yoshi, I don’t understand. Why does it have to be bad?”
“It is bad… if you don’t want it.”
“What makes you think I don’t?”
“You’ve said so yourself. A human and a mutant… just cannot be. I know I could never replace your Sombra and your sister does not trust me. And your students might not even like me and I—”
Splinter was suddenly cut off by Celestia wrapping her arms around him in a hug. He was taken aback, but then he started hugging her back. They parted.
“Yoshi, I want you to love me. Because… I love you.” She said, her eyes sparkling with adoration.
Splinter was left speechless; he had no idea what to say at this point. She continued.
“But I know Tang Shen could never be replaced, your sons might not even like me, and you and I are two completely different people, but… I want to make this work.”
“This?”
“You know, you and me. Us. I want to be with you, Yoshi.”
“You do?”
“More than anything.”
“I feel so strange. I mean… I want to be with you, too.”
They smiled.
“Do I love you
Because you're beautiful” Splinter began to sing.
“Or are you beautiful
Because I love you
Am I making believe
I see in you
A girl too lovely to
Be really true”
He took her hands in his own.
“Do I want you
Because you're wonderful
Or are you wonderful
Because I want you
Are you the sweet invention
Of a lover's dream
Or are you really as
Beautiful as you seem”
“Such a way with words. What if you’re imagining me? Maybe I’m imagining you, too.” Celestia said, walking over to the framed pictures sitting on the nearby shelf. Splinter came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.
“Am I making believe
I see in you” She sang.
“A man too perfect to
Be really true”
She turned around to face him; they held hands again.
“Do I want you
Because you're wonderful
Or are you wonderful
Because I want you”
“Are you the sweet invention
Of a lover's dream” They sang together.
“Or are you really as
Wonderful as you seem”
“I never once believed something like this could happen to me… but now it really has.” Splinter said. “I never want this moment to end.”
“Neither do I.” Celestia replied as they hugged once again.
“Are you the sweet invention
Of a lover's dream” They sang.
“Or are you really as
Wonderful as you seem”
They parted. Splinter gave Celestia a kiss on the forehead before she gave him a kiss on the cheek. They smiled as hot tears streamed down their cheeks; they closed their eyes as their foreheads touched.
“Are you guys gonna kiss now?!” Pinkie Pie’s voice suddenly asked.
Celestia and Splinter’s eyes flew open and their turned their heads to see Luna, the Rainbooms, and the Turtles standing in the dojo doorway with either shocked or excited looks on their faces.
“Uh… how much of that did you hear?” Celestia asked, feeling her face turn hot.
“Not much… only all of it.” Leo answered.
“So are you guys like a thing now or… or what?” Mikey chimed in.
Celestia and Splinter looked at each other again.
“I’m ready to make us official if you are.” Celestia said.
Splinter smiled. “Nothing would make me happier.”
“…Okay, now that we have the gooey, mushy romance junk outta the way, what are we gonna do about Cinch and those monsters?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
“Yeah, they’re still out there somewhere!” Sunset Shimmer said.
“You’re both right.” Splinter said, turning serious. “And if I know the Shredder, he will not stop until we are ALL dead.”
“Then what can we do?” Fluttershy asked.
“Hold up, ‘we’?” Raph asked. “What makes you guys think you’re joining us?”
“Uh, Raph, I don’t think we have any other choice.” April chimed in.
“April’s right. At this point, we’re going to need all the help we can get.” Donnie said; Casey nodded in agreement.
Leo nodded at his brother and turned to Twilight and Sunset. “You two seem to be the leaders. What do you say? Wanna work together to stop the Super Shredder once and for all?” He offered his hand.
Luna, Flash, the Rainbooms, and the Crusaders all looked at each other before Sunset took Leo’s hand and shook it.
“We’re in.” She said.
“Does this mean we’re gonna be ninjas?!” Rainbow Dash cried.
“Ninjas?! That’s so cool!” Scootaloo cheered.
“Does that mean we each get weapons?” Applejack asked.
“And stylish masks and gear?” Rarity asked,
“Oooh, this is gonna be so awesome!” Apple Bloom squealed.
“Hey, hey! Look, I know you guys are excited, but being a ninja is very hard work.” Leo said.
“Leonardo is right.” Splinter faced the students from Canterlot High. “Training to become ninja and kunoichi will be the hardest thing any of you will ever do in your lives. It will drain you physically, mentally, and spiritually. But in the long run, you will all realize it will be worth it. Are you willing to accept?”
“Well… I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m ready to commit.” Flash stepped forward.
“So am I.” Twilight said.
“Me, too.” Sunset added.
“Me, three.” Starlight commented.
“And me.” Luna said.
“Us, too.” Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash chimed in.
“So are we.” Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie said.
“And us.” The Crusaders added.
“Don’t forget about me.” Spike said.
“Then in that case, we shall begin at once.” Splinter said.
“And we have no time to lose. The Super Shredder will be waiting for us, but we’ll be ready for him.” Leo said.
Everyone put a hand on top of Leo’s before smiling determined smiles at each other.
“Let’s get started.” Celestia said.