Touching the Sky
It had been a rough two months for Sasuke.
The climate had grown colder the farther into the mountains he travelled, and as the altitude around him grew higher, so did the snow. He was now wrapped in heavy cloth, prepared by Rarity for just such an occasion, and still cringed as the biting cold slowly sank in. The snow he trudged through was knee deep, and he had long since given up using 'snow walking' to quicken his pace. He had no particular need for speed in this case, and exhausting himself travelling would lead to problems down the road.
Problems in the form of Yeti.
Despite all he had researched of this land before embarking on his journey, on the geography, on which plant-life were eatable, on the limited knowledge of Griffon culture, only a single line was burned into his memory on Yeti. 'Ferocious bipedal beasts that attack travelers in the mountains.-Mythological.'
Sasuke snorted at the thought. Apparently, this far into the mountains at least, they were about as mythological as the ice and snow around him. He couldn't go more than a few hours without stumbling into an ambush by them. At night he slept lightly in shallow caves, awoken at least three times nightly to defend himself.
Still he couldn't begrudge the constant practice, the Yeti were strong and ferocious indeed, but their minds were limited to those of a common wolf, base pack strategies only. Having learned that they lacked sentience he had quickly lost his hesitancy to 'dispatch' of the attackers permanently.
From above he heard the sounds of flapping wings, which had been following him for about a day. He had no doubt there was a griffon scouting party following him, he was aware that he'd be entering their territory any day now. Oddly enough they had finally seen fit to reveal themselves.
"What manner of creature are you? Speak or be considered food." The lead griffon, standing at least as tall as Saskue, demanded. It was a common custom for them to say such things. Griffons, unlike many other residence of Equestria, ate meat. It was a practice that caused most other races to think of them as barbaric, even though they normally stuck to hunting things like rabbits or the occasional Ram. They would ask this question of most that entered their territory, as a check for sentience.
"I am Sasuke Uchiha, a human." Sasuke replied, showing no fear and bowing low while keeping eye-contact, just as taught. The lead griffon adopted a thoughtful expression, as the others shifted nervously under the Uchiha's red eyed gaze.
"Are you by chance this 'summoner of ponies'?" The griffon asked, looking Sasuke over appraisingly.
"I am a friend of his. I've come to train among the griffons of Highperch." Sasuke replied.
"The mountain is ahead, the tallest one. You are welcome to try and climb it." The leader smirked, around him the other griffons laughed. "Only one pony has ever managed it, we neither know nor care how many died trying."
"And if I simply flew to the top?" Sasuke asked.
"You'd have your wings bound, and be forced to start over." The leader said, Sasuke could almost picture the sadistic smile. "Since you aren't even a pegasus... We might not send you to the ground so gently."
Sasuke nodded, and continued trudging onwards, to his surprise the crew of griffons walked alongside him. "You're an interesting creature. I've heard stories of this 'Naruto', and what he can do. It'd be a shame for you to be killed by yeti before we could see it for ourselves."
"I've encountered yeti on my way here. I've left fifty three dead in my wake." Sasuke replied casually, causing a low whistle from one of the smaller griffons of the group.
"Well, all the more reason to watch you closely. The name's Sterling, by the way. Captain of the Glint-wings." The captain said, leading Sasuke towards a towering mountain in the distance. It was a massive, jagged thing, erupting form the skyline ahead. Even from here he could see the entire thing was a series of sheer cliff-faces. There wasn't a single trail that could be easily negotiated to the top.
"I can see why quadrupeds would have trouble climbing this." Sasuke noted. "Have yeti attempted it yet?"
"No, they stick to raiding the smaller towns. Not all griffons live in Highperch cub, although more and more refugees arrive daily. The yeti are extending their territory, and we've been hard pressed to push them back." Sterling said. It was a long walk to the base of the mountain, and Sasuke made camp to prepare for the climb in the morning. The griffons decided to stay the night, and he shared his remaining supply of fresh rabbit and preserved oats and berries.
"Those talons of yours seem mighty useful. Our finest crafters aren't nearly so dexterous. Your nails aren't nearly so sharp though, how do you fight?" One of the smaller griffons asked. Sasuke smiled and gave the group a quick demonstration of 'human fighting styles', much to their amusement.
Sasuke slept well that night, and waking rested in the morning, began his climb. He opted out of using chakra, this was a challenge he would face with only his muscles and willpower, tricks like that would cheapen the experience.
O~O~O~O~O
The guards at the top of Highperch were shocked when three days later a very bloody, bruised and frostbitten hand grabbed the edge of the entry cliff. With a final heave, a very exhausted Sasuke pulled himself up onto the ledge, and fell asleep with a grin on his face. The guards, overcoming their shock and remembering orders to watch out for a 'human', quickly grabbed the boy and brought him inside to their healers.
Sasuke awoke the next day, bandaged heavily but still feeling energetic enough to get out of bed. He wobbled slightly as he stood upright. "Easy there darling. You're in quite the rough shape. Your body isn't built for this kind of climate, altitude sickness if I'm right. It'll pass." Came a soft voice as a noticeably more feminine griffon came into the room.
"Thank you." Sasuke said, sitting back down on the bed. He flexed each finger and toe, to ensure he still had function of them, and smiled at the results.
"Argenta dear, and Auric wants to speak with you when you are able." She continued, filling a bowl of water from a basin.
"Auric?" Sasuke asked.
"The current head of the griffon empire. We assumed since you risked death to get here, you had some reason to speak with him." Came the gruff voice of Sterling from the doorway. "I'll take you to him, when you're ready."
Finding the inside of Highperch to be far warmer than outdoors, Sasuke wrapped his bandaged body in a simple sheet of cloth, affixed his sword and belt to his waste, and followed onwards. As they walked Sasuke memorized all he could of the grand city with his sharingan, marveling at the detailed polished stonework.
Highperch, Captain Sterling explained, was actually a hollow mountain, the outside walls kept intruders out, while the inside walls were used for housing. Sasuke was awestruck looking out over the edge of the current level. To either side of him a stone walkway, big enough for five griffons to walk side by side, stretched in a ring around the empty space. Above and below these rings continued every ten meters, all the way from tip to base of the mountain.
There was, apparently, one set of stairs between each level, for the handicapped, but most griffons travelled within Highperch by flying from one level to another. Looking up he could see flocks of griffons leave through the top of the mountain. "Most things that fly can't handle that sort of altitude." Sterling explained. "That's why we like it here so much, it's a place built by griffons, where only griffons can survive. At least it was before you showed up. We'll see about that surviving thing though." His guide grunted.
Rather than climb the entire mountain once more to reach the palace on the bottom level, Sasuke was rather unceremoniously thrown into a chariot full of hay. The trip lasted minutes, with the human holding on for dear life as they plummeted nearly straight down to ground level. The sudden change in altitude made him even more ill, but after taking a moment to gain his bearings, the group pressed onwards.
They entered a large hall, where dozens of griffons sat on very plush cushions, lining either side leading up to one specific griffon on a much more regal seat. "I am Auric, King of the Griffon Empire. Speak human, so that we might decide what to do with you."
'Griffons seem harsh and uncaring at times, but what we perceive as cruelty and barbaric behavior is merely their culture's focus on discipline and honor.' He recalled from the book. Bowing, as he had with Captain Sterling's group, he rose into a rigid posture, and began to speak in a loud clear voice.
"Auric, King of Griffons, I am Sasuke Uchiha, last of my clan. I have come to Highperch to train among the griffons, to gain strength and allies in the struggles ahead of me." He said, taking in the interested looks around the room.
"Sasuke Uchiha, last of your clan. Why do you seek power?" Auric asked, his gaze piercing into Sasuke's very soul. Unbidden the story of Sasuke's entire childhood rose to the surface, and as he recited it every emotion involved came flowing out. He spoke of being overlooked, for his older brother was stronger in every way. He spoke of persevering despite this negligence, of training hard each and every day to bring honor to his family. He spoke of his brother, who despite receiving all the praise of his family and village, was the only one to show him kindness and support, loving him for who he was. He spoke of gaining friends who would fight along-side him. Lastly he told of that terrible night, when his own beloved brother struck down his family, and cast himself out by fleeing the village.
The entire assembled group of griffons was moved by the story. To them the flock was everything, the betrayal of such magnitude, both in neglecting a cub in favor of another, and kin-slaying, was abominable. Many feathers were ruffled as Sasuke finished his tale, voice hoarse and cracked with emotion.
"Do you seek vengeance?" Auric asked, he alone showing no emotion from the story.
"No." Sasuke said, to the shock of everyone present. "I have found new family, whom I love and respect. Though the loss of my clan still haunts me, and I offer prayers to their spirits every night, I am unwilling to linger in the land of the dead. I seek power to protect my new found family, so this tragedy may never happen again. Should I meet my brother in the field of battle, I will do my best to end whatever madness has taken him, but I will not follow him into the dark."
"You are wise beyond your years." Auric agreed, softening his gaze.
"I will tell you a story, passed down as a cautionary tale to our cubs as they grow. It is the tale of a nameless griffon, who came from a wealthy family. The nameless one was the younger of two siblings, but never begrudged his lot in life, rather he worked hard, and rose in rank to command a flock of one hundred griffons. His older sibling, he relaxed, knowing that in time his father would pass away, and he would inherit the lion's share of his wealth.
Time passed, however, and the nameless one's father began to grow fond of his youngest son, as tales of his prowess in hunting and defending the land grew more and more popular. The older son, seeing his father begin to favor the younger, tried everything he could to earn his father's respect once more. When all attempts failed, he did the unthinkable, he murdered his own father. Sadly he was caught in the act, and forced to flee into the wilds. The younger brother instead, inherited all of his father's wealth, but he could not let the murder go unpunished. Instead he gathered his one hundred griffons, each of them fiercely loyal, and followed his brother into the wilderness.
Time passed, and the griffons that followed the nameless one each perished, little by little, until only the leader remained. So deep seated was his need for vengeance, he paid no attention as everything he loved perished around him. Eventually he found his brother, and killed him, returning alone from the wilds, a different griffon than when he left.
The council found him responsible for abandoning his post as a captain, and took away his inherited wealth. The council found him responsible for leading his flock to their deaths, and took away his rank and right to lead. In his madness he raged against the world itself, and even attempted to slay the king, believing he held the right to lead.
His wings were bound, and he was dropped from the top of Highperch. His name was stricken from every record, so that only the story of the Nameless One remains as a lesson to our cubs. This is what it means to Fall, to a griffon, Sasuke Uchiha. His brother was a kin-slayer, but in giving in to vengeance, the Nameless One became a far greater monster. "
The assembled griffons all looked down solemnly as Auric finished his tale. Saskue shivered, picturing himself succumbing to such madness. He wanted to believe, that if he met that alternate self he would put him down, to end such misery. Still it was a struggle Sasuke had dealt with ever since the incident. Ever y day he fought that little voice that told him Itachi was out there, living unpunished while his family writhed in unrest in the afterlife. "Are my family's spirits to never have vengeance?" He asked quietly.
"To believe in the afterlife you must know that it is a far greater place than this plane of existence. Do you believe your family still has interest in the affairs of mortals? Barring that, a true family would rather see you happy, than see their other son dead at your feet." Auric said wisely, seeing the struggle within the human. "The best vengeance is a life well lived."
"Now then, to training. Are you able to fly? I doubt there would be many a griffon willing to let you ride about upon their backs." Auric asked, changing the subject. The human before him was every bit as interesting as the tales of 'Naruto' his men heard from ponies.
"I can fly, for brief periods of time. I'm working towards improving the technique so it's more sustainable." Saskue replied.
"Work away then. You may stay in the barracks, and use its facilities as you see fit. I'm certain there are many who would wish to witness what you can do. When you have perfected this 'technique' come show me. We shall see if you have a single griffon bone in your body." The King of Griffons said, and with that Sasuke was dismissed.
O~O~O~O~O
At the six month mark Sasuke found himself once again sitting upon the roof of the barracks, feet from the very rim of Highperch. Snow settled down upon him as he sat in only a single sheet and pushed the cold away through chakra and force of will. It had taken a long time to adjust to the climate here, and even more to hone his body to where rapid altitude changes wouldn't render him ill. He figured that, in learning to fly, he would need such adaptations eventually anyways.
Currently he was in deep concentration, opening and closing his seal in an attempt to isolate the energies inside. That had also taken quite some time, learning to use the seal as not only a valve but a filter, allowing him to draw chakra or natural energy or both from it at any 'stage'. The bigger issue was dealing with the emotional backlash from opening the seal, but that had been offset by throwing himself into the disciplined lifestyle of the griffons.
They were much like Samurai, or Monks, Sasuke figured. They lived among other griffons, but secluded themselves from other races in Equestria, apparently Highperch had been fully constructed long before Equestria was even founded. Their approach to life was one of rigid discipline and a complex system of honor, where safety of the flock came before anything else. To them there was more glory in rescuing a fellow griffon from harm, than slaying a hundred enemies in times of conflict.
The griffons quickly put him into programs designed to even tempers and cool heads, teaching patience and control to more hot blooded cubs. Sasuke ran through these trials regularly, filling his body with the seal's rage and then tempering it with exercise and meditation, like a blacksmith heating and cooling a sword. The result was him reaching a state where a fully opened seal gave him only the equivalent of the adrenaline rush any ninja got when facing a strong opponent.
Still, today he sat upon the roof, surrounded in snow, in deep meditation, attempting to draw out only a single type of natural energy from the chimerical mixture inside the seal. He had been doing it each morning for months now, with limited success. The energies within were so mixed together that it felt like trying to draw only the water from sake while drinking it.
Luckily though, as he had predicted, Highperch had an abundance of natural energy within it. It was hard to notice at first, but after running the seal completely dry he began to notice a slight change in his '2nd stage' appearance. Not that running the seal dry was an easy task, it had been collecting energy since the middle of the chuunin exams, and meant eighteen solid hours of throwing lightning before it's stores gave out.
It seemed that in Highperch there was naturally more of one type of energy than the others, so that when it had just begun recharging, and had not reached a balance, the seal contained a majority of what he called 'Griffon energy'. So long as he stayed within the griffon city, he figured, his transformation became a lot more 'bird' and a lot less... whatever else made him look so hideous.
It wasn't good enough yet though, so instead he continued trying to isolate the 'pure griffon energy' from within the seal, which was still slow going. It was more like picking oil out of water, but still an absolute nightmare to do. So once again he sat, letting the seal pull natural energy from the air, which it only did when he remained motionless he noted long ago. Once he felt he had enough he opened the seal, and with intense concentration he drew only the desired natural energy from it.
The shift happened with agonizing slowness, as it would until he reached master in it, but when he finished and he rose to investigate he was pleased with the results. His wings were again present, now properly formed and came complete with golden brown feathers. His fingers had claws once more, and his feet had morphed into talons, yellow like the forelegs of the griffons, complete with sharp nails and the ability to grip things. His hair, which had always reminded Naruto of a duck's rear-end, now had a more feathered appearance.
Smiling he gave a tentative flap and rose several feet into the air, before he lost concentration and the effect ended. Sighing he sat down to continue collecting the energy. This didn't make him a sage, as Jiraiya had explained, the seal directed the energy directly into changing his body, leaving him unable to manipulate it into his techniques. He didn't dare try drawing in 'griffon energy' from the environment, having heard the warnings about turning into a statue. He was lucky Orochimaru had put a fail-safe on the seal to avoid that happening by accident.
O~O~O~O~O
Another six months passed, bringing him a year into his training trip. He had eventually figured out that it was easier to 'push' non-griffon chakra away from the seal's absorption effect than it was to concentrate on drawing only griffon chakra out of the seal. This way, when the seal was fully charged with only griffon chakra, he could get two hours of transformed time for every hour of sitting still, up to a maximum of eight hours of transformation time. He began a routine of placing seals on him as he slept, preventing any and all movement on his part until he flared his chakra. In the morning he would purge the unwanted energy from his seal and spend an hour or so in meditation, fully charging the seal.
From there he could draw out a steady stream of nature energy, either mixed with the stored chakra or not, and fly around Highperch training with his newly 'adjusted' body. As predicted by Auric, once he began doing more than 'sitting still' for his training, he quickly became the center of attention. His control over the seal's unstable surge of chakra allowed him to throw electricity into his strikes with ease. When he practiced his taijutsu the entire city echoed with thunderclaps.
Eventually he was brought before Auric to demonstrate his 'wings'. There was a great clamor as he did so, among the assembled group of griffons, and the Griffon King nodded, visibly pleased. "Very well, you have proven you can fly. Now you must prove you can fly well. You will join Captain Sterling's guard squad, they'll show you the ropes."
With that Sasuke set out on an entirely new mission. He joined their flock believing much of flying was instinctive, Sterling and his griffons quickly worked that belief out of him.
"Look there, cub, where are the air currents going?" Sterling asked, as they perched on the edge of a cliff.
"You're asking me to see the wind?" Sasuke grimaced, even for sharp eyes like him that was impossible.
"Not see cub, know! Wind behaves in set patters, you'll learn these patters, and eventually know where the wind is going just by looking at the world around you. Updrafts, downdrafts, tailwinds and currents. A weak flyer fights against the sky, a strong griffon uses every movement of the air to his advantage. In an aerial battle, weak griffons die." Sterling said. "Now, let's go flying, and you'll learn the hard way how the wind moves through the mountains."
It took several weeks of intense flight sessions, both learning weather patterns and flight formations, before Sterling was willing to take Sasuke on an actual patrol. They headed for Grandloft, a smaller perch for griffons, west of Highperch. They swept around the actual city and headed towards the rocky outcroppings to the south.
"Alright, listen up." Sterling called, the flock of five griffons and Sasuke gathered around. "This is a raid mission. Yetis have been assaulting Grandloft for weeks lately, lead by a truly massive one they named 'Shatterhorn.' We're going to give these beasts the old 'drag and drop', and see if we can't draw the big one himself out to fight. Either way, there's only six of us, so if things get rough we retreat."
Getting nods of agreement, the six took to the sky again, and began sweeping over the ground below. Sasuke, red eyes spinning, called targets, and in perfect synchronization they broke formation and dove. Before the yeti were aware of their presence, five were plucked from the ground by the griffon's powerful claws, and swept out over open air. Sasuke fell upon his target, his blade dug into the yeti's neck as lightning coursed through it. In a howl of rage Sasuke was swatted back, but with three loud thunderclap inducing punches the yeti fell to the snow unmoving.
All of the fliers took to the air once again, gathering into formation as the remaining beasts below howled and raged, throwing ice and rocks into the air. The flock swooped again, this time only succeeding in killing three of their targets, the remainder forcing the griffons away before they could be dragged over the edge.
There was a booming howl from below as a yeti the size of a house lumbered into view. At once it began chucking boulders into the sky with terrifying ease. Undaunted Captain sterling dove, raking a talon across the beast's face, and the rest of the flock followed. From out of reach Sasuke harried his target, lobbing kunai and shuriken as well as bolts of lightning down upon the beast. The other griffons worked in perfect synchronization, circling like wolves and attacking the beast's blind spot. Their assault continued until one of the griffons botched his dive, and was struck from the air by one of the beast's meaty arms.
Sterling dove to cover for the griffon as two others swooped in to pick him up. Sterling too gave a cry of pain as he was knocked from the sky, his right wing visibly broken. Sasuke charged down and began striking the yeti at close range, his lightning techniques drawing the creature's full attention now that he was in striking distance. "Get those two out of here, I'll cover our retreat!" Sasuke yelled over the noise around him.
Shatterhorn, noticing his prey escaping, grabbed a boulder and prepared to toss it towards the fleeing griffons. Sasuke swooped down right in front of the creature's face, and let loose a blast of lightning that both blinded and deafened the creature. He flew back as it thrashed, half tempted to continue the fight, feeling the thrill of the hunt filling his body. Shaking it off he instead flew after his flock as they retreated to Grandloft.
O~O~O~O~O
Days later, upon return to Highperch, Sasuke was again brought before the king. "We have heard of your battle against Shatterhorn."
"It was not my battle alone." Sasuke said. "My flock was heavily injured facing the beast."
"And yet you risked your life to cover their retreat." Auric said.
"It is the griffon way." Sasuke replied.
"They say you held your own against the beast quite well." Auric noted.
"Without my flock's support I would not have done so well."
"Were you not tempted to continue fighting, once your flock was safe? You could have ended the threat yourself, and saved many griffons." Auric asked.
"I was tempted, but the safety of my flock was more concerning. With two members injured, one unable to fly, I was needed to protect them." Sasuke replied.
"I wish to promote you, to a flock captain." Auric said, getting gasps from several griffons present. "Take your pick of rookies from the barracks while your old flock recovers. When Shatterhorn appears, you may fight him again."
Sasuke nodded and left, shooting straight up to the Highperch barracks.
O~O~O~O~O
A year passed with no sign of the colossal yeti. Sasuke trained his team hard, showing them the ropes as he had learned them, as well as team strategies developed by famous Konoha ninja. They built a strong synergy, and Sasuke quickly grew into the role of team leader. On their downtime Sasuke honed his skill with lightning even farther, developing several new techniques.
The first was an invisible current that could numb the muscles of his enemies. When hunting yeti this proved invaluable, as he could immobilize their prey as another griffon flew it off the cliff.
The second was an extension of Kakashi's chidori, lengthening the solid lightning into a blade up to several meters long. As he extended it farther the chakra cost grew exponentially, but so far he could use it as a ranged piercing attack in short bursts.
The third, and his most prideful accomplishment was thin needles of electricity that could be thrown like the metal counterparts. Like their physical counterparts they were used to immobilize, imbedding into his target and releasing steady current into the muscle groups, locking them down.
Ferrous, the second in command for his flock, found Sasuke perched on a cliff face, staring downwards with his eerie red eyes. "Greetings, Stormbringer, how goes the hunt?" The Uchiha had picked up the nickname among the griffons quite quickly, after waking the entire city with his taijutsu practice.
With a smirk Sasuke threw a single Kunai to the ground five miles below and turned to face his lieutenant. "What is our mission today?" He asked. Far below a griffon darted from cover, and snatched the impaled snow-white rabbit from the snow.
"We're supposed to investigate Icehold." Ferrous said, snapping out of his stupor.
"Yeti attacks?" Sasuke asked, heading back indoors to fetch his flock.
"Not in the past three months. Some eggs have gone missing though..." Ferrous replied.
Sasuke frowned. Every other griffon city was being attacked regularly. That and Griffon eggs were more precious than gold to them, losing any at all was troubling.
O~O~O~O~O
Frosthold itself was in pristine condition, fitting with the reports that it hadn't been attacked in months. The regent of the city stepped forward to greet them, nervously welcoming them to his home.
"Why haven't you been attacked lately." Sasuke questioned, seeing the regent shake under scrutiny.
"Oh uh... well... we aren't sure exactly... but we know better than to look a gift pony in the mouth and all..." He replied, looking about nervously. Sasuke's eyes turned red to improve his intimidation factor.
"And the missing eggs?" He asked, seeing the regent flinch.
"W-what? Oh... those... isolated incident really... nothing to concern yourselves with." The regent said, backing up.
"How many eggs are missing Ferrous?" Sasuke asked, not turning his gaze from the cowardly griffon in front of him.
"Fifteen over the last three months sir."
"Fifteen eggs, is not an isolated incident." Sasuke said coldly. The regent refused to say any more on the matter, and their flock was left to 'investigate'. Turning up no conclusive evidence, they decided to stake out the city and wait. Sure enough a week after 'leaving' Frosthold, they saw a griffon fly from town in the dead of night. Following the figure silently the flock soon had him cornered in a narrow valley.
"What's in the bag, regent?" Sasuke called, landing softly in the snow behind the griffon, who let out a shriek in surprise. Dropping the bag a single egg rolled out of it. "What are you doing with the eggs?"
"T-the yetis, they leave our city alone if we give them an offering. I'm only doing this for the good of my people!" The regent pleaded, bowing low to the assembled group.
"Traitor! Kin-slayer! I should pluck every feather from your body you cowardly fiend!" Ferrous raged, lunging towards the whimpering griffon. Sasuke calmly placed a hand on his lieutenant's shoulder, stilling the griffon.
"Enough, it is not our place to dole out punishment. We'll take him before the king." Sasuke said, fighting to keep his calm.
"He needs to die for his crimes!" Ferrous objected.
"He will stand before the King, and the King will no doubt agree with you Ferrous. We will watch him Fall." Sasuke said, moving forward to subdue the wretched griffon, and carefully secure the bag of eggs. "It is our duty to bring the guilty to justice, not to bring justice to the guilty."
O~O~O~O~O
Two and a half years had passed , and Sasuke's command of his flock had become the stuff of legends among the griffon people. As the months passed he was given command of more and more, until he had his choice of soldiers to take in his flock. At long last the day came that Shatterhorn had once again revealed himself. At his request the King and his council left Highperch to witness the battle, as Sasuke lead a flock of ten against the beast.
The assembled army of griffons flew to the 'shattered ridge', where the last bastion of yeti in griffon territories. Their extended conflict would end here, with high hopes that Shatterhorn's death would drive the beasts from the mountain ranges. They hovered in the sky above the ridge, as even the boldest of yeti fled into the caves at the sight of the flock.
There was a loud booming noise that shook snow from the rocks, as Shatterhorn himself, large as a house, lumbered into view. Sasuke gave the signal, and he and his personal flock dove in to attack.
The battle was long and arduous. The griffons assaulted the beast with perfect teamwork, striking at weak points and drawing attention. Sasuke peppered the beast with hundreds of lightning needles, gradually slowing the movements of their foe. Finally, after many hours of fighting, Shatterhorn stumbled forward, panting massive clouds into the frigid air.
Sasuke darted skyward, as the attacking griffons all moved away from the exhausted creature. Reaching a peak height Sasuke turned, drawing on much of the seal's stored chakra as he dove at a vertical angle. As he reached a speed of nearly 200 miles per hour his body began to glow with crackling energy. Pulling up slightly he turned his dive into a swoop, passing over the ridge and delivering a deadly lighting filled punch into the head of his foe.
With the boom of a mighty thunderclap the snow along the nearby rocks vaporized, and Shatterhorn, mighty as he was, fell dead.
A resounding cheer went up as the remaining yeti all fled for the hills, and the griffons returned to Highperch for a feast.
O~O~O~O~O
As the guest of honor, Sasuke was presented by the King himself a medal of honor, signifying him as an honorary griffon, as well as a familiar looking scroll.
"I took the liberty of sending a message to the Princesses of Equestria. It seems Princess Luna is quite interested in your growth as well, cub. She sent along this copy of the summoning contract, and explained how it worked. I'm certain many a griffon would be honored to fight along-side you again." Said Auric, getting a shaky, low bow from Sasuke in response.
"It is my honor to fight alongside you. I will do my best to uphold the griffon way." Sasuke said, accepting the scroll.
O~O~O~O~O
The three year training trip came to an end, and Sasuke was the second to return to Ponyville. His hair was wild and unkempt, and he wore little more than sheets of cloth wrapped precariously around him. He walked with calm confidence, and carried with him a contract to his now-extended family.
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GRIFFINS
YES
now lets see whats going on next :)
Yay!
Yes, I kind of called it. He kind of became a Griffin sage. I can't wait for more man.
He is Sasuke Uchiha, First summoner of Griffin-Kind!
That "old griffon story" seems eerily familiar.......
Anyone else here imagining Sasuke as Kamui from X? ...Sorry it just sorta popped into my head
Gotta say that I like the direction both Sasuke and Sakura's personalities are going.
I cannot wait to see Naruto's training and the combined results of all of team seven's training
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True, but one must also consider both this version of Sasuke and where he's training: originally, Sasuke named his technique Kirin because he was an arrogant asshat who liked the idea of commanding the most powerful of mythical beasts (Fun Fact: the Kirin is the most powerful beast in Japanese mythos, while it is the third most powerful-- following Dragons and Phoenixes-- in Chinese mythos, the source of the Kirin myth). Now, though, he's not arrogant, and most of his training is influenced by Griffon and Griffon culture, much like how Sakura's training was influenced by Diamond Dogs and their culture. Hence, if he DOES develop the Kirin, it is possible that the name would be influenced by his time with the Griffons. Also, the pony culture is very much WESTERN, so naming it "Kirin" because of Equestria isn't as waterproof as you would think-- yes, Sasuke's Eastern, and he's the one naming the technique, but there still exists the possibility that he might go by Western conventions, instead.
And now, to leave you with another Fun Fact: the Kirin, or Qilin, is based on the giraffe. Seriously. Some Africans brought a giraffe to the Ming court, or something, and the Chinese mangled their name for it, turning it into "Qilin." It was only after the original giraffe died that it slowly became the dragon-like beast it is today, as all people could remember was that is had horns, mottled skin that looked like scales from far away, and could walk around while barely disturbing the grass due to its long legs.
umm does this mean that Gilda and pinkie pie will be fighting next to each other in the future
Again decent worldbuilding.
Could have done without the Shatterhorn nonsense. I mean seriously, an unintelligent beast taking ‘many hours’ to kill? Sasuke could probably one-shot the thing with his mega-blade (whatever he chooses to call it this time). Size is not a virtue against a ninja with elemental attacks.
The clothing choice is rather odd. I would have expected trousers of some kind and bare chested. Need room for the wings after all.
Hope he keeps the nickname.
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Griffon's don't wear trousers, and three years of rigorous training can be hard on the clothing. He'll likely get proper clothing and a haircut after reaching civilization.
Sad that sakura cant summon D dogs
AWWW YEAH...
awesome chapter
i look forward to reading about Naruto
While still quite satisfying, I find this chapter to be somewhat worse than the previous one from the power-up angle.
What did Sakura get? Free-style earthbending, insane strength, and contract with a race of earthbenders.
What did Sasuke get? He isolated one kind of natural energy (if he isolated several and learned to shift between then, he would have become a shape-shifter/proto-changeling), learned to fly, honed hisightning abilities and got gryffins (who weren't shown to have any truly powerful stuff) as summons. Though he did get basically unlimited chakra reserves and stamina. I forgot that.
On the story-line I am totally satisfied though - Sakura punched into Tartarus, Sasuke conquered heavens.
I wonder, what would happen when both Sasuke and Sakura learn sage arts.
Now, let's watch Naruto learn what amounts to reality-warping...
And how ponies themselves get more awesome. And what upgrades Ixion could receive in three years (it is a wooden ship, this means it could be made from living trees with mokuton, which means "Cursed" seal could be applied to it for power and upgrades, plus other seals).
Sakura with Diamond dogs and Sasuke with griffons........BRILLIANT!!!!!!
Well, that's the two of them. I can't wait to see Naruto's level-up benefits. Cosmetic or otherwise. Of course, this does mean that any conflict with the Akatsuki will have to be scaled up quite a ways. It's the law of escalation.
So now Sakura can punch through the gates of Tartarus and summon earthbending canines, Sasuke can throw lightning needles and fly like a boss, not to mention summoning Griffons, and Naruto CAN...
654786 She can. Probably summon tiny too, if he counts as a canine. Remember the summoning contract Patch gave her?
654848 Eeyup. Also, I see you and raise you one picture.
This is not simply "brilliant!"
THIS!
IS!
i479.photobucket.com/albums/rr157/antpogo/pony/11724020-20artist3Arlyoff20brilliant20letter20spike.jpg
655000 no i do not must re read
Nice. If I had to pick just one thing to change about Naruto it would probably have to be Sasuke's ugly-as-hell wings.
i need more master make more precius
I wonder if Shino would like the Changelings, well you know because...insects.
This might just be one of the best written chapters so far (minus typos). Great seeing what you can go with more original content.
Need something to cheer me up after new Background Pony chapter...OH HEY FRIENDSHIP CONTRACT!!
*Reads*
.....Holy. Fucking. Shit.
good chapter
654842
The growth that Sakura experienced was the sort of thing she really needed in order to keep up with the male characters of Naruto. In Sasuke's case I tried focusing more on psychological development, having him form bonds with the griffons and get his temper under control. The abilities he gained were largely the same as canon, although I gave him extra benefits with his cursed seal. Changing it to resemble more of a harpy, giving him prolonged access to it as long as he charges it before-hand, and making the energy storage more similar to Tsunade's seal.
Each of the members of team seven will come back from their trip stronger, just in different ways. Just because the Griffons aren't as strong in direct combat, having flying summons alone is a tremendous boon to a ninja.
Seriously... This story has one of the best, if not THE best character developments I have ever seen from a fanfiction. The fact you did this with a MLP-Naruto crossover speaks volumes of your writing skill. I love both, but the two are just so grossly incompatable... Yet you make it work.
I honestly think you could write anything and it would be a story worth reading. If you have any other fics, please tell me where they are, so I can read them. 
Really, this must be one of my all time most positively gushing reviews. I seriously can't find anything bad to say, and I'm actively trying to.
WOOT!!! This story is great! Keep it up.
I broke the promise I made to myself, now I'm all excited and anxious to read the next chapter!
It's a fact, EVERYTHING is better with ponies! (and griffon, diamond dogs, etc) Especially Naruto!
This is SO boss
Those three sure are gonna shock the heck out of Konoha with their new summons. Sakura must have gotten pretty pale spending two years underground.
Maybe Naruto could get in touch with sea ponies
Well This certainly is fascinating and I can hardly wait to see what Naruto will get, maybe he will learn to fly with his wind manipulation or something.
I'm surprised no one mentioned just how awesome Sasuke's ability to hit a moving target the size of a rabbit from five miles away is.
That's the sort of thing that makes an impact on the world.
So, Sasuke spends his three year training trip in pushing towards emotional mastery and learning to use the ability of his seal to store natural chakra to achieve an actual useful winged form that's not simply a grotesquerie. I like the concept, and it does have a good feel for one possible way the griffon culture works. (Of course, by the standard Auric laid out, Gilda's woefully short of being an acceptable griffon yet, but then she is still young.) It's a mark of the relatively massive changes that this version of our favorite canon emo has undergone that he can not only accept the training, but actually thrives on it. The conflict with the yeti was a reasonably believable enemy to strive against, though I would question just what a house-sized yeti might be eating in those mountain ranges. Still, it was a good boss fight, and made for a pretty good argument as to why Sasuke deserved a summoning contract of his own.
Your work tweaking the concept of the seal and giving Sasuke the training he needs to handle it goes a long way to making him a better balanced character, and overall fits well in the whole Equestrian themes of honest hard work promoting personal advancement.
You've got a number of typos in the chapter, giving it another review would probably catch most of them. Other than that, I'd say it's another good job. Looking towards the next installment.
Sasuke with a personal air force made of half-lion, half-bald eagle murder machines.
Sakura with Diamond Dogs.
Naruto already has the ponies and is likely gonna get Pony Sage mode next.
This is the greatest Naruto fic I've ever read.
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To be fair, barring Hidan, whose a one-trick pony, most of Akatsuki's members are true monsters.
Deidara: Can create large clouds of microscopic bombs that disintegrate the victim
Kakuzu: Can control several elements, has his threads, and multiple hearts
Sasori: has puppets like the third Kazekage and can control a small army of them at once
Kisame: Dear lord, Kisame
Itachi: Guy's a monster
Pein: Nough Said.
655169
All of my money... except the $500 for my trip to Bronycon next month
I'm surprised that you didn't have Gilda show up in the fic. I noticed that you actually forgot about Mizuki, granted he only appeared twice before timeskip but still he was a favorite villian.
657680
Deidara: the use of concentrated energy (primarily thermal) to produce a chain reaction to detonate all of said bomb-cloud is easily within both Naruto and Sasuke's grasps. In addition, Deidara has a limited supply of that fancy blasting clay. His face off against Gaara says as much of his abilities. He's actually extremely limited in combat applicability, and needs time to prepare for combat. In addition to that, if you're cautious and know some physics (even just general knowledge not the math) like the fact that all of deidara's attacks are explosive and as such rely on combustion and pressure (both of which can be negated to some degree in a vacuum ) then you can get in close before he can make more bombs and nail him before he can recover.
Hidan: Yep. Couldn't be easier. Fight him for a while, then banish him to the moon. You can't die normally, but you can starve to death Hidan, and the moon is a cold place to die. Just ask Luna.
Kakuzu: At this point, Sakura could probably go toe to toe with him in terms of power and earth element jutsu. As for his multiple hearts and regenerative capacity, I'm not sure but I don't think even he can survive the raw fury of Celestia. That alicorn can be one scary mare. Also, it would be interesting to see if those grey threads of his could be effected by external sources directly, like Sakura using Chakra to bend them if they are earth, or Sasuke using them as lightning rods. A challenging opponent, but not an impossible by any means.
Sasori: The sheer variety of his forces and their individual capabilities leaves conflict with this one less a ninja and more a one-man division, as his canon number of puppets was 298. Doubtlessly, that number will be somehow effected by the plot changes.
However, he is a puppeteer and as such is vulnerable to attacks himself, which can be taken advantage of considering Naruto has a counter technique in his shadowclones. In fact, since all of team 7 now have summoning scrolls save Kakashi, they could in combination probably go toe to toe with him and put up a good fight. If the entire team got involved, he'd probably be outmatched.
Kisame: Water Elementalist. Sasuke is a lightning specialist. Shocking combination. In addition, while he has an enourmous amount of chakra, he seems to prefer kenjutsu, but that also tends to limit his range. Naruto is completely up in the air, and as such is almost beyond Kisame's reach, as far as I can tell. Let it rain lightning and airspears with impunity.
Itachi: Okay, granted this guy's a nightmare. However, his apparently limited chakra means that superior numbers, such as the help of those outside team 7, would be able to whittle down that limited chakra and nail him. That's all I got. In addition, I am curious to know how he'd do fighting in a blackout. Can sharingan function in the absence of light?
Pein: 6 bodies and bucking GRAVITY manipulation? yeah that's a pein alright. Still, by the time the faceoff with Pein comes around, it will be likely that the other akatsuki will be down (provided the plot rails are still in effect to some degree, which they may not be I admit) and even if crap hits the fan, the crew will likely have begun replicating the powers of their enemies to some extent. Heck megamaning is practically Naruto's greatest ability at this point. He manages to replicate equestrian magical spells with chakra and make clouds remember? How long would it take him to replicate some or all of the Akatsuki's abilities? Not to mention that he still has Discord sharing space in his head and two alicorn princesses at call, both of which have celestial objects possessing a sizable gravatic force of their own at their beck and call. I am not saying that this would be easy at all, but Naruto is the embodiment of "defeat means friendship" as well as "change," and can make friends out of anyone. I'd say that embodying a concept that can make friends with anyone is a bit stronger than gravity.
Feather Chidori!
LIKE A BAWS!
Dragons would have been cooler, but lets face it; Griffons make so much sense that it's not even funny. You made the right choice
You are a god. Sasuke has now become BIRDthingLIONthingMAN, defender of all! That sounded better in my head. I hope he's able to summon Gilda. That would bring her down from her ...high horse
No pun intended.
I'm confused. I thought that was exactly what he is doing?
AURIC REMINDS ME OF THEODEN, KING OF ROHAN, I USED HIS VOICE FOR AURIC!
Sasuke and his lightning lance.... I likes it alot... PEW PEW BANG BANG, LASER BEAM!
659288 If Hidan can live while headless.... then he can't starve.
823827 not the seal was drawing in nature chakra and it was drawn in too slow and was too mixed to turn him into a specific statue such as griffin or toad etc. he was just pushing away the non-griffin energy
Huh.. shatterhorn?
maybe Its time to dust off my old WoW account and start to play again. 
http://www.wowhead.com/npc=24178/shatterhorn
wow.zamimg.com/uploads/screenshots/normal/286639.jpg
This training chapters are kinda awesome.
Preface: I realize this story is old; I just had to say this.
With a smirk Sasuke threw a single Kunai to the ground five miles below and turned to face his lieutenant. "What is our mission today?" He asked. Far below a griffon darted from cover, and snatched the impaled snow-white rabbit from the snow.
No.
Sasuke is supposedly standing on a cliff from which he can throw a kunai TWENTY SIX THOUSAND FEET in vertical height. Even if he has Superman eyesight, he would still need to have a magical ability to predict wind interference etc. even on a perfect throw from that height. And even if he did, the travel time alone would spoil the shot if the rabbit simply moved at all while the kunai was en route. Also, TWENTY SIX THOUSAND FOOT HIGH CLIFF.
I'm giving this story a lot of leeway due to, you know, it being Naruto so crazy stuff is going to be happening, but I couldn't let that pass.
freaking awesome! I loved both Sasuke's and Saskura's training stories! I have to say I really love this story. I especially like how Sasuke and Sakura have both changed. I also like how Naruto has changed so far, but that should go without saying since he is partly or mostly responsible for how the others have changed.
I also like the way you have expanded on both the Diamond Dog and Griffon communities. I really like the Griffons especially, too often they are portrayed as mean spirited or evil. I think this happens because of Gilda. I don't think people understand why Gilda was the way she was and so they demonize the whole of the Griffons as a result.
It is interesting seeing the Diamond Dog society as well. I haven't really read many fics that expand on them. I really like the whole Patch as the strongest of the D Dogs. I also like the way you had him as a homage to Toph. I do wish the story was still actively updating. I wish you could do something about it, but I'm sure you probably get thousands of people saying the same thing. I look forward to how Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto change after their training trips. And now on to Naruto's training I am guessing.
4502307 But you forget, this is Naruto AND My Little Pony! The crazy has been quintupled!