//------------------------------// // The Prisoner and the Prison // Story: Vessel of Harmony // by Ranoa- Walker of Worlds //------------------------------// -The Mind of Naruto Uzumaki- Of all the things that Luna had prepared for on her journey through the mind of Naruto Uzumaki she had not prepared for this. A creature of some sort being crushed by the roots of a Tree of Harmony sapling. Any sort of distinct features was darkened out in the low light but the red slitted eyes and gleaming teeth served as a good indicator as to the sheer size of the beast before her and L.O.G.I. The creature before them was easily larger than Tirek when he was powered by all the magic in Equestria. Slowly the dim light grew around them until they could see the beast for what it truly was. "A… a fox?" Luna stuttered out at the sight of the creature. The massive fox under the roots was a reddish orange color with nine long tails flowing behind it. Even though the weight of the roots had the beast pinned down, each tail, paw and its neck were bound with a grey metal collar and chained by links as large as ancient oak trees to the floor and walls. Although the appearance of the fox was intimidating, Luna notice something. It looked tired and its fur was matted, like it hadn't been groomed in years. Even the fox's voice, though powerful on its own, was filled with exhaustion, "So, does not my appearance strike fear into your hearts? Does not my voice make you quake to your core? Stand in awe foolish creatures for I am the Kyuubi no Kitsune, or in the common tongue the Nine-Tailed Fox." It took Luna a moment to find her voice before she responded, "I am Princess Luna of Equestria, Moon Raiser and sovereign of the night. Are you the one that torments the dreams of Naruto Uzumaki?" The fox gave a low chuckle at the Princess' response, "So that is the brat's name? Eh, he has never stood out to me before so I never really bothered to learn his name. But yes, I am the one who disturbs the brat's sleep." Indignation filled Luna's heart. In her anger she fired a beam of magic at the Kyuubi's face, "How dare you?! You feel no shame in tormenting an innocent's soul? You have no right…" "GRRRAAAAHHHH!" The fox lunged a clawed paw at the Princess for her remark. The speed of the retaliation would have landed a blow on the alicorn if not for what happened next. In mid swing the chain that connected the paw's shackle to the floor glowed a bright yellow before it became incredible shorter than what it was before. The sudden loss of length stopped the attack short. The glowing chain then sent a powerful shock of electricity through the fox that made it roar in agony. The fox collapsed in a heap, looking more haggard than before. It drew ragged breaths and its eyes were shut to push through the residual pain. Seeing the state of the fox suddenly made what should have dawned on Luna before click in her mind, "You're… a prisoner." "No right? No right?! I have not held any rights in decades." The fox responded tiredly not hearing her revelation. "Who did this to you?" Luna's attitude towards the situation had shifted after seeing to what extremes the fox's imprisonment bound it and how easy it was for the fox to be hurt for any kind of rebellion. "Humans. Humans are always the cause of the pain that fills whatever world they inhabit. They bind me and my brethren, they enslave us and force us to do their bidding. They never consider that we might have more to us then the power of destruction. I hate them…" "Brethren? There are more like you?" Luna asked not sure if she should feel sympathy for the plight or fear knowing there were more nightmarish beasts like this out there. "Out of Ten the Nine were made. Given precious names and direction by a father. But now we serve only as the tools to further the cycle of hatred." The Kyuubi was not making any sense to Luna. The pain was obviously making the monster before her delirious. "That does not explain why you are tormenting one who is innocent of any crime against you." Luna declared. "This plant that holds me down drains my chakra to feed itself. I must feed on the anger and resentment of the child to remain alive." The Kyuubi cocked its head and turned its gaze directly onto Luna again, "I can smell it on you. You once felt the deepest despair and tasted true darkness It is a smell that never fully fades." The laugh of Nightmare Moon echoed in the back of Luna's mind but she shook it from her mind, "I have learned to forgive myself for the sins of my past. It does no good to cling to that pain." The Kyuubi let out a long sigh, "Your words carry His wisdom. But I have felt nothing but anger for so long that I cannot let go." "You're wrong!" Luna exclaimed to the colossus before her, "I tried to plunge my entire world into eternal night and was banished to the moon for a thousand years. When I broke free I tried again to overthrow the world but it was thanks to my friends that I was delivered from my darkness. It was those friends who taught me the greatest lessons to help me truly return from my isolation. If I can return from the darkness, then you can as well." The Princess' sermon merited a small chuckle from the fox, "Maybe… Maybe… But perhaps you would see why I cannot let go so easy if you knew my story." -Castle of Friendship, Ponyville- It had been too long. Far, far too long and Twilight was getting anxious. The tears had stopped flowing from Luna's eyes for a short while before they resumed releasing their sorrowful waters again. It was sometime after that the eyes of princess Luna opened again. "Sister!" Celestia exclaimed and rushed over to hug her sister, "What happened in there?" Luna didn't say a word, not at first. Somberly, the princess of the night rose from her seated position and brought herself into nuzzle a still sleeping Naruto. "Oh child, to bear such a burden. Why must fate be cruel to you?" She asked with a tear in her voice. "Princess Luna?" The concerned mother asked. Bringing herself into a more composed state Luna asked, "Do you mind if I keep him asleep for a while? There is much that he is not ready to know." Trusting the older royal, Twilight nodded and telekinetically repositioned him so he was laying firmly against her. She then protectively spread her wing out to shelter him. "Twilight Sparkle, are you aware that there is another entity bound within your son?" This shocked everypony in the room. But the look on Twilight's face of guilt gave the answer for her. Celestia asked, "Twilight, why didn't you tell us?" Her response was filled with the guilt that is felt when a promise they made was accidentally broken, "I promised the Hokage that I would not tell anypony, or anyone, about that." She turned her attention to the royal sisters, "You were both going to find out after the alliance between Equestria and the Hidden Leaf was finalized." "Should I step out?" Sunset Shimmer asked, "I mean, I'm not of any high standing here in Equestria." Celestia's response was quick, "No Sunset, please stay. You might not have any noble status but you are uniquely qualified to deal with humans. Seeing as you have lived among them for many years." Sunset was not sure if her former mentor was completely sincere about the reason she gave but accepted it anyways. Princess Luna then launched into a report about her journey into Naruto's mind. Interest was raised at the mention of L.O.G.I. and it was decided to look into the remnant of Silver Stem's work later. There was much shock at the revelation that there was a sapling Tree of Harmony growing within Naruto. Luna then told of her conversation with the fox. "The beast was surprisingly talkative. I think that having its energy drained by the sapling made it more docile than it normally would have been," Luna explained. "How could anyone do that to a child?" Sunset asked enraged. "Because there wasn't much choice." Twilight defended. She then proceeded to tell the story that Hiruzen Sarutobi told her. Naruto's heritage came out as well to help emphasize the difficulty of the choice to seal the Kyuubi inside the boy. After the story of the fateful night was recounted silence prevailed for a short while. Luna finally spoke, "Sister, is it wise to expose our ponies to a race so cruel and selfish as humanity? The humans of Naruto's world are caught in a never ending cycle of hate, violence, and revenge. They do not understand what real friendship is; if they do they undervalue its worth. Do we want to have anything to do with them? We could simply not return to the village and change Naruto into a pony. They would never be able to follow." "Princess Luna! I promised we would come back!" Twilight exclaimed, "More than that, even though the humans of Naruto's world are worse than the ones at Canterlot High it doesn't give us the right to deny them the opportunity of learning about true friendship and harmony from us!" Luna's expression turned to one of shame, "I'm sorry Twilight Sparkle, but seeing what the ninja can do has filled me with doubt towards them." "Perhaps Naruto can help?" Celestia offered, "We have a unique opportunity to help teach humanity how to live in harmony with each other." The room was in agreement with Celestia's idea. Plans were made to show Naruto the best of pony life and to teach him the aspects that the Elements of Harmony were based on. Twilight couldn't help but smile with even more affection than before at her surrogate son. A nagging thought however prevailed in her mind, 'Oh Flash, you would have loved to help Naruto grow up.' -Beyond the Edge of the Map, the Land South- There is only so much of the world that the Ponies of Equestria have filled in on their maps. Even Twilight's magical map only covers the known countries and kingdoms. Beyond what is known by the peace loving Equestrians to the far south there stands a solitary fortress. It is a forsaken place where prisoners of all sorts are kept. Their crimes are various, if they are guilty of anything at all. Oftentimes an innocent soul ends up there when their usefulness or potential usefulness as a slave or hostage is used up. The corridors are all filled with the groaning of tormented souls, punctuated by the swish and crack of a whip enforcing some kind of imaginary discipline on the prisoners. The stone halls are all stained with dark splotches from unknown eras gone by. If there truly a dark place on the surface of the world it was here. Guarded by Minotaur, Griffin, and a few despot Ponies it stands sentinel on an island that could have once been the center of a great kingdom long ago. Indeed, the garrison of guards that now stood watch over this forsaken place were most likely descended from the ancient army that lived here. On this night the seas were stormy and foul, churning with whitecap waves. Thunder and lightning roared overhead in the dark clouds. Rain fell in sheets drenching any unfortunate to be outside; and at the moment two minotaur guards were going to be in that category. They were making their way through the main hall heading to relieve the watch outside the gate, "Can't believe we have to keep watch on a night like this. Waste of resources I say." "Agreed. No one is foolish enough to come to the prison tonight, let alone attack it. Besides, they'd have to get through the port and all the off duty guys before they even reach this place." Unlatching the small personnel door on the much larger main door the two walked out in the rain, "Alright, we're here, go inside and…" WACK-THUD! Both of the despicable minotaurs stopped dead in their tracks when they saw the cause of the noise. One of the watchmen, a remarkably sized griffin, had just been pinned to the wall by a shaft of eerie blue fire. The shaft had gone through armor, skin and feather and yet did not look like it had even made a puncture mark on the flesh or iron. A sudden groan of pain alerted the two to the remaining watchmen. They looked up just in time to see his minotaur companion fall to the muddy ground clutching his throat like it had just been slit. Again, no mark on the skin or blood to show a wound, just the wide eyes of a scared dead man. In the dim lantern light, the two could see a dark figure standing over the dead minotaur. In his hand they could see what resembled a long dagger made out of the same blue fire that was currently holding the griffin to the door. A sudden flash of lightning above illuminated the intruder and reflected off a silvery mask. "Normally, I prefer methods of subterfuge and stealth. However, tonight I am in a bad mood. So, I am in need of a catharsis. I will give you a sporting chance however." The Man in the Mask said as his ethereal sword shifted into a bow, "Make your move." Both were stunned for a few seconds, standing in the door looking at the scene before them. Finally, their courage realized that it was absent and the two hurried back inside, slamming the door behind them. "We're under attack! Raise the alarm!" One of them managed to call out to the halls of the fortress while the other pulled a lever to release the massive bar to seal the door shut. No sooner had the bar reached its resting place when the door exploded inwards. Splintered wood, warped metal, and broken stone sprayed the entry hall burying the two guards in rubble. Outside in the weather the Man in the Mask stood with his bow raised, his stance suggesting that he had just fired a shot out of his weapon. If the cry of alarm from the now dead guards did not rouse the fortress the sudden demolition of the front gate certainly did. Bells started ringing and shouts came from the depth of the prison as the entire garrison came alive. Shouts of, "To your battle stations!" came over the din of the bells as well as the encouraging shouts from some of the more hopeful prisoners whishing that whatever was happening would be the cause of their deliverance. Without a care the Man in the Mask crossed the threshold. The clatter of armor came closer and a wall of griffin soldiers came into view from the nearest hallway. Not wasting a moment, the bow shifted form into a sickle blade on a chain that disappeared into the Man's left sleeve. In his right hand a blue flame chakram materialized, "Alright boys and girls, let's dance." The guards would have sworn that they were attacked by an army. The masked man seemed to be in multiple places at once with weapons dealing out death like a bladed whirlwind; but not a drop of blood fell from the slain. Each victim of the intruder would die in the manner in which they were hit, but their physical bodies were not hurt at all. Finally, the entire garrison, minus a few of the guards still watching the prisoners were trying to push their way into the main hall were the fight was while those within were trying to get out of the way of the swinging weapons. A deep bellowing came from the back of the crowd. A large black colored minotaur stomped its way forward, long battle scars and tattoos adorning its skin, not caring who got in its way. It leveled its insane eyes at the Man in the Mask and let out a loud bellow before charging. Spotting the minotaur, the Masked Man said softly, "I think I've let this go on long enough." The Man reached up to his masked face after dispersing his weapons, not paying any mind that the rampant minotaur was getting closer. With one smooth motion, the Man removed the mask. "Hsirep!" The berserker never reached his target, and the guards never saw morning. *Next Morning* When the dawn came around the storm had subsided into a steady rain. The prisoners also had finally managed to work the locks off their cells. A few of the stronger brutes were pulling bars apart and others were searching fallen guards for keys to open the other cells. The prisoners had seen their chance for freedom when a wall of blue fire had torn through the halls of the fortress, causing the remaining guards and the more nefarious prisoners to fall lifeless to the ground. Eventually, the masses of incarcerated ponies had migrated to the front entrance. Their eyes stung in the first natural light that many had seen in many years. One of the Pegasi started pushing his way through the crowd, "Lad, what ya doing?" One of the older prisoners asked. "I've got to get back. I have to get back. I have to find her." Was his chant. "You'll never make it! You can't fly all the way back to Equestria in your state! We'll steal the ship down at port and we'll…" But the Pegasus threw himself into the air, and with driven determination took off into the grey sky. -Unknown Beach- Under the nebulous sky the Man in the Mask knelt on his hands and knees, allowing the tide to wash around him. It had been many millennia since he had felt this weak; his supposed catharsis had made him let a little too lose and he had been reckless with his power. It was hard to forget that even with his great power he had limits. It was foolish to remove his mask considering what it did for him. Dismissing his weariness, he stood and sliced his hand through the air, making a rift appear in the space in front of him. In the rift he watched the lone Pegasus as he flew with all his might. "Go to her. They both need you." He encouraged. "Oh so that's where he's been." A voice came from behind the Man, "It's a wonder that he's still alive." The serpentine body of Discord slithered into view. "Dizzy." "You should know that she nearly broke when he turned up missing. Everyone thought he was dead." "His misfortune was not my doing." "But you still didn't do anything about it." Discord said with a touch of ire in his voice. "You never asked." The Man responded not taking his eyes off the flying Pegasus. Discord leveled his gaze right into the Man's concealed eyes, "He had better make it back." The Spirit of Chaos hissed out. "He will. I will insure it." "Good." The mood of Discord shifted suddenly from angry to cheery, "Well, I should be going I have tea with Fluttershy in a few minutes." And with a snap Discord disappeared in a white flash. "Good luck Discord. She'll be needing your help here soon." The Man said in a hushed tone. He gazed up into the sky and said sadly, "I'm so, so sorry. I've become a monster, haven't I?"