//------------------------------// // Recovery // Story: My Little Pirates: Luffy's Adventures in Equestria // by Fullmetal Pony //------------------------------//         Twilight looked down on the smaller form Celestia had assumed with a nervous frown. The white alicorn looked like she was sleeping. Her mane pulsated a little like it had its own heartbeat, but didn’t constantly flow like it normally did. Twilight felt a hoof on her shoulder and turned to see that Rarity was at her side. “Don’t worry Twilight. Princess Luna was fine after we used the Elements on her. Princess Celestia probably needs some rest.”         “I think we all do,” rasped Dash. Everypony turned to see that she was covered in multiple burns and smoking. Her form tipped and she started to fall. Right before losing consciousness and crashing to the ground, she said, “Wake me for the party.”         “Rainbow Dash!” all her friends screamed. They rushed over, Twilight and Rarity already performing healing spells on her.         “She’s stable,” said Twilight, her aura intermingling with Rarity’s.         “But those are bad burns,” Rarity replied.         “Cadance, get some rooms ready in Canterlot Hospital,” Armor croaked. Twilight’s eyes, followed by her friends’ fell on him. He wasn’t doing much better than Dash and one of his legs dragged against the ground. Despite his best efforts, minute signs of pain showed in his face: a few eye twitches and clenched teeth were most notable.         He got closer to Dash and lit up his horn. He flashed a sympathetic look to Twilight. “Heh, you looked the same the day I got my cutie mark and got the hay beaten out of me.” His horn stopped glowing and his magic faded away from Rarity’s and Twilight’s. Dash’s coat was almost back to normal now, save for a few of the larger burns, which were now much smaller. “There, she should be good in a few hours. It’s the least I can do.”         He brought his attention over to Cadance. “Honey, I’m stepping out for a bit.” Armor collapsed with an unceremonious thud.         “Shining!” Cadance rushed to him, her horn alight with healing magic which instantly wrapped around him. Tears started to flow down her face. “You stupid stupid colt!”         Twilight trotted over and gave Cadance a reassuring pat on the back. “He is, but that’s why we love him.”         Cadance finished her spell, leaving Armor unconscious but not as horribly injured. She raised a hoof and wiped some of the tears from her face. “You got me there. What am I gonna do with him?”         “Well, remember that time he got a cast?”         “And we drew...” A devious smile filled Cadance’s face. “And here I thought you’d become a complete bookworm.”         Applejack looked back and forth between Cadance and Twilight. In her mind, images of the two of them playing pranks came into conflict with images of Twilight quietly reading books. She shook her head to clear the paradox away. “Um, don’t mean to interrupt, but it looks like we’re missin two ponies.”         “Oh my gosh,” Twilight called out in an alarmed voice. “Where and Princess Luna and Lu—”         “Ahhh!” Pinkie screamed from nearby but out of sight. The rest of the ponies rushed over to see what had disturbed her.         “Pinkie! What in Equestria is—” Rarity gasped as she saw what Pinkie had screamed about.         Standing a little below them was Princess Luna. However, she was much smaller and her mane was a very light blue and unmoving. She essentially looked the same as when the Elements had first cleansed her. On her back rested a small tan colt with a familiar straw hat on his flank and attached to his neck.         “Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!” Pinkie flailed her legs around wildly and shook each of her friends. “That big meanie turned Princess Luna and Luffy into a filly and a colt. Now we’ll need to go on a quest to find the ancient fountain of aging and save them!”         Twilight resisted the urge to facehoof. “Pinkie, that’s the plot of a Daring Do novel.”Her eyes nervously went over to a Luna and Luffy. “Princess... what happened?”         “Magical exhaustion,” Luna huffed, her breathing a little ragged. “Among the many ways my sister and I are unique is that our magic is represented in our physical forms. When we expend too much energy...” Her eyes fell over to Celestia’s form. “... or we have stripped away, this is the result.”         Luna’s shifted to look back to Luffy, who was rubbing his stomach. “I don’t know about Straw Hat though.”         “Oh, I just get small after I become giant,” Luffy nonchalantly replied. “I’ll be back to normal in like a minute or two.”         “What?” Twilight deadpanned. “Actually, you know what, I don’t want to know. Studying you would be worse than analyzing Pinkie. I’m just glad you’re both safe.”         “Plus you look absolutely adorable like that,” Rarity cooed. “I haven’t seen anything that cute since we dressed up Spikey-wikey.”         Luna blushed a little. “Er... um... yes, we suppose thou doest look a little...” Her voice dropped to a whisper that even Fluttershy would have a hard time hearing. “... cute.”         “So now that we kicked the jerk-princess's butt, can I eat something? I haven’t even had breakfast. I hate fighting without having breakfast.” Luffy flailed his hooves in a childlike fashion, only for one of them to pop back out to it’s original size. The rest of his body followed and caused the smaller Luna to fall. “Oh, sorry.”         “Hee, you two look like you just lost a game a Twister!” Pinkie giggled.         Luna went from her normal blue colors to bright red. She pushed Luffy off with a burst of magic and dusted herself off. “W-well, we s-should probably get sister and the others some m-medical attention... and get Straw Hat some breakfast.”         “Already on it!” Pinkie jumped over them and handed Luffy a cupcake, which he instantly inhaled. She noticed her friends giving her odd looks. “What? You always need cupcakes.”         Applejack adjusted her hat and chuckled a little. “In the words of Rainbow Dash, ‘Ya are so random.’” ~~~         Everything was burning around Celestia. Canterlot Castle had collapsed and was just a collection of rubble now. Houses were mostly ash now and those that weren’t were completely engulfed in fire. But what made Celestia’s heart stop were the ponies. All around her were her subjects, burnt and blackened shells of the citizens they’d been. Even in their state, Celestia could make out the contorted agony on their faces. She reached forward to cradle the body of a young colt, but it crumbled to ashes in her legs.         “No,” she sobbed. “How, how could I have allowed this?”         “Because you were weak.”          Something pushed Celestia through the carnage. Hundreds of bodies were strewn around her, each causing more tears fall down her face. “Stop it.”         “No.” A pony slammed into the ground at Celestia’s hooves. Her blue coat had been made into ash and her mane had been burnt away. Celestia still recognized Luna’s deep blue eyes. “Why sister? Why couldn’t you stop it?”         Before Celestia could reply, Luna crumbled into dust and blew into the wind. Celestia bent down and cried more, pounding what was left of Luna into the ground. “No! I only wanted to protect her!”         “And you failed.”         Celestia looked up to see a monster was in front of her. The Bearers of the Elements of Harmony were scattered around it. It held Twilight’s neck in one hand and coldly looked at Celestia. Its straw hat flowed with the flames around it. “You were weak.”         “N-no,” Celestia quivered like a small filly. If she could have seen herself, that’s exactly what she was: a child staring down a behemoth. “I... I’ve done everything to p-protect my citizens.” “And it was useless,” the monster replied. It flung Twilight at Celestia, but the unicorn exploded into dust before hitting her. “You thought peace and friendship were the answers, but those are just flimsy walls to hide behind.” The monster trotted closer, losing its human visage and adopting that of a tall white pony with a flaming mane and tail. Celestia backed away, but a field of magic picked her up and forced her to looking into the monster’s abysmal eyes. “You should have taken action! You should have listened to me! I will cut your ties and leave only righteous hatred!” The monster opened its mouth and prepared to devour Celestia. Celestia screamed. However, just as the monster’s jaws were about to close on her, a light grew above both of them. Despite her fear, it caused Celestia’s eyes to twinkle a little. She pushed with all her might and freed herself from the monster’s gulet. Now the monster seemed much smaller in size, while Celestia was growing back to her regular height. “You said friendship isn’t the answer?” Celestia trotted at the monster, which continued to shrink down under the rainbow light. All around them, the fires died down.“Friendship is the answer. It mends hatred, unites the scattered, and gives the weak strength.” Celestia focused on the monster, now little more than a filly itself. “I’m not weak. You are.” For a moment, the monster said nothing. It just glared up at Celestia. “For now Celestia, for now. Don’t think you’ve won. This is just a stalemate. Besides, what will you do when the war comes to you? You’ll be alone again.” Celestia patiently shook her head back and forth. “I won’t be. When I go, it won’t be to just protect my citizens like before.” Seven forms coalesced around her to form Luna, Twilight, and the other Bearers. “They’ll be at my side.” The monster became but a speck. It floated over and brushed against Celestia’s flowing mane. A whisper carried upon the wind, “Don’t forget, friendship only makes the scars stop hurting.” “I won’t.” Celestia looked up to the rainbow light in the sky and was overtaken by its colors. ~~~         Celestia slowly opened her eyes. She recognized that she was on her bed and in her room. However, before she could take in her room, she felt pressure on her torso.         “Thank the stars!” Luna cried.         “Luna? I...” A tuft of Celestia’s pink mane fell in front of her face. “Oh...” She then realized Twilight and friends were looking at her. Twilight had a few tears in her eyes. “Oh.”         “Princess Celestia,” Twilight quivered, “I’m glad you’re safe.”         “I... I should be the one saying that. Luna please let go, there is much we must discuss.”         “No,” Luna replied, “sister, I know better than anypony else what it’s like to be like that. You must understand what happened may have started with your own fears, but what you did while possessed by them was not fully in your control.”         “That doesn’t excuse either of our actions,” Celestia retorted. “I would be a hypocrite to hide behind that excuse when I’ve cautioned you against it.” She turned over to Twilight. “My faithful student, once more you have prevailed against the odds and saved the kingdom, despite the turmoil I have caused you.”         “We wouldn’t have been able to do it without Princess Luna and Luffy,” responded Twilight.         “Where is Straw Hat anyway?” Celestia asked. “He deserves my apology more than anyone else.”         “Um... well...” Twilight lit up her horn and from the floor emerged Luffy. He was sound asleep and had a slightly distended stomach. “He’s... Pinkie, how did you put it?”         “Food coma,” Pinkie replied in an uncharacteristically scientific tone. “I haven’t seen one like this since Applebuckin season four years ago.”         Applejack whistled at the mention of that event. “Shoot, we both must have slept for a whole day straight. Ah had hat hair for a week after that.”         “Anyway,” Twilight continued, “after last time, perhaps explanations would be best left to us.”         “Very well,” Celestia replied. “First, let me apologize once more for the harm I have done to all of you. Second, you deserve to know just how this nightmare came to be. For centuries now, my hopelessness over Luna’s banishment has slowly eaten away at me. When I became a Warlord, that hopeless mixed with hatred and festered in me.”         Celestia took a deep breath. “I thought when Luna returned, things would get better. I still had to listen to the World Government, but my services were not called upon except on one occasion.”         “What was that?” asked Twilight.         “The execution of the Pirate King.”         Luffy’s ears shot up and his eyes flared open. “Did someone mention Gold Roger?”         “Oh, you are awake,” Celestia commented. She bowed her head deeply. “Straw Hat, I have committed foul and terrible acts against you. Know that you have my eternal debt for not only saving my sister, but stopping my rampage.”         “Can I get meat?” Luffy happily asked.         “Oh...” Celestia frowned. “Understand, in Equestria cows are sentient creatures, slaying one for your nourishment would be practically equivalent to cannibalism. However...” Celestia’s horn lightly glowed and a plate with a large steak appeared out of nowhere. “Will this work?”         “Meat!” Luffy lunged at the food and bit off a large chunk of it. With a full mouth he said, “Tanks! You’re nof a ba—” He swished the meat around his mouth and slowly swallowed. “This isn’t real meat, is it?”         Celestia’s mouth dropped a little. “That is a highly advanced synthetic spell... unless you did a magical analysis of it, you shouldn’t be able to tell the difference.”         “I just know when meat isn’t meat. It’s still tasty though,” Luffy said with a smile. One bite later and the rest of the “meat” was gone. “So what were you saying about the Pirate King?”         “Yes, that.” Celestia took and breathed and continued her tale. “That day, all seven of the Warlords were gathered. It was more show than anything else. The World Government just did it for publicity... the Pirate King was an odd character to say the least. I don’t know what inspired him to do it, but he...”         “...turned himself in,” Luffy finished.         Celestia’s eyes widened a little. “How do you know that? No one outside of the Government and Roger’s cr— you met Rayleigh didn’t you?”         “Who?” Twilight asked.         “A member of the Roger’s crew. I met him when I was contemplating Roger’s execution. His death wasn’t disturbing as much as it was puzzling.”         “Puzzling?” Applejack pondered. “How is somepony passing puzzling? Was it a mystery or something?”         “No,” Celestia answered. “It was public, but it brought up more questions than just him turning himself in. When he died he proclaimed his treasure and in his dying breath and died with a smile on his face.”         “Ooh, I love that part of the story,” said Pinkie. “It’s sad, but also really neat. He wasn’t even scared of death.”         “I know, right?” Luffy said with a smile.         “Following his death, I was hastily making my way back to my ship when I was stopped by an odd man,” Celestia continued. “He simply took out a bit and gave it to me.”         “What’s so amazing about a bit?” asked Rarity. “Surely he didn’t think you were a beggar of some kind?”         “No... but the issue was that a majority of the world operates on a monetary standard called a berri.” “Wouldn’t they rot?” asked Pinkie. “No Pinkie,” Celestia explained. “A berri is much like a bit: a solid coin made of metal. However, the point here is he had a bit. There was only one way to obtain one and it would have been impossible... at least I thought.” The gears clicked in Twilight’s head. “He was here, wasn’t he?”   “And completely undetected,” Celestia added. “I nearly incinerated Rayleigh there. However, he promised he’d taken nothing but the the old bit and few scraps of food. Rather, that he, Roger, and the rest of the crew only enjoyed Equestria and felt that it was no place for their kind.” “Wow, so Shanks went here too,” Luffy mused. “I’m not aware who this Shanks is, but if he was a part of Roger’s crew, then I don’t doubt him entering this land.” Celestia’s expression darkened. “I quickly returned to Equestria after that, more shaken by his words than comforted. Roger’s death didn’t help either. I silently cursed him for inspiring more adventurers to the sea. It just meant more troubles for me.” “After that, Equestria was largely insulated from the world.” Celestia focused on Twilight again. “I helped raise you to discover the magic of friendship which helped curb my own disgust. You freed Luna when I could not and things were truly looking bright.” Celestia frowned and looked down to the blankets. “Then Discord came back. With Luna, I had chosen not to fight her, but with Discord, I would have gone to the dying breath to defeat him... but you already know how that went.” “Only the Elements can stop him,” Twilight whispered. “And even then, just temporarily,” Celestia replied. “Seeing him run amuck and hurting ponies— hurting you and your friends— it made me feel so weak... and angry. I wanted power to defend my little ponies. Then when the changeling attack happened that only increased my desires.” Celestia sighed deeply. “To add insult to injury, my Warlord duties were being called upon more. They were just briefings, but I still detested them. I was exposed to the worst crimes of humanity: rebellions, wars, cover-ups, and annihilations. It was not a pretty picture. Then, the dam broke when a Warlord was defeated by a certain pirate with a straw hat.” “Ohh.” A look of recognition dawned on Luffy’s face. “You’re talking about when I kicked Crocodile’s butt.” “Needless to say, you caused a mess for the Government,” Celestia said with a faint smile. “Back then, all I saw was disorder that imperiled Equestria. My worries only grew more with the chaos you caused... no offense.” Luffy smiled back at her. “Eh, part of being a pirate.” “However, while your actions caused significant distress to the government, they were nothing compared to the great storm that was coming.” Celestia lit up her horn and a stone flew out of a nearby wall, revealing a small vault, which also opened with Celestia’s magic. Out of it flew a small scroll. “This is the gravest threat Equestria has ever known.” “What... what is it?” Fluttershy quivered from behind Rarity. “War,” Celestia coldly answered. The room grew deathly silent. “But... but I thought we were safe as long as you complied,” Twilight gasped. “This is not war with Equestria,” replied Celestia. “No, this is a war that could shift the balance of the whole world. You see, in its ignorance, the World Government has decided to execute a commander of an old and powerful pirate crew. Their leader is monster, a relic of ages past that has survived to become one of the most powerful forces on the seas. Just hearing of his power gave me cause for alarm. This man... this legend is known as Whitebeard.” A shiver ran through all the ponies in the room, as if the name itself carried weight. Applejack managed to get out a few words. “Ah’m not one for fancy government stuff, but why would ya want to make a thing like that angry?” “To assert their power.” Celestia shook her head back and forth. “Like me, they feel strength is the only answer. By executing a member of the Whitebeard Pirates, they think it will show off their authority. They even know Whitebeard will come to save him... and I must fight him.” “You can’t!” Twilight yelled, stunning the rest of the ponies. “Princess, you can’t. If you go you... you could get hurt or... or turn back into a monster again.” “I must,” Celestia replied with a regal tone. “If I don’t, the my status as a Warlord is void and Equestria will be in shambles. Even on the off chance Whitebeard did win, that might be even worse. Then, this island would lose its protection. It was a no-win scenario and it caused me much turmoil. In fact, combined with my century of worry, it was enough to release Discord again and for him to corrupt me.” “That snake,” Luna cursed. She then saw the blank stares everypony else was giving her. “Twilight Sparkle, tell me, when you fought Discord, did he come into contact with you?” “No... but he made everypony else act strange and... horrible.” Twilight shivered at the memory. “He made me think everypony was laughing at me!” said Pinkie. “He made me think the only way to keep everypony together was to lie,” snorted Applejack. “He made me think a...” Rarity scrunched her eyes in frustration, “... a rock was more important than my friends.” “He just touched my head,” said Fluttershy quietly. “It’s his most vile magic,” explained Celestia. “It brings out the worst in a pony and gives their negative emotions dominance... for normal ponies at least. For Luna and me, it gets much worse. Our emotions slowly poison us until we reach a breaking point and become monsters no better than Discord himself.” “And unlike other ponies, even when we’re freed, there is always a risk of relapse,” Luna continued. “It’s easier to deal with once you’ve been cleansed, but the corruption is always there, like a whisper in the back of your mind.” Celestia pushed herself up and revealed more of her smaller form. “The physical toll of being cleansed is also heavy on us. It took Luna six months to recover from her ordeal. It will be shorter for me, but I’ll still need rest.” “But... but what about the war?” Fluttershy nervously asked. “The execution is not for fortnight. That will give me time to heal.” Celestia looked out the window and noted that smoking ruins of Luna’s room. “And help rebuild.” “I just have a question,” said Luffy, his voice not so jumpy anymore. “You said a commander from Whitebeard’s crew was gonna be executed... who is it?” “A pirate known as Portgas D. Ace.” Luffy’s eyes turned into pinpricks. “He’s my brother.” “What?!” Everypony else in the room screamed. Celetia rested a hoof on her head. “What sort of family do you have? It would have been enough for you to have caused the World Government trouble on your own, but now it’s your brother that’s at the center of the war? Such coincidences are far and few in this world.” “We’ve gotta stop them!” Luffy yelled. “I won’t let them kill Ace!” “This is the World Government at full force here Straw Hat,” Celestia yelled back. “Your escapade at Enies Lobby will be nothing compared to this. Even now Ace is... is...” Celestia’s eyes went wide as dinner plates. “There is one way.” “Tell me!” Luffy snorted. “Ace is being held in Tartarus right now,” explained Celestia. “I can get us in there and then stage a jailbreak.” “You’d do that?” Luffy nervously asked. “It’s the least I can do,” Celestia solemnly answered. “Sister,” Luna spoke up. “Let me go instead. If what you’ve told me about Tartarus is true, then the risk is too high.” “Luna,” Celestia calmly replied, “you are not taking your emotions into account. Besides, I spared you the worst news about Tartarus and made it seem like a storybook dungeon.” Her eyes flickered over to Luffy. “Straw Hat is a strong individual with no true ties to Equestria. His interference wouldn’t nullify my agreement. Given his involvement at Enies Lobby, it wouldn’t be a hard to assume that he’d snuck into Tartarus using knowledge he gained from there. It is not something I wish on anyone, but this may be the only way to avoid war and save countless lives.” “I understand, but...” Luna’s eyes went over to Luffy. “He’ll be safe, right?” “As safe as I can keep him for you,” Celestia replied. A small smile crossed her face. “I wouldn’t want your coltfriend to get hurt.” “What?” Luna yelled at full Canterlot Voice levels, shaking the room a bit. Her form turned pure red before she collapsed on the bed, her eyes spinning in circles. “Oh dear,” Celestia mused, “she’s much worse than I thought.” “Ugh, why does she keep being so loud?” Luffy complained. Celestia blinked at this. “You don’t know? But I thought...” A revelation dawned on Celestia. “You haven’t had proper haki training, have you?” “Um... how did we get to talking about sports?” asked Pinkie. “Not hockey, Pinkie,” Celestia corrected. “Haki. It’s a force that few creatures can use... in fact, you use it quite often.” “I don’t make my voice super loud,” replied Pinkie. “But as my faithful student has told me, you can predict certain actions.” “Silly, that’s my Pinkie sense, not haki or whatever,” Pinkie giggled. “It’s a variant of haki,” said Celestia. “If ponies knew how to fully train haki, I fear some would use it for ill deeds. That and finding natural users of it is incredibly rare.” Celestia’s eyes fell over the ponies. “That’s why I’m impressed that some of you can manifest the three different forms of it.” “What? Who?” asked Applejack. “Ah mean, Ah don’t think Ah’ve ever done anything too strange.” “Except run a farm from a young age. Even with assistance, that requires massive stamina,” explained Celestia. Her eyes passed over the Rarity and Twilight. “Incredible levels of magic from a young age and unique spells to find gems are not just rare gifts, they’re natural ones. However, I think the two most profound examples of haki users are our two pegasi friends.” “M-me?” shook Fluttershy. “Yes,” answered Celestia. “Make no mistake, Rainbow Dash’s ability to maintain high speeds is incredible, but her performance of a Sonic Rainboom would be impossible without haki augmentation. Pegasi wings would normally snap at the pressure Rainbow Dash exerted on herself. You, however, have an even greater skill.” “I... I... what?” Fluttershy stumbled. “At the Gala, you probably didn’t notice it, but I did, you caused quite a few ponies to pass out.” “I... oh...” Fluttershy shuffled her hooves around awkwardly. “It is fine,” Celestia continued. “However, from what I’ve heard from Twilight, you’ve done a similar thing before. How else would such a gentle mare keep so many rowdy animals in line? Fluttershy, you not only have haki, you’re a proficient user of the rarest type: King’s haki.” “Fluttershy?!” All her friends said and turned to her. Fluttershy just shrunk into herself. “Don’t worry, it’s not dangerous, especially since you’ve mastered it,” Celestia explained. “Even Luna slips up here and there... then again, her haki practically pours out of her. Then there is Straw Hat who is... asleep.” Indeed, Luffy had fallen asleep and had actually been slumbering since Celestia started mentioning haki. “I should have known that would happen,” sighed Celestia. A/N: Oh look Luffy fell asleep after an epic battle... I wonder what that means.