//------------------------------// // Chapter 6:Two Artists Make It To Applewood // Story: The 5th Great Ninja/Pony War // by Akasuna no Sasori //------------------------------// Chapter 6:Two Artists Make It To Applewood After walking for another few hours, Deidara and Sasori had come upon a barrier: a large, impassable mountain. Deidara moaned again. “Sasori my man, this is getting ridiculous! You should just let me make one of my owls so we can cross this mountain easier.” “No, Deidara. Think about it, we are just trying to scout the area then report our findings back to Obito. If you make one of those owls, we would be a hell of alot easier to detect, and this is a scouting mission. So stealth is key to success.” “Whatever, so how do you intend for us to get around this mountain, hmm? The forest is too thick around us, and there’s no way to get over the mountain.” Sasori laughed. “Well, then we go through it!” Deidara looked shocked for a moment. “Hmm?!” “Do you remember when we pulled that job back in the Land of Rice Fields?” Deidara thought for a moment. “Oh, yeah! You mean the one where we had to blow up that clan’s temple?” “Yes, well when we did, it opened a hole into the catacombs. I descended into it, and found the coffin of a ‘Martyr Jonin of the Glorious Fuma Clan.’ I opened it and discovered one of my newer puppets.” Sasori pulled a brown scroll from his robe. Smoke appeared, then dissipated quickly to show a brown, hunchbacked creature. “This is one of the Fuma Clan jonin, despite it’s looks, this is a woman named Kagero. She specialized almost exclusively in underground Earth Style techniques. “Wow, Sasori my man, I knew your student was a grave robber, but you? I thought you were above that.” Sasori ignored his comrade’s last remark and put his hooves together. Then he remembered: he didn’t have any fingers to connect chakra threads to his puppet. Deidara noticed almost immediately. “What’s wrong, Sasori? No digits for your chakra threads?” Sasori ignored Deidara again and thought carefully. ‘This horn on my head, I wonder if I can use that, of course it still is only one horn; so I should only be able to propel one chakra thread, but it’s worth a try.’ He focused his chakra towards his horn, and suddenly five chakra threads shot out from it! ‘Hmm,’ he thought, maybe I was wrong. It’ quite possible I can extend as many as I want from one point. I’ll have to remember that for later.’ Deidara’s words snapped him back to reality. “Sasori my man, you’ve really outdone yourself, this time. So tell me, what can this puppet do?” Sasori smiled, then put his hooves together. “Earth Style: Antlion Jutsu!” The ground underneath the mountain turned into a large sinkhole, swallowing the mountain into it; and leaving the path clear for Sasori and Deidara to continue. Deidara chuckled. “That was amazing I must say. But stop showing off, we need to make up for lost time.” Sasori resealed the puppet into the scroll, and the two began running down the newly-created path towards civilization, or at least if Sasori’s prediction was right, civilization. However, the road proved long, and rigid. Then again, the road Sasori had discovered wasn’t really a road. They were forced to rest several times, and soon, darkness fell upon them, as well as rain, forcing them to find shelter. The two ducked into a shrub on the side of the road, considering there wasn’t really anywhere else to go. “Ok Sasori, you said civilization or some kind of town was down this way. Why the hell are we here, soaking wet, cold, and without true shelter?” Sasori was deep in thought, but responded to his loud-mouthed partner. “I said there was a POSSIBILITY a town of some sort was down this way. Which means there may not be one at all. Secondly, I never said how far away it would be. So quit whining and let me think.” Deidara was angry, but tired. So he gave up and tried to sleep on the wet ground. Sasori stayed up, trying to think of a way out of the current situation. ‘As much as I hate to admit it to myself, Deidara is right. Who knows how far away this town is? Maybe there isn’t even one.’ The more he thought about it, the more it made him tired. Eventually he drifted off to sleep alongside Deidara. The next morning, Sasori awoke to someone shaking him. “Wake up! Why are you sleeping outside in a bush? Ah, questions can wait till later. WAKE UP!!” The stranger then slapped Sasori, hard. This made him angry. Sasori’s eyes snapped open immediately and he jumped to his feet. “DEIDARA! Wake up! We’re under attack!” Deidara jumped to his feet quickly ready for a brawl, but saw only a pony dressed in a tuxedo standing before them. “Uh, Sasori, you sure THIS is the guy who’s attacking us?” The stranger jumped in before Sasori could respond. “No! I’m not attacking you! I’m trying to wake you guys up! We’d heard that a new road opened up yesterday when some of the Applewood workers removed a mountain blocking the way, so Ms. Shores decided she wanted to take this new route to Applewood, but the road is of the lowest quality...” Sasori and Deidara looked at each other, confused. “What do you mean ‘a new road opened’?” Inquired Deidara. Sasori remembered back to yesterday when he destroyed the mountain. That means someone saw what he did and told everyone else around him/her who in turn spread the news about it. Which also means...... Sasori’s eyes lit up. “Excuse me sir, is there a town of some sorts around here?” The pony looked back towards Sasori. “Why yes, how could you not know about Applewood? It’s the place where all the famous ponies go when they make it big. They go to Applewood to make it even bigger doing professional movies, acts, and music videos.” Sasori’s smile grew large. “Would it be OK for me and my companion here to accompany you and...” He looked behind the stranger to see a cart being pulled by two large ponies, and white canvas-covered back where undoubtedly this “Ms. Shores” was. “Ms. Shores, I believe you said? To this ‘Applewood’?” The stranger, who Sasori assumed was the driver of the wagon now, looked worried. “I don’t know. I’d have to ask Ms. Shores and she’s sleeping right now, so I don’t think I can-” A feminine voice shouted from the back of the wagon. “Jacques! Whatever is taking so long? We need to get to my rehearsal yesterday!” Deidara laughed. “It looks like Ms. Shores is awake now. Why don’t you go ask her, now?” Jacques bit his lip, then bowed his head, and walked back to the covered wagon. He went inside, and muffled voices could be heard. Jacques walked out the back of the wagon and back towards the Akatsuki. “Ms. Shores would be delighted to have travelling companions to accompany her. She told me to inform you both to ride with her in the back.” Sasori and Deidara proceeded to the covered rear part of the wagon, then entered through the flap. Inside was a cream colored pony wearing a white, frilly-lace outfit. She had on a dull green eyeliner, and wore a white hat with a purple stripe across it. “Hello! Hello! Please, come in and make yourselves comfortable.” Said Ms. Shores. The walls of the wagon were covered with pictures of her at concerts in various places. The floor was a soft, plush carpet with pillows scattered around. It did look nice, so they sat down beside her. “Now,” she began, “what brings you two all the way out here? Were you on your way to watch me perform in Applewood?” Deidara was about to speak, but Sasori cut him off. “Yes, we were. A good friend of mine mentioned what a talented musician you were and we had to come see you!” Ms. Shores looked disgusted for a moment. “Your friend told you I, Sapphire Shores, was a MUSICIAN?! I am no musician! I am a singer!” Sasori tried to think of a comeback, so he laughed it off. “I’m sorry, my friend told me about you a long time ago, so I forgot what it was you actually did. We’d been saving up enough money to come to one of your concerts for a long time now.” Ms. Shores laughed. “My dear, all my concerts are pro bono! I don’t know who this friend of yours is, but it sounds like they have never been to one of my concerts, before!” Sasori grimaced. ‘Damn,’ he thought, ‘I never counted on being wrong on both accounts! Now I look like a moron, and she may not fall for my crap again.’ “It doesn’t matter darling,” she said, “you have heard the truth yourself from the one and only Sapphire Shores herself! So all the confusion has been cleared.” Sasori, Deidara, and Sapphire all laughed, then settled down into a conversation about her career. As it turned out, she did concerts for free all over this land. This land she called Equestria. ‘Excellent,’ thought Sasori, ‘this means our scouting is almost complete. Now all we have to do is accompany this hag all the way to this ‘Applewood’ place and learn everything we can there.’ The trip proved lively, as Sasori and Deidara joked around with Ms. Shores and swapped stories until they arrived at Applewood. “We’re here!” Shouted Jacques from the front seat. As everyone disembarked, Sasori and Deidara said goodbye to Ms. Shores “Oh why must you two go? You’re both so exotic and fun! I don’t have that much fun, considering my schedule. Please promise me you’ll come to my rehearsal in a few days, won’t you?” Deidara put on his best fake smile. “Of course we will, Ms. Shores!” Ms. Shores batted her eyelashes at Deidara. “My dear, you can call me Sapphire.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Ta-Ta, now you two!” She said as she walked away with her posse. Deidara was stunned, then broke out in unstoppable giggles. Sasori rolled his eyes. “Oh, brother. You were seduced by that hag? Come on now, we need to scout this town for information leading to the procurement of the tailed beasts of this region.” “Hey Sasori, why do you think that there even ARE tailed beasts in this region, hmm? Isn’t possible these...ponies...don’t have any?” Sasori stopped walking. “You’re right, I don’t know if they exist here or not. But there could be tailed beast equivalents here. They could just be powerful beings of nature like a walking tree or something...” Sasori started moving again, but Deidara stopped this time. “A- A walking tree? Sasori my man, I think you may have just lost your mind.” Sasori ignored Deidara and they continued on. They were stopped minutes later by a voice in their heads. “Come back to the clearing, you two. We need to go over what we’ve all seen.” “Yes sir,” replied Sasori, “we’re on our way now.” Sasori came back to reality and turned to Deidara. “Nagato wants us to return to the clearing where they landed when we first got here. It’s time for our report.”