Three days later the skies above Equestria began to experience something quite unlike anything that had been observed in recorded history. The sky itself seemed to begin to writhe and twist as black energies that had appeared from seemingly nowhere began to throb and pulse throughout it. The weather Pegasai had never seen anything quite like it and when they had sent a report detailing what they had seen all they got in reply was to evacuate immediately to ground based shelter on the orders of Princess Celestia.
Itachi watched as the sky continued to writhe with a mixture of apprehension and anticipation. He prayed to whatever deities were listening that it wasn't Nightmare that was causing this, but he suspected otherwise.
"Um, Itachi? Do you have any idea what's going on?" A familiar voice asked from his side snapping him out of his reverie.
"No I don't Twilight, I've got a suspicion, but that's about it." He answered turning to the purple unicorn that stood next to him who was also looking up at the sky.
"Nightmare?" she asked as she lowered her gaze to match his own.
He nodded. "Yeah, but there's no way to know for sure, I can't sense anything through this stuff. For all we know this just might be some freak occurrence."
Twilight could hear in his voice that he believed it was Nightmare. "So you don't trust yourself?"
"It's not that, it's just when you've seen the line between illusion and reality blurred as much as I have you learn to never take assumptions as truth. I hope with my entire being that I'm wrong Twilight, that this is nothing more than a random event. But in any case, we should prepare as if we knew Nightmare was coming for certain." As he spoke he looked over to where the rest of the Elements of Harmony sat together speaking to each other in nervous tones as they looked up at the unnatural sky.
Ever since he had ascertained the timeframe of Nightmare's return Itachi had been training the others almost nonstop, trying to prepare them for the coming trial. While he couldn't exactly help Luna and Celestia become any more proficient at controlling their powers, he found that with the proper guidance his experience with chakra control could help the Elements increase their mastery over their respective powers.
The pair continued to look over in the direction of the elements until they noticed the princesses entering the courtyard where Itachi usually trained. Knowing that the princesses wouldn't have shown up if the situation wasn't serious, Itachi and the others headed over to them.
"So what's going on?" Twilight asked as soon as she had approached them, hoping they had a better idea than Itachi did.
"Unfortunately we don't know any more about this than you do my student. There's never been an event like this." Celestia said, frowning.
"And?" Itachi asked, sensing there was more to that statement.
"The pegasus weather teams have given us a most disturbing report. There is apparently some sort of focal point for this occurrence. And the magic that has been concentrated there is on a scale neither of us have ever felt."
Itachi's expression hardened at this information, it was practically a confirmation of his worst fears. "So… the time has finally come…" He turned to the Elements of Harmony. "Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, I have spent the last four days training you all for this moment. The improvements I have seen you make have made me proud to have helped shape the power that you now all wield. Before we face this threat to us all there is something I feel you all must know. The fate of Equestria has been entrusted to you in the past, but this time there is more at stake than just eternal night. I know you're scared and I know you're all nervous but I have faith in your abilities and more importantly I have faith in you, I know you all can do it. We're all counting on you." Itachi watched as his words took effect, the fear and nervousness that had been present in the six ponies started to disappear and began to be replaced with determination and courage. The knowledge that others believed in you and that friends were relying on you gave people strength they never knew they had. He turned to the princesses. "In the meantime Celestia, we should get going. We've given Nightmare too much time as it is."
The princess of the sun nodded in agreement as her horn began to glow and with a flash of light they all disappeared from the courtyard.
The eight ponies and human re-appeared in a large clearing just south of where Cloudsdale was located. In the skies above a vortex of sorts had formed, similar to the clouds that foretold the coming of tornados. However it was painfully obvious to any observer that this was no ordinary formation of clouds, as dark arcs of lighting continued to crisscross its form. This close to the epicenter Itachi could now sense the malicious presence that was warping this world, there was no doubt now, it would be here that Nightmare would once more enter Equestria.
"This is completely different from how Nightmare was before..." Luna said as she stared enraptured at the maelstrom. "I don't remember its power ever being anything like this."
"That's because before it came here to try to rule not destroy." Itachi said as he also watched the swirling clouds with apprehension.
Suddenly as if sensing the ninja's presence the vortex began to swell with energy moving faster and faster until finally with an explosion of darkness a lone bolt shout out of it impacting into ground in a similar explosion leaving crater of significant size behind. From within the dust and flares of energy two bright burning orbs stared out at the assembled group, Nightmare had returned.
"ITACHI UCHIHA! I have come to rend your flesh and soul, to force upon you torment the likes of which no being has ever experienced before! I have spent these last few weeks biding my power in preparation for this moment and once I've slain you I will burn this world until its surface is but glass and the blood of its inhabitants its polish!" Nightmare's voice screamed as the dust finally settled and the creature of darkness was finally revealed to them. Its form seemed to devour light itself like a sort of black hole, what could be gleaned from its form was that it was some kind of four legged creature with multiple appendages writhing through the air over it. "And what do you know; you have the courtesy to save me the trouble of looking for you!" It grinned insanely at the ninja and the ponies that accompanied him.
Twilight and the other elements were shaken by the appearance of Nightmare and its voice sent shivers down their spines. However, when she looked over at Itachi, the true target of all this she saw no fear, no worry, only determination and a cold hatred directed at the being in front of them. Itachi never broke eye contact with the demonic apparition before them as he spoke, "Girls your time is now, once you've cast your spell the princesses and I will handle this."
Twilight and the rest nodded as they began to channel their respective elemental powers together, forming a spell designed for once simple purpose, to bind Nightmare to this world.
The innate problem that had faced Itachi when he pondered how to defeat Nightmare was how to inflict damage to it. As a being that existed on multiple planes it could simply shrug off any physical or magical attack that was directed at it. And genjutsu was completely out of the question, as Itachi didn't even want to think about what would happen to him should he try to interact with Nightmare's chakra directly. The solution was discovered by Luna, who when told of this glaring issue by Itachi remembered a basic binding spell that the elements of harmony could use on spirits or other such ethereals. When used on a being such as Nightmare it should bind it to its physical plane of existence making it vulnerable to their attacks once more.
The elements had been training for this moment for the last four days, knowing that their world's future depended on their actions gave them the ability to channel more energy from the gems around their necks than ever before. As they floated into the air the rainbow colored arc of energy that was the elements power shot out and split into its six constituent parts each one shooting for Nightmare.
Nightmare in question felt as if it had nothing to fear from the elements of harmony as its power had grown beyond anything those outdated artifacts of a bygone era could seal away. As the power came into contact with the demonic being it felt not the pull of sealing as it had before but rather a grounding sort of interaction. Despite its immense power Nightmare could feel the spell performing its unknown task successfully. Finally in another explosion of light the spell completed and the elements fell to the ground, exhausted. Celestia rushed over to the six ponies in concern, stopping in shock at what she beheld. The elemental gems of harmony were shattered, even more so that they were when Nightmare Moon had destroyed them, this time the damage was irreparable.
Thinking it had failed she turned to tell her sister and Itachi that all hope was lost when his voice rang out. "It worked Celestia, I am sure of it." He stepped forward towards the beast that was just now starting to get its bearings on just what had happened to it. "Now get them out of here, this battle isn't meant for spectators." As he spoke Itachi began to release his chakra to its fullest extent, cracking the ground beneath him with its weight. From within the depths of his right sleeve a kunai emerged. Itachi started to pour his fire natured chakra into the blade wreathing it in superheated flames that would burn through anything they came into contact with. She nodded in response and began to concentrate on sending the elements to the underground shelter at Canterlot.
Nightmare thrashed about trying to determine just what those damn elements had done to it. It had no idea what they had intended but whatever it was it had worked. It saw Itachi approaching it slowly blade in hand and decided it didn't matter just what they had done it would figure that out later, right now there was a human to kill.
Itachi walked slowly up to about fifty feet away from Nightmare, finally stopping before it. The hate between the two beings was almost palpable it was so intense. Mangekyō Sharingan bored into the soulless light of Nightmare's eyes, neither one even blinking. Itachi began to concentrate feeling the flow of chakra within and focusing it into his limbs. With that he suddenly surged forward significantly faster than he was before, his form practically a blur as he swung for Nightmare's body with his kunai. Nightmare didn't bother to really put much effort into dodging the ninja's feeble attempt at an attack, instead focusing on its counterattack. Its surprise and pain when Itachi's blade made contact and actually sliced through one of its appendages ruined its chances at gutting the shinobi. It leapt away from him, opening the distance between them as it realized what those elements had done; somehow that spell of theirs had locked its ability to shift between planes. However, it smiled as it regrew the amputated tentacle of darkness in seconds, it didn't matter whether or not they had bound it to the physical plane, Nightmare's power would consume them all.
Luna watched Itachi battle Nightmare before her, a maelstrom of emotions whirling through her mind. She turned to see her sister just finishing her teleportation of the elements away from this place. Luna had spent her entire life letting others fight her battles for her, Celestia, The elements, and now Itachi. No longer would she cower while others shouldered her burden, now she would stand alongside them. She turned to her older sister, "Let's go Celestia, we're needed." And with that the two alicorn sisters headed off to battle for the first time in over a millennia.
Itachi and Nightmare continued to exchange blows and parries, Itachi's speed allowing him to match Nightmare's multi pronged attacks from its numerous appendages. However, he knew he couldn't keep this speed up for very long, as he cut through yet another tentacle of darkness attempting to strike the actual body of Nightmare it came at him with more strength than ever before. Itachi managed to block the blow just in time, but despite his chakra infusing it, the blade could take no more. The kunai snapped in half and Itachi was knocked back a good thirty feet, sprawled on the ground by the force of the blow. Before Nightmare could press its advantage over the ninja however, it was blasted by a bolt of magic. Angered beyond all belief by this interference Nightmare finally decided that it was finished toying with this whelp, it released its full power, swelling to a size much larger than its original form.
Itachi rose to his feet once more, the two princesses standing on either side of him. He looked down at the broken weapon in his hand, "Well I suppose it's time we finally got serious." He said as he discarded the now useless kunai and with that the true battle began.
Itachi struck first, releasing Amaterasu to a level never before seen. The superhot black flames whirled around Nightmare in a gigantic firestorm scorching everything around it. While this was happening Celestia and Luna combined their power into a massive blast of energy that on its own was of sufficient power to obliterate an entire mountain. Nightmare just released an insane laugh as it shrugged off these attacks, it was able to negate Amaterasu completely by shedding its outer layer of matter much in the way a snake sheds its skin. The two sisters just stared, shocked that their attacks had had such little effect. Itachi just glared all the harder, he would NOT fail here.
Itachi began to walk forward again,"Luna, Celestia, keep it distracted for me." And with that he shot forward once more. The alicorns took off into the air their horns glowing as they prepared to fire more magic at the gigantic dark beast.
Itachi continued to close the distance between him and Nightmare, reaching into the pouch located on the small of his back he retrieved the twenty or so explosive tags he had created prior to this battle. He leapt upon Nightmare, barely managing to lay a single tag upon it as claws sprouted from its surface reaching for the ninja. Itachi dodged expertly around Nightmare, continuing to lay the tags as often as he could. Despite its best efforts Nightmare couldn't touch the ninja continuing to dart all over its form.
Luna and Celestia all the while continued to pelt Nightmare with bolts of magic, as useless as the attacks were, they served their purpose of diverting a portion of Nightmare's concentration to swatting them out of the sky. Despite herself Luna couldn't help but watch Itachi move about in a graceful dance of dodging and acrobatics as he continued to foil Nightmare's every attempt to kill him.
Finally Itachi laid the last of his tags and decided to get the hell out of there before he pushed his luck too far. He leapt into the air weaving four hand seals as he did so and drew his head back, Katon, Kasumi Enbu no Jutsu! (Fire Release, Mist Blaze Dance Technique) as he exhaled a large cloud of what to the unaware was simply a cloud of grayish mist, but in actuality was a highly flammable gas. He landed on his feet and braced himself for what was to come, before Nightmare could react or even think about what Itachi had done he formed a single ram hand seal igniting the tags simultaneously.
What happened next could only be described as an explosion on par with a meteorite impact, the explosive power of the tags was multiplied exponentially by the gas. And the overpressure wave alone was enough to knock Itachi flat and send the two sisters sprawling through the sky. As the dust began to settle and Itachi raised himself to a standing position once more, he saw that Nightmare appeared worse for the wear. Large portions of what had composed its body had been blown apart and what wasn't destroyed by the explosion was burning fiercely. However despite these injuries Nightmare was already starting to regenerate. …So it's gonna be like that, huh? Itachi thought to himself as he raised his hands once more, he needed to buy himself a little more time while he thought over what was probably the most important decision of his life. He formed two quick seals Doton, Yomi Numa! (Earth Release, Swamp of the Underworld) the ground beneath Nightmare's body turned to a lake of incredibly thick mud and began to swallow it up as it thrashed about, trying to free itself. Itachi lowered his hands, the technique wouldn't hold Nightmare long but hopefully it would buy him the time that he needed.
Luna and her sister landed next to Itachi, both panting from exhaustion. They had tried everything, struggled with all their power against this evil but nothing had worked, Nightmare still stood and their attacks seemed not to have fazed it a bit. Itachi was just as tired and exhausted as they were, yet he gave very little indication of it. The two sisters looked to Itachi, hoping that he still had some plan that could save their world. The ninja continued to stare at the struggling beast before them as it tried to escape from its prison of earth, it would not hold for much longer. Itachi finally came to a decision and turned to Luna smiling sadly, and much to her surprise wrapped his arms around her in a hug which she returned.
"Luna….I care for you more than anyone else, I've never wanted to see you suffer but…. I'm sorry." He whispered into her ear as tears began to stream down his face.
What is he talking about….was as far as Luna's train of thought got before she began to feel herself slipping into unconsciousness.
Itachi caught Luna as her legs gave out from underneath her; he laid her gently on the ground. "What did you just do?" Celestia demanded.
Itachi stood from Luna's side, "I just disturbed her chakra a bit, she'll be out for no more than ten minutes." He said as he reached up behind his head and began to untie his headband. He looked down at the hand that held the metal plate he normally wore across his forehead for a few seconds before holding it out to Celestia. "Take Luna and get away from this place, when she wakes up give her this, she's the only one I would trust my headband to."
Celestia could see in Itachi's eyes what he intended to do. "We will not forget what you have done for Equestria on this day Itachi." She said as she levitated the headband out of his hand and walked over to her sister's prone form. "Thank you…" she whispered to the air as she teleported herself and Luna away from the battle.
Itachi sighed as he watched Nightmare finally break free from the mud he had trapped it in, its rage and power so intense both could actually be felt in the air. Itachi closed his eyes and began to gather his resolve, what he was about to do was a forbidden technique, and the price was quite high. Nightmare roared its hatred at the shinobi that still stood before it, its anger increasing its power to the point where it swallowed up all the light in the area, leaving a whole swathe of Equstria covered in total darkness. The ninja reached deep inside himself concentrating as he felt the flow of chakra within him, steeling himself for what was to come he formed a single hand seal, "Hachimon Tonkō no Jin…." (Eight Gates Released Formation). This was a kinjustsu that would open all eight gates of the chakra pathway system at once, normally a person's chakra flow was restricted by these eight gates, sort of like floodgates for a reservoir, but when opened they released a person's chakra at an incredible rate. The catch to this technique was that each gate pushed the body further than it was ever supposed to go and in doing so did incredible damage to it in exchange for a significant short term increase in power. However, the eighth and final gate, should it be opened will burn through all of a person's energy in a few short minutes ensuring death shortly afterwards. He closed his eyes…. It was time… he opened them speaking a single word. "…kai (release)"
The explosion of chakra that emitted was enough to bow the trees around the battlefield. The chakra flow within him became so great in its volume and density that it actually began to leak out of his body becoming visible as blue and green energy that erupted from him scoring the ground and superheating the air. His muscles were pushed to 100% of their capacity, literally tearing the fibers that composed them to shreds even as the massive release of chakra rebuilt them. His heart began to pump at a rate far beyond what it was ever designed to do, increasing blood flow around his body to superhuman levels. Nightmare started at this sudden increase in power, for the first time in its existence Nightmare felt something that it had only instilled in others, fear. Itachi was now at Nightmare's level if not higher, he knew he did not have long and activated the final power of the Mangekyō. The increased blood flow to his eyes had colored the whites of them blood red, and Itachi now looked like death incarnate. Susanoo was summoned around him, its armor and muscle forming nearly instantaneously. The Sword of Totsuka was drawn to its full length but the sword was radically different from before, rather than being composed of orange flames it was now a blade of the purest black fire. The chakra that composed it was of a concentration and strength only comparable to the tailed beasts.
"This is your end Nightmare."
"THIS...THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE! NO MERE MORTAL CAN MATCH MY POWER!" Nightmare shrieked in rage and fear.
Itachi spoke with the greatest disdain and cold rage he had ever felt in his life. "You are a fool Nightmare, I am going to crush you, and throw you into the wind."
With that final remark Nightmare charged forward putting all its power into a single attack seeking to obliterate Itachi in one stroke. Itachi's Susanoo lunged forward in response the Sword of Totsuka blazing towards the oncoming demon of darkness. As the two forces came into contact there was a massive explosion of light and energy. When at last the explosion faded Nightmare was standing pierced through the center by the Sword of Totsuka, it was already beginning to be drawn into the gourd that formed the hilt of the sword, where Nightmare would be trapped in an inescapable dreamlike genjutsu for all eternity. As the sealing completed Susanoo vanished in a flurry of chakra. Itachi stumbled forward, his body a single mass of white hot agony as every muscle in his body had been torn apart. He could feel his heart starting to slow as it too had suffered damage far beyond anything it could bear. He watched as the ground rushed up to meet him, the pain began to lighten and his vision began to fade into a white pureness as his heart beat for the last time. Itachi's eyes half closed as the last of his chakra was used up, his last thought was of the time he had spent with Luna, he regretted none of it but he hated himself for having to abandon her like this… I'm so sorry Luna…
Luna awoke in a dimly lit underground room, wondering just how she had gotten there. "Ah you're awake." Her sister's voice sounded from behind her.
Luna spun around standing up, "Celestia what happened? How did I get here? Where's Ita-"she stopped as her memory flooded back and she saw the crestfallen look on her sister's face. She started to channel her magic, preparing to teleport herself, when her sister stepped in front of her.
"Luna, wait!" Celestia shouted as Luna continued to cast the spell. She didn't want to do this, but Celestia reached out with her magic and held her sister in place. What she wasn't expecting was for her sister's power to surge forth and break her magical hold over her. Without the interference of her sister Luna teleported away from the room, Celestia soon followed worried for what Luna might find.
Luna appeared on the edge of what had once been a large clearing, there was now only shattered ground where the grass had once been, and the trees around the battlefield were knocked flat for hundreds of yards. She rushed forward towards what seemed to be the epicenter of the blast, all the while hysterically calling Itachi's name in the vain hope she might hear a response. As she approached the center she could see him lying among the rubble and she doubled her efforts to get there. She slid to a stop next to Itachi; Luna heard as her sister landed behind her, "Luna…"
Luna just sat there her face a complete mask of shock, tears started to form as she processed what she saw. She closed her eyes in vain attempt to shut out the world as she collapsed to the ground next to his body and began to sob uncontrollably. Celestia walked up and nudged her in shoulder, when Luna refrained from responding she started to speak in a quiet voice. "Itachi wanted me to give you this; he said you were the only one he could entrust it to."
Luna cracked her eyes open to see Celestia levitating Itachi's headband in front of her, she reached out to take it with shaking hooves. With her job complete Celestia retreated from her sister's side, Luna needed some time alone. As she gazed upon the symbol through tear blurred eyes, Luna couldn't help but remember the nights she had spent with him, when she had first laid eyes upon his broken dying body weeks ago, that night on Twilight's balcony where he had become her first true friend in a millennia, all those evenings he spent helping her with her problems or just being there for her at the end of a long day, and finally that night spent on the side of her lake where she at last had come to terms with her past and her feelings for him. Tears streamed down her face and onto the burnished steel of the headband as memories continued to rise unbidden from the depths of her mind. Nightmare had taken everything from her, and now it had taken the thing that had mattered most in her life. WHY? She screamed in her mind WHY IS FATE SO CRUEL TO ME? It had brought Itachi to her and for the first time in her long life she felt like she could finally be happy, and then it just took him away from her, forever.
Itachi floated through a world without form, without color. He knew for a fact that he was dead; no one could open all eight gates and survive, that was undeniable. He felt no pain, no feeling at all really. He floated for what seemed an eternity, just drifting through this sea of nothingness until he, quite suddenly, stopped and became aware of presences here other than his own. He opened his eyes to see two equine figures before him, one bright and pure as the stars themselves, the other dark and mysterious as space. The dark one spoke first, its voice unmistakably male, "Hail Itachi Uchiha, son of Konoha."
"Who are you?" Itachi asked, wondering just what the hell was going on.
"Our names are not important; all you need to know is that it was we who brought you to Equestria." The bright one, whose voice was female, responded.
"I thought it was Madara who sent me there."
"No, all he did was to send you into the void between worlds; it was through our influence that you came to the world of ponies." The bright one continued. "The world we once ruled over."
Itachi started as he realized what that statement meant, "Then you must be Luna and Celestia's parents.."
"That is correct, young one." Their father answered.
"But why did you bring me to Equestria? What purpose could I possibly have fulfilled?"
"Come now Itachi, surely you've realized by now what your reason for being there was." The dark one answered. "It was Nightmare, while Celestia had managed to seal it away after the first encounter at the cost of nearly losing Luna too. We knew that it would return and that neither of our daughters had the power to face it, even together. So it seemed to us that our world was doomed, that our beloved Equestria would be destroyed eventually by this apparition of hate and power."
"And then," The bright pony continued. "we chanced upon you, hurtling through the fabric of space, and in that discovery we found a hope, a hope that you would rise to challenge and defeat Nightmare, accomplishing what we could not."
Itachi felt anger rise within him, despite the fact he had willingly chosen to destroy Nightmare at the cost of his own life, he felt used.
The bright alicorn had an expression of the deepest regret and her voice was filled with sorrow. "We had no desire to see you die Itachi, believe me we did not want to add to the suffering you have already endured. You have proven yourself to be as kind and benevolent as any creature to ever live. And it is for this reason we have a final gift to you, the savior of Equestria, our world which you had no obligation to protect, yet you willingly gave your life for."
"Wait, w-what's going on?" Itachi asked as he began to feel energy flow around him.
"Our gift." The dark one said simply, and then hesitated for the tiniest fraction of a second before asking. "Itachi I have one last question for you… Do you truly love her?"
Itachi did not need to ask who he was talking about nor did he even need to think before replying. "Yes… from the bottom of my soul I love her, I have only ever wished to see Luna happy."
In this realm after death there was no capacity for lying or hiding of emotions. The father of the two princesses could see the genuineness of Itachi's statement and smiled. "Very well then, consider this my blessing upon you two… I know you'll take care of Luna…. Go now, brave son of Equestria."
Itachi was confused at this statement but before he could do anything the energy took full hold and everything around him faded once more into nothingness.
Luna continued to sob, her grief over Itachi's death overcoming any other emotion or thought she could possibly formulate. She suddenly looked up however as she sensed something was amiss, a quick inspection of where she had been laying her head a mere second before told her what it was, Itachi's body was glowing. Out of nowhere, a bright light suddenly engulfed his body forcing Luna up into the air, but not before picking up his headband with her teeth. The light began to grow in both intensity and size forcing the princess further and further back eventually landing a good forty feet from where Itachi's body had lain. Suddenly Celestia was at her sister's side, "What's happening?"
"I-I have n-no idea." Luna responded her voice still shaking from the sobs that wracked her for the last ten minutes. The two continued to watch as the light continued to become more and more intense until, with a final of explosion of pure light, the column of light began to fade.
Luna rushed forward, not heeding her sister's calls, feeling drawn towards the epicenter of the light. As she approached it a figure became visible through the slowly fading light. She stopped in shock as the light finally faded to the point where she could get a good look at it. Standing where Itachi's body once had been was a dark gray alicorn almost as tall as Celestia, its mane and tail not composed of hair but of what appeared to be undulating jet black flames, and upon its flank was a cutie mark of a circular red and white fan, she recognized it as the Uchiha clan symbol that Itachi had worn upon his back. She stood there for nearly twenty seconds hoping against all odds with her body and soul that this was real, that she had not truly lost him. Finally the alicorn opened its eyes and Luna then truly knew who it was.
"ITACHI!" she screamed running forward and tackling the new alicorn to the ground in a crushing hug.
He returned the hug with just as much passion, "I told you I would never leave you Luna." He said as he smiled and nuzzled her affectionately his eyes gazing deep into her own. They held each other for what seemed an eternity, the bond between them so deep that words were no longer necessary. Finally the two released each other from the embrace and stood up, though never leaving each other's sides. Luna began to notice that Itachi radiated a warmth that even now made Luna feel safe.
"I-Itachi?" Celestia stammered out with a dumbfounded expression. "Is that really you?"
Itachi nodded still smiling as wide as he ever had.
"How is this possible?" She asked.
"Well that's a bit of a story actually…" Itachi then began to explain what had happened to him after he had died.
"Wow…. So mother and father were the ones who brought you here?" Celestia asked after he had finished his story.
Itachi nodded "Apparently so, I'm also guessing that it's because of them that I'm here now and like this." He said indicating his alicorn body.
Luna, whose head was resting on Itachi's shoulder as they all lay on the ground finally spoke up, the whole time it had been Celestia asking the questions; Luna was just content to be with Itachi again. "So my father gave you his blessing?"
Itachi leaned over and kissed her on the head "Yes he did, I must've made quite the first impression."
Luna couldn't help but giggle "I'm sure you did."
"Princess!" called out a familiar voice, and the three alicorns turned to see Twilight and the other elements of harmony making their way over to them. The royal sisters and former ninja stood as the six young ponies stopped before them. "Princess Celestia, Princess Luna I'm so glad to see you're both alright!"
"But where's Itachi? And who's THIS guy and why is he with Luna?" Rainbow Dash asked indicating the dark alicorn.
Itachi and Luna just shared a look and then burst out laughing together. "Well, Dash I'll give you one guess.." Itachi said looking directly at the Elements.
If it was possible for the six ponies' jaws to have gone through the ground they surely would have. "B-but…how are you…HUH?" Twilight stammered out in total confusion looking between the royal sisters and Itachi for some kind of explanation.
Celestia just smiled, "Well my little ponies I believe you deserve an explanation for all this."
As Celestia began to explain the whole situation to the shocked Elements Itachi and Luna just continued to enjoy being together again.
Once Celestia had finished, the elements were even more dumbstruck if that was possible. It was obvious they wanted to practically interrogate Itachi on the specifics of what had transpired. Celestia, however had to good grace to intervene and cut off their lines of inquiry before they could even begin. "Twilight, I'm sure Itachi will be more than glad to tell you all what happened here at a later time. But for now we should let him be, he's been through quite a lot today."
Understatement of the millennium Itachi thought to himself as he inclined his head to Celestia in thanks.
"Now we should really get going back to canterlot." She continued as the elements lowered their heads in disappointment.
"Actually sister, Itachi and I were going to walk back. It's the least we can do, after such a battle you must be exhausted and teleporting six ponies and three alicorns is no small task." Luna interrupted before Celestia could cast the spell.
Celestia cracked a tiny smile; both sisters knew it was well within both their abilities even in their tired states to teleport groups of ponies long distances. "Very well Luna, if you insist."
"Oh but I do."
"Just be safe you two." She said as her horn began to glow and the princess of the sun along with the Elements of Harmony vanished in a flash of light.
Luna and Itachi walked together through the forest towards Ponyville, which happened to be the closest piece of ground based civilization to the battle. The two were content with just being in each other's presence once more and the calm serenity of the forest only served to amplify this. "You seem pretty adept at moving about on four legs when you've only had two your whole life." Luna commented after a good while of walking.
Itachi smiled at her comment. "When you've spent as much time as I have watching you all move around with my Sharingan it becomes quite easy for me to just mimic you to the point where it's like I was born like this."
"So can you…?" Luna asked indicating Itachi's new wings.
"Oh no, I'll need to learn how to do that the old fashioned way. With walking I at least had the concept of my old way of walking to build upon. Flying on the other hand is a bit out of my league to master just through mimicry." He answered as he raised his dark colored wings from their resting position on his back; it was still weird to feel the muscles he had never had before flex.
As they continued walking through the forest Itachi began to look around at the scenery, this turned out to be a bad idea as he wasn't quite yet aware of just how long his horn was. After the fourth time Itachi had clipped a branch with his horn he began to stare up at it in a cross eyed expression. "This thing is almost more trouble than it's worth." He grumbled.
Luna was grinning from ear to ear as she watched him "You'll get used to it eventually. And once I teach you how to use magic I'm sure you'll find it to be a bit more valuable."
Itachi sighed as he returned his eyes to path ahead, "I suppose so."
After that silence fell between the two once again for a few minutes, until Luna finally asked in a quiet voice, "So are you going to tell me how you beat Nightmare this time?"
Itachi smiled slightly, "I suppose I owe you from last time ... I guess I should start by apologizing for knocking you out.."
"That was you!?" Luna shouted in shock
Itachi nodded, making an effort to avoid eye contact.
"Why would you do that to me?" she asked, her voice sounding hurt.
"To protect you from yourself." He said as he continued to stare ahead.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Itachi finally turned back to look at her. "Luna just how do you think I ended up like I was when you first found me?"
"I-I don't know, I just assumed Nightmare had killed you…"
Itachi stopped walking and shook his head sadly, "No Luna… I did that to myself. It was my last resort, a forbidden technique that increases one's power dramatically but at the cost of their life. It was the hardest decision I've ever made, but if given the choice again I would choose to sacrifice myself once more."
"B-but WHY?" Luna was starting to get upset.
"Because there was no other way, if I hadn't done it, Nightmare would still be here and Equestria would have been destroyed. I knew you'd hate me for doing it and that you'd never forgive me for leaving you but… I couldn't let it win." As he spoke a single tear rolled down his face. "I couldn't bear the thought of Nightmare causing any of you to suffer …. Especially you Luna, I love you too damn much."
Upon hearing this Luna realized the true depth of how much Itachi cared for her and her world. And she threw her forehooves around him pulling him into a crushing hug once more as her affection for Itachi gushed forward."Fate was certainly smiling upon Equestria the day you arrived."
"It was smiling on all of us. Coming here has been the second best thing to ever happen to me."
"What was the first?"
He smiled. "Meeting you."
She laughed as she continued to hug him, "That was so cheesy."
"Doesn't change the fact that it's true." He said as he kissed her.
Eventually the two managed to make their way to the edge of the forest where they emerged on the outskirts of Ponyville. As they began to cross the fields of grass and head towards the town a dull roar began to echo from the village. Itachi and Luna looked at each other in confusion as they both wondered what it was; Itachi realized what it was a split second before its source was revealed. A large crowd of ponies, practically every pony in ponyville, emerged from the enclosure of the building and started heading towards the pair. The roar resolved itself into a wave of cheering as the distance was closed between the two groups.
"Seems like somebody told them what happened out there." Itachi said as he watched the crowd, led by the Cutie Mark Crusaders, advance towards them.
"It was probably Celestia, she does have a knack for stirring things up." Luna replied as she smiled at the cheering ponies.
Itachi laughed. "That she does."
Luna looked over at Itachi as the crowd approached. He wore an expression of true joy at the spectacle before them. She felt a pang of sadness as she remembered that he had suffered more than anyone in Equestria, even she, could imagine. They couldn't even begin to repay him for what he had done for their world, yet she knew he desired no reward, no fame, and no glory. The only thing Itachi had ever wanted was to live his life in peace.
"Itachi?" she piped up as he continued to watch the cheering residents of Ponyville.
He turned to look at her. "Yes?"
"…I love you."
Never had such a simple phrase meant so much to him. Deciding to follow the 'actions speak louder than words' route. Itachi nuzzled Luna once more as he knew deep within him he would be with Luna until the end of time.
And so it was that after eight years of running, after eight years of loneliness, pain, and suffering the Lost Soul of The Uchiha had finally found his true home.
"I love you too Luna."