//------------------------------// // Chapter 9- The Elements of Harmony // Story: Daily Life of an Equestrian Ninja // by PianoPony //------------------------------// Chapter 9- The Elements of Harmony Soon enough, Naruto started hearing voices in the distance. As he ran towards their source, he could slowly identify them as Nightmare Moon’s and… “Twilight?! They made it to the castle!” he exclaimed, and suddenly came to a stop when he collided face first with an invisible wall in the completely white space. After rubbing his aching nose, he leaned his ear against it he could clearly hear the two ponies talking. “You think you can destroy the Elements of Harmony just like that?! Well, you’re wrong! Because the spirits of the Elements of Harmony are right here!” Twilight yelled, her voice full of determination. “What?!” Nightmare Moon rang out, panic sounding in her voice. Naruto smiled as he weaved his most often used hand seal. “Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of… Honesty!” “Shadow Clone Jutsu!” the ninja called. “Fluttershy, who tamed the Manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of… Kindness!” In a puff of smoke, a shadow clone appeared at Naruto’s side. “Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of… Laughter!” Naruto reached out his right hand towards the clone. “Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift, represents the spirit of… Generosity!” The clone started focusing chakra with both his hands on Naruto’s open palm. “Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire, represents the spirit of… Loyalty!” The blue orb was prepared, and the clone vanished. Naruto smashed it as hard as he could against the invisible wall. “Rasengan!” “And Naruto, who stood up against the Timberwolves, and didn’t allow us to give up and run away, represents the spirit of…” Nightmare Moon’s wings began glowing white, and then seemingly shattered as the orange ninja flew out of them. Nightmare Moon cried in shock and was propelled backwards as he did. Naruto then landed cleanly on the ground next to Twilight, who smiled at him knowingly. “Bravery!” the purple mare finished. Stone shards that were on the ground before, started floating around Naruto, spinning quickly and glowing in a green aura. Slightly confounded, he looked around to see the others, besides Twilight, also having similar shards hovering around them. He then noticed they were all inside the main hall of the castle. “The spirits of these five ponies, and human, got us through every challenge you threw at us!” Nightmare Moon groaned as she got up to her hooves. “But you still don't have the seventh Element! The spark didn't work!” “But it did! A different kind of spark. I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you,” she said, her voice and expression showing her truthfulness. “You know, when I saw what you all did in the forest, I actually started thinking that way too… You’re all really something else… For a bunch of ponies, anyway,” Naruto chuckled mentally. “The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all... Are my friends!” the purple Unicorn called out passionately, a single tear escaping from her eyes. Everyone looked upwards as a bright flash of light appeared there, created by an orb not too different in size to a Rasengan. It was made of stone, and had no special features, save for the emblem of a star engraved on it. The orb descended until it was floating just above Twilight’s head. “You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the... The spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the seventh Element. The Element of... Magic!” The orb began glowing brighter and brighter, and the shards around each pony changed into the color of the aura surrounding them, and changed their shape. Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Rainbow Dash all received gold necklaces with gems shaped as an orange apple, a pink butterfly, a blue balloon, a purple gem and a red bolt of lightning, respectively. Naruto watched in awe as the shards around him also collected into one shape and changed their form, but instead of approaching his neck, approached his forehead. He didn’t notice, but under the bright glow they created, he uncontrollably transformed into his pony form. Adorning his previously exposed forehead, was now a black headband with a gold plate, and on the plate was the symbol of Konoha, carved into a large, green gem. ***** Inside of Naruto, the nine-tailed fox, who had been watching everything that had transpired until now with a significant lack of interest, suddenly gazed upwards, his eyes narrowing in complete shock. “That’s… His chakra!” the fox growled. “How is this possible?! What is it doing in this wretched world?!” ***** Twilight’s orb had turned into a gold tiara, upon which was a light purple gem in the shape of a star. “This energy… Is it chakra? It feels so familiar…” Naruto thought for a moment. However, immediately he focused back on the task at hand. “I promised Luna I’ll save her! I’m not going to fail!” he called out, and focused his entire being on the new, mysterious energy. Along with the other ponies, Naruto shot out a rainbow ray at Nightmare Moon from his Element. “No! Nooooo!” the black mare cried as she was surrounded with the ray. The beam turned into a rainbow tornado which enveloped her completely. A final, white flash passed through the hall, and Naruto began losing consciousness, having nearly lost all his energy with that one action. It might have been an illusion created by the light, but Naruto saw a large shadow flying in front of his eyes and to the outside as he closed his eyes. ***** Naruto found himself lying on the ground. That was the first time now that he saw his orange hooves and realized that he had somehow turned into a pony without using a jutsu. Before he could question it, though, in his line of sight appeared a familiar, dark mare. He quickly rose to his hooves and galloped towards her. “Luna! Luna, answer me! Are you okay?!” The dark blue mare slowly opened her deep blue eyes and stared into his. “Na… Naruto…” she whispered. “You… Did it,” she smiled softly. “Of course! I never go back on my words!” the orange colt grinned. Suddenly, a bright light appeared from one of the windows. Naruto looked at it and saw that the others were already up. He walked towards them, and soon enough the bright light came inside, just as the sun finally rose on the horizon. The light slowly changed its form to reveal the largest pony he’d ever seen. She’d be at his eye level as a human, and towered far above him as a pony. Her mane was pure white, and her beautiful tail and mane, which had stripes of red, green and blue, fluttered in a nonexistent wind, and were glittering for some reason. Her eyes were purple, and she had biggest wings and the longest horn he’d ever seen, even more so than Nightmare Moon’s. She had a golden collar with a purple gem embedded in it, and a small, golden crown on her head. She also wore golden shoes. Naruto wasn’t sure why, but she seemed a bit familiar to him. He then saw the others bowing down towards her, and tilted his head in confusion. Twilight smiled from ear to ear and walked towards her. “Princess Celestia!” she called joyfully. “Finally! So she’s the one who can get me back home!” Naruto thought happily. “Twilight Sparkle, my favorite student! I knew you could do it!” the white Alicorn smiled towards her. “But… You told me it was all an old pony tale!” Twilight replied, baffled. “I told you that you needed to make some friends, nothing more,” Celestia smiled. “I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her, but you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart. Now if only another will as well. Princess Luna!” Celestia then walked towards Luna. The dark mare looked at Naruto, worried. The orange Earth pony smiled reassuringly and nodded, then moved away so that he would not be in the way. As Celestia trotted past Naruto, she gave him a gentle smile, before turning back towards her younger sister. “It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this,” she said as she sat down in front of her. “Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister.” “Sister?” Naruto heard Twilight asking in surprise. It was no news to him, however. Ever since he knew Luna was Nightmare Moon, it was obvious to him that she and Celestia were the mares in the storybook. Celestia stood up. “Will you accept my friendship?” Everypony looked in anticipation to her answer, but Naruto already smiled. From his two encounters with her, he knew just how much her big sister meant to Luna. “I’m so sorry!” Luna cried as she ran to the white Alicorn, hugging her with all her might. “I missed you so much, big sister!” Naruto and the six ponies smiled from ear to ear, as Celestia and Luna shed tears of happiness. “I’ve missed you too, Luna!” Celestia replied, smiling, while tears still sparkled as they made their way down her cheeks. Pinkie then started crying a river, only to stop a moment afterwards. “Hey! You know what this calls for?” ***** “A party!!!” the pink Earth pony yelled cheerfully. Everypony was back in Ponyville, celebrating the defeat of Nightmare Moon and the return of Princess Luna along with the rest of the town. The two regal sisters rode into town on a golden carriage, pulled by a pair of white Pegasi. Twilight and Naruto (still in pony form) were with them, as per the princesses’ request. Luna was still nervous about the encounter with the townsfolk, and asked Naruto to be her chaperone, while Twilight stood behind her teacher. Naruto watched happily as Spike came out of the crowd and jumped at Twilight in a big hug, a humongous smile on his face, as she dismounted from the chariot. Naruto then dismounted as well, accompanying Luna and Celestia. The crowd all bowed. Naruto simply watched, finding the whole thing a bit awkward. Luna still looked quite worried. Naruto nudged her side, smiling at her encouragingly. This made her return a smile, albeit a nervous one. All the tension, however, quickly vanished, as a pair of young Pegasi mares flew towards her and put a flower necklace on her, smiling to the princess of the night. As Luna grinned at her big sister, Naruto noticed that Twilight had a face that read the opposite feeling. Worried, he trotted towards her. Celestia too noticed this, and joined him. “Why so glum, my faithful student? Are you not happy that your quest is complete and you can return to your studies in Canterlot?” “Oh, that’s right. She’s not from here. I guess she’ll be returning home too now,” the orange colt remembered, and for some reason, felt his heart sink a bit. “That's just it. Just when I learned how wonderful it is to have friends, I have to leave them,” she said sorrowfully, as she looked at her six pony companions and Spike. The look in their eyes all shared the same sentiment, as they stared at her. Celestia smiled. “Spike, take a note, please.” Naruto gazed at the small dragon in surprise to see him pulling out paper and a quill. He started writing as the princess spoke. “I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree that the Unicorn Twilight Sparkle shall take on a new mission for Equestria. She must continue to study the magic of friendship. She must report to me her findings, from her new home… In Ponyville.” Everypony beamed with happiness and walked towards Twilight. Naruto too found it hard to resist, and joined in as he smiled from ear to ear. “Oh, thank you, Princess Celestia!” Twilight cried out. “I’ll study harder than ever before!” she vowed. This caused the town to once more burst into cheers that rang out all across Equestria. “So Twilight has a new home now,” Naruto thought. “Which reminds me…” “Err… Princess Celestia?” He asked hesitantly. She felt quite intimidating, for a pony. The princess gazed at him, smiling. “You have some urgent business to discuss with me, do you not?” “Oh, yeah,” Naruto said in surprised. She took the words right out of his mouth. “We shall be taking our leave now, everypony. Thank you for your hospitality. Please continue without us,” Celestia called. Her horn suddenly lighted up. Naruto could see a sphere of light shrouding him, Luna, Celestia, Spike, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rarity, Rainbow and Twilight. Soon enough the light grew too bright for him to keep his eyes open. ***** When the brightness finally decreased to a normal level, Naruto opened his eyes. He found himself inside a huge room. The floor was marbled in a chess formation, a long and wide red carpet stretched across the middle. One side of the room had humongous windows which extended all the way to the ceiling, about thirty feet in height, and brought inside the sunlight. Alongside the windows were beautiful, red curtains made of silk and adorned with golden strings. Another wall was decorated by beautiful portraits of some natural sceneries. Behind them and in front of them were huge pairs of wooden doors. Naruto saw that everypony was standing near him, apparently just as surprised, save for Celestia who smiled calmly. “Hey, this is the royal palace in Canterlot!” Twilight exclaimed. She was the most familiar with the place, other than Celestia, of course. “Please excuse us for a moment, Naruto. My sister and I have some catching up to do. We will summon you shortly,” Celestia said as she and Luna trotted towards the doors up ahead. Naruto’s eyes shot open in shock. “Wait a second! I didn’t tell you my name yet! How did you—“ Before he could finish, the doors closed, leaving him with his new friends. “I can’t believe you guys really did it! You really defeated Nightmare Moon!” Spike exclaimed. “What, you didn’t think we could do it?” Twilight grinned. “Nope,” he replied flatly, earning a stern gaze from Twilight, only to melt into laughter alongside the others’. “I guess what we did is quite amazing, isn’t it?” Twilight asked. “By the way, why do all the Elements look like that?” Naruto pondered aloud. He finally got a good look at them and found them to have quite bizarre shapes. “Well, they do remind of our cutie marks, do they not?” Rarity replied. “What?” was all Naruto could answer with. He couldn’t make heads or tails of what the white Unicorn just said. “Our cutie marks? Hello? Right here,” Rainbow pointed at the picture of a cloud shooting down a colorful bolt of lightning. Naruto looked around them and saw it’s true. Everypony (excluding Spike) had different pictures on their flanks, and the picture indeed matched each of the Elements. Applejack had three apples adorning her flank, and her Element was shaped like an apple. Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie were the same, only with a jewel, a butterfly and a balloon, respectively. Rainbow’s Element was a red lightning, similar in shape to the one on her cutie mark, and Twilight had a large violet star surrounded by six, small white stars for her cutie mark, whereas her Element had a similar purple star adorning it. “Well, let’s see my Element now,” Naruto said as he reached to the back of his head to untie the forehead protector. Upon doing so, a cloud of smoke poofed into existence around him, and when it dissipated, Naruto emerged as a human. “Gah!” Spike screamed and hid behind Twilight. She snickered. “Sorry, Spike. We didn’t have a chance to tell you. Naruto is really a human… And well, a ninja.” “Woah! Sounds cool!” the purple dragon exclaimed as he poked his head out to sneak a peek at him. Then scratched his chin in confusion. “What’s a ‘ninja’?” “Oh. We haven’t gotten to that yet,” Twilight smiled. Naruto wasn’t listening, however. He was busy examining the element. “This is so weird. It looks just like the one Iruka-sensei gave me! Only it’s gold and green. How come?” “Ah reckon since the Elements represent our cutie marks, yar’s should be da same. Care to change into a pony ‘gain?” Applejack spoke. “No problem,” Naruto said as he gently put the Element on the ground. He weaved the seal for the technique. “Transformation Jutsu!” “Awesome…” Spike muttered as Naruto had changed back into an orange Earth pony. “Well, I noticed this earlier, darling, but…” Rarity muttered. She looked away, too embarrassed to finish what she was going to say. Everypony looked at his flank. Naruto couldn’t help but feel as though this was a bit of an invasion to his privacy, but he sucked it up. “Woah, no way! You’re a blank flank!” Pinkie exclaimed, her jaw to the ground. “Pinkie Pie!” Applejack growled at the pink pony’s lack of tact. “What? Is it a bad thing?” Naruto asked when he saw his clear flank. “Well, it’s just that ponies usually get their cutie marks at a much younger age,” Twilight explained. “How old are you, by the way?” “Sixteen.” The ponies all nervous exchanged gazes. “Look at the bright side, this might be an all-time record!” Rainbow Dash cheered him up. Or at least tried to… Maybe. “Look, I’m not really a pony!” Naruto shouted. “And besides, I can make myself any cutie mark I want!” “Transformation Jutsu, Release!” he called as he crossed his front legs. “So I need a matching one to my Element, right? No problem!” “Transformation Jutsu!” he said once more, this time his face showing that he was putting a bit more concentration into it. “Come on, I wanna hear it from you! Does it look awesome or what?” he grinned. “I’d go for the ‘what’,” Rainbow deadpanned. Naruto turned his head to look at his flank. It was still as blank as before. “Hey, what gives?!” he frowned. “Cutie marks don’t work like that. I guess it applies even to ninjas who turn into ponies,” Twilight said, her curiosity easily showing in her voice. “Do I have to get somepony to tattoo me or something?” Naruto asked sarcastically. “No. A cutie mark appears on its own when a pony discovers his or her special talent,” Twilight continued explaining. The orange colt let out a sigh and frowned. “Doesn’t being a ninja count for anything?!” “Don’t worry, Naruto,” Fluttershy said softly as she flew towards him. “One day, I’m sure you’ll find it!” she said happily. Her words made his heart sink. “Actually… I’m going to return home now. After Celestia finishes talking with Luna, I’ll… Ask her to send me back.” “So… No ninja party?” Pinkie asked in uncharacteristically sad tone. If his eyes didn’t betray him, he was sure that her puffy mane had deflated a little. Just then, the doors opened, and out walked two white male Unicorns wearing gold armor. “Princess Celestia requests the audience of Naruto Uzumaki,” the one on the left announced. Naruto gave the group a bittersweet smile. “Well, I guess this is it.” Everyone gathered around him, tears in their eyes, and gave them a big group hug. “We’ll miss you, Naruto!” Twilight called. “I wish you could stay longer, there’s just so much I could learn from you!” “If ya come visit sometime, just drop by Sweet Apple Acres. Ah’ll make ya the best apple pies ya’ve ever had!” Applejack said. “Yeah, you better come! We still have a rematch waiting!” Rainbow grinned. “When you do, I’ll make you another smashing outfit to match your current one. Believe it!” Rarity said, then quickly put a hoof to her mouth at the last two words. “And I’m gonna throw you the biggest ever welcome-back-slash-ninja party!” Pinkie exclaimed, her mane back to normal. “I’ll introduce to you too all of my animals, and we could all go on a nice picnic together,” Fluttershy whispered, smiling gently. “And I’ll be your number one ninja assistant!” Spike called out as he struck a pose. “I thought you were my number one assistant, Spike,” Twilight arched a brow. “Oh! Right! I got carried away, haha…” Spike muttered, scratching his chin. A blush of embarrassment painted his cheeks red. “Here, you should take this back. I probably won’t need it anymore,” Naruto handed his Element to Twilight. However, she pushed his hoof back to him. “Keep it. It will help you remember us,” she smiled, a tear in her eye. “Besides, if there’s more trouble and we’ll need the Elements, we’ll need you to come as well.” Naruto nodded, and tied the Element around his forehead. One of the guards coughed loudly, grabbing Naruto’s attention. “Well… Goodbye!” Naruto said as he broke from the hug. “I hope I didn’t make this too awkward. I’m not good at this sort of things…”