//------------------------------// // Chapter 15 // Story: Shinobi of Equestria // by Fan of Fanfics //------------------------------// Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor do I own MLP : FIM Celestia, her new black mane whipping violently in an imaginary wind, glared at the statue of Discord. She swore, even frozen in stone, the Lord of Chaos was mocking her. “Are we really going to do this, Princess?” Rainbow Dash asked incredulously. While the others weren't quite so bold as to question Celestia at that moment, they each agreed with the pegasus' sentiment. But Celestia had been adamant. After placing several enchantments on the Elements to hopefully prevent Discord from stealing them...again...Celestia had transported them all back to the statue, explaining the plan she and Naruto came up with. Applejack leaned into Naruto, uncomfortable with the entire thing. Last time Discord had been freed, he'd reversed the personalities of herself and her friends, turning her into Equestria's biggest liar in the process. That was something she was unlikely to forget OR forgive any time soon. And while she and the girls had the Elements of Harmony to protect themselves this time, Naruto was left with no protection, which worried her. “It's the only way to get into Luna's mind to wake her,” Celestia announced, the conviction in her voice leaving no room for argument as she mentally braced herself for the headache. “Do it.” By her command, the mares channeled their collective energies through the jeweled necklaces that represented each of the Elements, before a blast of rainbow-light shot from the six mares, straight at the statue. Naruto, who had never seen the Elements used before, actually took a step back to admire the beauty. But it was not to last, as before his eyes, he watched the stone seem to melt, reverting to flesh. There was a massive flash of light, and Naruto had to look away. When he looked back, he noticed that the statue was gone. As he looked to-and-fro, he and the ponies became aware of playful laughter. Laughter Celestia and the Ponies knew all too well. “Oh, this is priceless! Never thought I'd be freed by you, of all ponies, Celestia. Love your new look, by the way.” Celestia's eyes glowed dangerously and her muzzle curled into a snarl. “Show yourself, Draconequus!” the Princess demanded. The unseen creature just clicked his tongue in disdain. “Don't get me wrong, my dear, I love our little 'get-togethers,” he announced, that same condescension as before. However, a trained ear could definitely hear a bit of resentment as well. “However, the last few times involved me getting turned into a statue, so you're not exactly making me want to do that. To be honest, it's been making me feel a bit unloved. Unwanted. And the pidgeons, Celestia. THE PIDGEONS!...What have we here?” The tone immediately shifted to a curious one. “Hello,” Naruto nearly jumped at the arm around his neck, Discord having appeared right next to him. “Looks like a pony...” Sticking his face into Naruto's spikey, blonde mane, the Spirit of Disharmony took a deep whif. “Smells like a Pony...” Naruto managed to break out of his grip before Discord could lick him. “Well, I don't know what a pony tastes like, anyway. But you're definitely no pony, I can tell that much.” “You know that just by looking at me?” Discord looked thoughtful for a moment, before breaking out into laughter. “Actually, I was listening to your conversation with Celestia, earlier,” he admitted, ruffling Naruto's mane. Applejack had to suppress a growl, and Pinkie began to fidget as Discord toyed with their coltfriend. Shoving Naruto down, the ninja found himself in an easy chair, sitting across from Discord, who for some reason was wearing a suit and tie and sporting a bad comb-over. “So tell me, Naruto, where exactly are you from?” Naruto didn't want to know where Discord pulled that microphone from, or why it was suddenly shoved in his face. “Your public wants to know.” “ENOUGH!” shouted Celestia, her anger swelling within her as Discord was paying attention to Naruto, but not Luna. She took a deep breath, trying to reign in her fury. “I did not free you so you could lounge about having fun! I did it, because I need your help.” This made Discord smile. Oh, how Celestia hated that smile. “Really?” he asked with a smirk. “So that would make me your Godzilla Threshold then? Oh, Celestia, I didn't think you viewed me in such high regard.” Eyes glowing white, and horn glowing, Discord simply yawned, uninterested. Until the color of each changed, with the eyes of the Alicorn becoming bright green, and her horn's normally golden glow replaced by a purple, hazy one. Now Discord was paying attention. “Ah, ah, ah tsk tsk” he chastised, half-heartedly, shaking a claw at the Princess in a mock-scolding manner. “Celestia, Celestia, how could you. Resorting to dark-” Suddenly, Discord's neck began to squeeze in, as though being crushed in an imaginary grip. “-...magic” he finished, wheezing out the final word as he began to turn red. The girls gasped as the draconequus continued to change colors in Celestia's magical grip. First red, then purple, before full on blue. Twilight prepared to interfere, afraid of what her teacher was doing, though she understood the reasons, but realized that Discord was just messing with them. It became apparent that was the case when Discord proceeded to turn orange, yellow, white, tie-die, polka-dotted, and finally, began flashing glowing, neon-green, as his lengthy body twisted to read what seemed to say 'Eat at Joe's'. Now even angrier, Celestia slammed the Disharmonious One into the ground and stepped on him. In her mind, she knew it would never hold him, but she didn't care. She might have found the first thing Discord would ever be good for. She could work out her frustrations on him without having to worry about harming him. “You. Will. Help. Me.” she growled out, punctuating each word with a little more pressure on Discord's throat. Disappearing from underhoof, Discord appeared in front of the distraught Princess. “Hmmmmm...Ok.” Celestia had not been expecting that. Granted, it was Discord, the master of the unexpected, but the princess was so shocked, her mane actually regained color for a few seconds as she stared owlishly at the spirit of chaos, blinking like a deer in the headlights. To be fair to her, Twilight, AJ, Pinkie, Rarity, Rainbow, and Fluttershy each wore similar expressions. It wasn't to last. Luckily, the prepared Draconequus he was, Discord quickly pulled out a camera, capturing their expressions to film, where they would live on, forever. Celestia finally shook off her shock, the returned color receding back into darkness. “Did you just say...you'll help us?” Twilight asked, as if afraid he'd now say no. She hoped beyond hope that this was not some joke to get on Celestia's nerves. Not now. But Discord just nodded, before plucking a strand of pitch black hair from the princess' mane, making her snarl and growl once more. “Oh yes,” he replied. “Um...if it's not too much trouble...can I ask why?” Fluttershy asked, but ducked behind Applejack as Discord turned his gaze to her. He just held up the black hair. “Curiosity, mostly. I just want to see what exactly could have turned dear, sweet, boring, Princess Celestia-” His face suddenly warped into the smiling face of the princess, complete with pastel, rainbow mane. Twilight and Celestia looked unnerved seeing that face on the Draconequus' body. “-into dark, broody, unpredictable Celestia.” Luckily, he didn't try to imitate that, but at this point, Celestia wasn't thrilled with looking at Discord's actual face either. Suddenly, like Naruto before her, Celestia found herself lying on a cushioned couch, with Discord in a chair beside her, scratching some notes onto a small notepad, like some form of therapist. “Now, what exactly seems to be the problem.” Celesia began to feel that rage welling up inside her yet again, but worried for both her sister, and that Discord might change his mind. “Luna was attacked. Whatever did it was powerful enough to beat her within an inch of her life, and still have enough power to cast an illusion over the entire Canterlot castle.” Discord jotted something down on his notepad, before nodding, and motioning for Celestia to continue. “I won't lie and say you haven't caught my interest,” he announced, before pausing as Pinkie Pie leapt up behind him, whispering in his ear. With a sigh, and a snap of his fingers, a rain-cloud made of cotton candy manifested itself inches above Pinkie Pie's head. “However, I don't see how that requires my help. Obviously, whatever did this didn't stick around, and you still have you and the elements...” From her position on the couch, Celestia caught a glimpse Discords 'notes' and scowled. Ripping the notepad from his hand, Celestia allowed the others to see the huge, random scribble mark. “Finding me boring, Discord?” she growled, her eye beginning to twitch. The Draconequus snatched it back. “DON'T TOUCH THAT!” he screeched, before calming. “It's my lunch.” He puckered his lips and began to suck in as though slurping through a straw. The line of ink clung to the page with all its might, but was no match for Discord's vacuum face. Eventually, is was sucked into the mouth of the mix-and-match magical maniac like a long, black noodle. The group watched with a strange mix of fascination and disgust as he ate foot-after-foot of ink-noodle. He soon pulled the last of his 'lunch' from the page, before dabbing his mouth with the note-pad. Naruto thought it was over, but Discord apparently wanted dessert, because he tossed the note-pad into the air, chomping his lips closed over it and swallowing it whole. His clawed hand curled into a fist, and he whacked what Naruto assumed would be his chest, before letting out an incredible belch, punctuated by dozens upon dozens of live paper birds fluttered out of his mouth. “Ugh,” blanched Rarity. “Could you be any more disgusting?” she demanded. “Hey, give him a break!” shouted Pinkie, easy to forgive the Chaos Bringer now that she had...well, now it was about a quarter of a cotton candy cloud. Pulling out a glass, she grabbed to pink glob, ringing it out like a rag, squeezing out a cup-full of chocolate milk. Naruto cleared his throat, once more drawing Discord's attention to the non-pony pony. “Maybe we should, I don't know, go help Luna now?” he asked, getting a nod from all but Discord. “Besides, the sooner we find out what attacked her, the sooner we can track it down and kick its ass.” Raising a brow, Discord chuckled, once more ruffling Naruto's mane. “Human. Definitely human,” he muttered, before snapping his fingers. In an instant, the entire group had been transported into Princess Luna's private hospital room. “Now then, you never did answer me, Celestia. What precisely do you need me to do here that you couldn't do yourself?” “I've been blocked out of my sister's mind,” she replied after a moment. “I can't get her to wake up. I fear that something far worse is happening then just the attack on Luna, but I can't determine what precisely that is without her help.” “So you want me to go in there, break her out of her mind, and find out exactly what tried to kill her...” he replied, cracking his knuckles, before stroking his beard in thought. “Although...” “Discord!” Celestia growled threateningly, horn and eyes beginning to glow once more. The girls all huddled together, the Elements beginning to glow. “Oh, I'll still do it,” Discord said, brushing off the thinly veiled threat like it was nothing. “However, I think, given the circumstances, I deserve a little...remuneration.” Celestia sighed, but realized she was in no position to deny Discord without destroying her chance to save Luna. “Your price?” she demanded, and Discord just laughed “Oh, nothing much. I want a bit of insurance, that's all.” Holding his hand up while the other mimed the act of crossing his heart, he continued. “I rather dislike being a statue. However, I would assume you have no plans involving leaving me to my devices. And so, in exchange, I want to bind myself to the new guy.” “WHAT!?” Shouted Naruto, Celestia, and Twilight. Naruto for being involved in whatever plan the Spirit of Chaos was cooking up, and the two ponies because they knew just what a magical binding would do. “You heard me,” Discord said, and unlike before, he actually seemed menacing about it. “He'll be my insurance. What happens to one of us happens to the other. For example, if he were to go home to his world, I too would gain the ability to travel there. Or if I, say, was turned to stone again. He would too.” “You can't do that!” shouted Applejack, who was met by uproarious approval from the ponies present. “Why, I have half a mind to-” “Deal.” AJ was cut off as her coltfriend, despite obviously knowing what a horrible idea it was, accepted Discord's offer. “Hold on,” she shouted, giving the sternest glare she could muster as Naruto was embraced by Pinkie Pie, who was clinging to him as though her life depended on it. “What are you doing?” she whispered through grit teeth. “You can't just give in to him like that.” She blushed as Naruto kissed her cheek. “Don't worry,” he said. “I know what I'm doing.” For some reason the way he gave her a wink as he said that, made her feel a bit more at ease. But not much. Even less when the being of Chaos teleported the ninja into the air, inches from his face, giving him a scrutinizing glare as he stroked his beard. “You're planning something. You and your...partner. Something devious...Good. About time things got interesting.” Naruto resisted the urge to swallow nervously. Discord knew about the Kyuubi? But how? Was he really listening to his conversation with Celestia earlier? Or was that just the product of his chaos power at work? Either way, it unnerved the blonde greatly. However, just because Discord knew about the Kyuubi, didn't mean his plan couldn't work. It would just make things more complicated. “Shake on it?” asked Discord, holding out his claw. Naruto gave it a tentative gaze, before reaching out with his hoof, which Discord grabbed, eagerly. “My dear boy, I think this is the beginning of a very beautiful-” turning to the ponies, all of whom were glaring daggers at the chaos-bringer. Celestia, AJ, Pinkie, and Rainbow were gritting their teeth so hard it was a wonder they didn't break from the strain. Placing his face right next to Naruto's, he petted the blonde mane. “-Friendship.” The smile he gave them all sent shivers down their spines. Discord just stared for a moment, before bursting out laughing again. “Oh, you really should see the looks on your faces!” he chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye, before with a snap of his finger, he shrunk down to the size of a worm, landing on Luna's head, much to Celestia's chagrin, before inching his way up and into her ear. x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x Luna was in bad shape. No matter how hard she hit Nightmare Moon, the specter simply reverted to smoke, before reforming, completely restored. She herself was having a much tougher time. “Luna, this is pointless,” Nightmare Moon taunted, flaring her wings open to their full span, releasing a hail of what seemed to be flaming stars, sending them straight toward her good counterpart. The princess ducked and dodged, just narrowly avoiding the falling stars by inches. “You can't defeat me. And the longer we continue this pointless squabble, the longer Gaara is under the control of the Nightmare and Shukaku.” “And you think you can do anything about it?” Luna demanded, struggling to stand now, thoroughly exhausted. “I hate to have to inform you, but without the Nightmare Force, you are just as vulnerable as I. And I find it unlikely that they, with Gaara as their new host, would give him up just to come crawling back to you!” Now Nightmare Moon snarled, before barreling at Luna, traveling at astonishing speed. The Moon Princess attempted to move, but was not fast enough, and found her wing impaled on the horn of her darker self. Despite the pain, Luna held back her shriek, smirking as she leaned in to whisper in the seething-shadow's ear. “Did I strike a nerve?” she asked, pleased with the growl of hate that emanated from Nightmare Moon's throat. “That's it, isn't it. It's not about me. It's about you. You want that power back.” Violently throwing her to the ground, Nightmare Moon stepped down on Luna's throat, putting more and more pressure on it. “I...am...you. And I am doing what is right by us. And if that means getting rid of that pesky conscience that you have, then so be it,” she growled out. “I will get my power back, AND save your precious Gaara. With, or without, your help or consent.” The alicorn under her hoof struggled, gasping for breath as her trachea pinched closed. “Now, now, ponies. You have to play nice.” The voice came from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Both alicorns recognized it almost instantly, but were unsure of how or why he would be there. As Nightmare Moon blinked owlishly, the two were suddenly ripped from the ground, floating upwards for what felt like hours. But soon enough, they were each staring into the amused eyes of Discord, laying on a cloud in all his glory. Well, not a cloud...was that a cow? While Luna took note that the starry sky in her mindscape looked different, more colorful, Nightmare Moon had passed confusion and moved straight to anger. “What are you doing here?” she demanded with a hiss. “Last time I saw you you were a hunk of rock.” Discord sighed, before plucking one of the stars from the starscape as though it were right in front of him, before removing a plastic wrapper. That explained it, thought Luna, who watched Discord throw the green gumball into his mouth. Chewing for a few seconds, he then proceeded to begin blowing a bubble. It grew bigger, and bigger, before Discord removed it from his mouth. With the bubble no longer blocking his head, the two each cocked their heads in confusion as he now wore what looked like Gypsy attire. “Look into my crystal gumball. All the answers you seek can be found inside.” Nearly having forgotten their battle a moment before, the two alicorns tentatively looked closer and closer to the gum bubble. Discord, who was now filing his claws, examined his self-manicure, blowing on them slightly, before taking one finger to the bubble. Somehow, when the massive thing popped, none of it managed to get on Luna. It did however completely engulf Nightmare Moon, covering her from head to toe. She shrieked, both enraged at Discord for fooling her and at herself for allowing herself to be fooled. However, her gum-casing muffled the sound. Popping up behind her in a flash, Discord now sported a beret, black-and-white stripped shirt, and a curly black mustache. “Inside every medium, a work of art cries for the artist to release it...” Discord announced, his voice thick with a french accent, before he once more began speaking normally. “But perhaps in her case, we can make an exception. Besides, trapping those you disagree with in stone seems to be how you ponies handle your problems.” Looking to her dark counterpart, Luna was surprised to see the gum having taken the shape of Nightmare Moon, down to the slightest detail. It had already solidified, and judging by the muffled curses and screams, as well as the trembling, it was holding the Mare in the Moon tightly, unlikely to let her loose any time soon. “Discord...To what do I owe this...intrusion?” Luna asked, not fully trusting the Chaos King's intentions, despite helping her with her problem. “Oh, Luna. I forgot how much more irritable you were than your sister...” Discord bemoaned with a flat stare and a frown, before vanishing, reappearing with his arm wrapped around the Night Princess. “Though to be fair, at this point, she's almost got you beat. But to be fair, you rock the dark mane much better.” “What? What are you talking about, Discord?” demanded Luna. The Disharmonious One must have been waiting for that question, because his eyes lit up and he clapped his hands together. The two suddenly found themselves seated in a movie theatre, confusing Luna greatly. When Discord passed her a bucked of popcorn, she simply took it without protest. At this point, she had neither the time, nor the energy, to do so. “Could you not have simply told me what you wished to tell-” She was silenced by a finger over her lip and a shush from Discord. “No talking during the movie!” Discord reprimanded. “You don't hear dear Nightmare Moon speaking and being rude, do you?” he asked, and with his knuckles, rapped a few times on the trapped alicorn's head. When a few muffled screams were heard, Discord simply shushed her as well, before throwing a clump of popcorn into his mouth. Luna just sighed, her gaze a heard glare as she too began to eat her popcorn. And so, after throwing off the pair of 3-D glasses Discord placed on her face, Luna began to get caught up on the happenings of the outside world. x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x Naruto was splayed across the floor, a massive lump forming on his head, from where Applejack had proceeded to start beating on him. The farm mare was furious with Naruto for striking that deal with Discord, and despite his insistence that he had a plan, she was still worried. Discord had done a number on the minds of her and her friends the last time he was freed, and she didn't even want to think about what he'd do to Naruto. While the others seemed to disagree with her that Naruto deserved the hit to the noggin, at least Rainbow had her back. And Pinkie...well, she didn't really know who's side Pinkie was on. The Mare just sat on her haunches, staring at their shared coltfriend in a mix of pity and confusion. “I'm telling you, the moment he got out of sight, Discord probably went off to cause trouble!” Rainbow Dash ranted, doing nothing for Celestia's mood. Ordinarily, she found Rainbow Dash to be somepony she enjoyed listening to, but on today of all days, it was beginning to grate on her nerves. She unfortunately knew very well that Discord could not be trusted, but he was her only hope at the moment. She just hoped whatever plan Naruto had come up would be enough to keep Discord at bay if he did attempt something. Her nerves were starting to get the better of her, and as she paced the floor incessantly, each step left a charred hoof-print in its wake. “For now, we need to trust him. He isn't bound to Naruto yet, so he knows he's vulnerable to the Elements of Harmony. He won't try anything until he has his insurance.” Whether she was trying to convince the ponies, or herself, was left open to interpretation. A groan reached her ears, and in a flash, Celestia stood next to her sister. Her eyes fluttered a moment, before opening all the way. For a moment, Luna seemed confused, before sighing. “Sister,” she said. “Could you please move your face back a tad. I'm feeling claustrophobic.” Celestia blushed, but nuzzled her sister a bit before acquiescing. She pulled back, her hair and mane finally regaining their pastel colors, before being yanked back, she and Luna brought into an embrace by Discord. “Together again!” he cried, wiping some tears from his eyes. “I knew that movie would have a happy ending!” Snapping his finger, a handkerchief appeared, which he blew his nose into. Unfortunately, the moment he did, the cloth caught on fire, burning to ashes and going out in seconds. Appearing next to Naruto, ruffling his mane and causing him to flinch at the contact with his new lump, Discord levitated the blonde up and placed his arm around him. “Now then, we have a deal to settle, so if you'll excuse us for just a moment...” and in a flash, the two were gone, despite the numerous protests from the ponies. Turning to her Sister, Celestia adopted a look of worry. “I was worried sick,” she announced, and Luna nodded. “I can see that. Worried enough to release Discord,” she replied. “I'm so sorry. Under any other circumstances, I never would have done so.” “I understand,” the younger sister announced. “In fact, while we can both agree that Discord is an unpredictable menace, had he not delved into my mind when he had, I likely would not have made it. As loathed as I am to say it...I may owe my life to Discord.” By now, the other ponies gathered around, at this point somewhat afraid of what Luna was saying. “Princess Luna...what attacked you? What's going on?” Twilight asked, and the gaze of the Princess fell upon her. “It's back,” she said. “The Nightmare is Back.” Several pairs of eyes widened in shock and fright. And one eye, floating in the air just outside the hospital window, broke apart in the wind, blowing into thousands of grains of sand. Chapter End.