//------------------------------//
// Chapter 12 
// Story: The Price of Power 
// by kingrulerword 
//------------------------------//


**********Canterlot Castle**********


“Well you know what they say: the hero always arrives at the last minute.”

Boudicca looked at the human in awe. Its glowing red eyes and creepy smile didn’t bother her. The aura around it did. Boudicca lived her entire life believing that griffons were at the top of the food chain. Aside from dragons, no creature dared mess with a griffon. And now standing in front of her was a creature that destroyed those beliefs. This was no ordinary predator. This was a predator that hunted other predators for fun. It radiated a desire to kill so strong she found it hard to breathe. She had assumed the stories passed down through the generations were exaggerations. Now that she could see the creature for herself, she felt the legends didn’t do it justice. Steel Sword, however, seemed ignorant to these subtle warnings.

“That’s a nice sword you have there,” the warrior king said. “When I defeat you I’m going to mount it on my wall.”

“Seems only fair that the winner should get a trophy,” Sasuke said calmly. “I think I’ll take your head.”

“For the glory of Minos!” The minotaurs all shouted the war cry and rushed the human with their swords held high.


**********1st POV**********


Three minotaurs ran at me shouting things about battle and glory and whatever. I wasn’t really listening. I was more focused on the alicorns charging up their power. When the minotaurs got close I summoned Aoife and Moro. Taking the minotaurs by surprise Aoife threw one of the guards into the other one temporarily incapacitating them. Moro grabbed the leader in her jaw and threw him at Raze. She swatted the minotaur out of the air before he hit her and he fell to the floor cracking the solid marble. The minotaurs all got up and prepared for a second attack. It was then I remembered how much I hate fighting minotaurs. 

“Would you just chill for a second,” I said holding my hands up. “I’m here as a representative. I have legitimate grievances.”

That gave the dignitaries pause. I could see Celestia and Luna weighing their options. They most likely wanted to face me after releasing their full power. That would take some time. It would be in their best interests to let me speak. 

“Very well then Sasuke,” Celestia said. “You may speak.”

Raze and the changelings gave Celestia a knowing nod while everyone else looked confused. No one objected so I cleared my throat and started my speech. 

“I’ve graced you all with my wonderful presence to bring something very important to the attention of Equus’ great leaders: genocide.” My statement was punctuated by explosions in the city. The tremors shook the castle. “Yeah that’s going to be happening. Try to stay focused.” 

“Is this the genocide you spoke of?” Luna seethed.

“No, of course not. This is just wanton destruction for the hell of it. Now may I continue?”

Celestia whispered something to Cadence who then left the room. “You may.”

“As I was saying, someone seems to have destroyed all of the zap apple groves around the edge of the Everfree Forest except for one. And those zap apples are harvested and turned into jam.”


Moro was growling with barely restrained rage. I put a hand on her side to calm her down.

“Apples? Is that what this is about? I don’t understand,” the golden griffon said.

“Zap apples are special, Chancellor Boudicca,” Celestia explained. “When they ripen and fall from the tree they turn into timberwolves.”

“I buy zap apple jam every year! You mean to tell me I’ve been eating timberwolves?”

“Technically you’ve been eating unborn timberwolf babies,” I said. Boudicca turned green. “But the deal the ponies made with the timberwolves said zap apples were off limits.” I looked at Celestia. “So what happened?”

“The apple family was going to starve. I had to make a decision. I allowed them to take the apples so that they would live,” Celestia said. “For one to live, another must die. Those are your words.”

More explosions shook Canterlot; the vibrations rocked the castle. Neither Celestia nor I dared break our staredown.


“And now I’m here to balance the scale,” I said. “Aoife, Moro: make sure no one interferes.”

Aoife and Moro readied themselves for attack. “Aoife, please think about this,” Boudicca pleaded. “It would be such a shame to lose your talent. Look at what you’re up against. Do really think you can win?”

Aoife’s determination shone in her eyes. “I guess you’ll just have to go down in history as the Griffon Republic’s greatest traitor. Take them down.”

Boudicca’s guards flew at Aoife with their claws extended. Moro jumped in the way at the last minute, blocking the claws with her iron armor. Aoife jumped over Moro and dug her claws into the guards’ unprotected necks. They screeched in pain and then slumped to the ground. Aoife licked the blood off of her claws and looked Boudicca directly in her eyes. An unspoken challenge was issued in that moment.

“Rip her to pieces,” I commanded. The two griffons leapt at each other and exchanged furious blows in midair. That left the minotaurs, changelings, zebras, and Raze. “Raze,” I said. “Do nothing.” The dragon bowed her head and said nothing. “Moro, run wild.”

The giant timberwolf pounced on the minotaurs. She took the leader in her powerful jaws and threw him out of the window. As she leapt out after him, his guards and the zebras followed. That left the changelings still sitting calmly and the alicorns charging their power. 

“We need more time!” Celestia pleaded. “Glamour, please! At least distract him!”

“Glamour?” I asked as I turned to face the changeling. “How’ve you been? I haven’t seen you and your sisters since you were all little hatchlings.”

“I am fine Sasuke,” Glamour said hesitantly as she moved in between the alicorns and me. “How are you?”

“I’m great!” I replied. “Could you please move aside? I’d hate to have to get you involved.“ I switched to mangekyou sharingan.

“I afraid I can’t do that,” Glamour barely got out. I could feel the fear emanating from her body. She definitely didn’t want to fight me. I looked over to her sisters. They were content to stay where they were.

“Now, now, Glamour,” I said. “What would your mother say? I’m sure the last thing Queen Mirage wants is her oldest princess to put herself in danger.”

At the mention of her mother, Glamour choked up and took a few steps back. She started stammering, “I-I-I-”

“I am the Goddess of the Moon. I am the light that guides the weary through the darkness. I am the sentinel that stands guard through the night. I am the guardian of the hopes of my ponies and the deliverer of dreams. Let all who stand against me be consumed by the darkness! To challenge me is to grasp at the shadows! Nightmare Mode!”

Luna grew as large as Celestia and her fur turned black. Her mane and tail became light blue and fluid. With a speed that was nearly impossible to follow, Luna teleported in front of me and kicked me with both of her hind legs. I just barely managed to create Susanoo’s ribcage to protect myself. I flew back through the doors of the throne room and into a large hallway. Readying myself for another attack, I sensed something near my feet. I jumped into the air just as Luna’s chain came out of my shadow. It followed me up into the air so I drew my sword and charged it with electricity. I sliced the chain as it started coiling around my feet. I landed and the severed pieces of the chain faded from existence.

“I am the Goddess of the Sun. I am the light that gives life to all. I am the vanguard of the day leading the righteous to victory. I am the guardian of the innocence of my ponies and the keeper of their lives. Let all who stand against me be consumed by my fire! To challenge me is to challenge the sun itself! Solar Tyrant Mode!”

I felt Celestia’s power explode. It contrasted the feeling I got from Luna. While Luna’s power felt like a calm, bottomless ocean, Celestia’s power felt like a raging inferno.  Both of the alicorns walked into the hallway where I was waiting. Celestia’s fur was bright white and flowed on her body like flames. Her mane and tail were bright orange and red and looked like a fire blowing in a fierce wind. Her eyes had changed from their calm magenta to an intense red. 

“Well,” I said as I formed a complete top half of Susanoo around myself, “I guess there’s no reason to hold anything back, is there?”


**********Starswirl Lab of Magical Research: Canterlot Division 3rd POV**********


To say Starlight was nervous would have been an understatement. Starlight was paralyzed with fear. She could feel the tremors throughout the city and saw the ponies in the streets running from the timberwolves. That didn’t bother her… much. No, she what scared her were the guards. Royal guards were moving through the streets trying (unsuccessfully) to contain the panic and fight the timberwolves. Starlight was scared the guards were going to catch her and lock her away. The fact that the wonderbolts were clearing every cloud out of the sky only compounded this fear. So much to Gilda’s irritation, she had to carry the unicorn.

“We’re finally here,” Gilda said as she put Starlight down. “So pull yourself together. We have a job to do.”

Starlight took a deep breath and nodded. After all this was all so she could see her sister again. Keeping that fact in mind would help Starlight get through this… betrayal. Even thinking about it caused Starlight to wince. Just stay focused she told herself. “Let’s do it,” she said to Gilda.

Gilda grinned and smashed the door to the lab. The duo walked into the building only to find the reception area empty. 

“What’s going on?” Gilda asked, clearly irritated. “Where are all the nerdy geeks?”

“Have you forgotten what’s going on outside?” Starlight said. “They probably moved deeper into the building. There’s a panic room in the basement. Everypony’s probably in there.”

Gilda huffed and blew her feathers out of her eyes. As Starlight navigated her way through the maze-like hallways. Gilda followed closely behind. She looked into all of the abandoned laboratories and felt slight curiosity.

“Hey Starlight,” Gilda said.

“What is it,” Starlight asked without stopping.

“What kinds of stuff did you do here?” Gilda asked.

“I would analyze samples of magic before dissecting them into their component parts for another researcher to reassemble in order to create new spells and types of magic,” Starlight explained.

“Is that how ponies do that?” Gilda asked. “I always thought they just sat around trying stuff out until something worked.” 

Starlight giggled. “Well that’s not too far off but…. Wait, you understood my explanation?”

“Duh,” Gilda said. “It’s not like you said anything too complicated. No one gives me enough credit. Just because I’m mean doesn’t mean I’m stupid.”

Starlight flashed Gilda an apologetic smile before they descended down the final staircase. They walked past a few supply closets and one nameless room before approaching a large metal door. The door had a small panel next to it but otherwise Gilda saw no way to open it.

“It’s a magic signature recognition lock,” Starlight said. “Only those who have been added to the spell can open it.” She put her horn to the panel and allowed her magic to flow through it. 

The door made a high-pitched squeaking sound as it opened. Gilda readied herself not sure of what she would find on the other side. As the opened completely, she saw a large group of unicorns all cowering on the ground.

“Wow,” Gilda said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. “This is even more pathetic than I thought it would be.”

“Please don’t hurt us!” a white mare with a light pink mane begged. 

“Why would we hurt you?” Starlight said.

“Starlight?” the mare asked timidly. “Is it really you?”


“Of course it’s me,” Starlight reassured her. The unicorns breathed a collective sigh of relief as they picked themselves up off of the ground. The white mare ran up to Starlight and hugged her in her forehooves.

“We thought your were dead!” The mare cried as Starlight held her. “Nopony’s seen you in days and you disappeared without a word!”

“Don’t worry, Snowflake,” Starlight said, choking down her guilt. “We’re going to be working together for a very long time.” She took a deep breath and pulled out her spell gem. “Gather round everyone, I’m going to teleport us to safety.”

The unicorns quickly gathered around Starlight, their desire to escape overpowering their reason. Gilda took a few steps back.

“Aren’t you coming?” Starlight asked her.

“I want to see something first,” Gilda replied. “I’ll catch up later.”

Starlight activated her spell gem. In a bright flash of light all of the unicorns were gone. Gilda stretched her wings and flew out of the building. She took to the air to observe the battle in the city. Everywhere she turned, timberwolves and royal guards were locked in combat. The Valkyries commanded the timberwolves like generals and fought off the occasional guard that got too close. But that wasn’t what Gilda was interested in. She flew towards the place she knew he would be. The castle grew larger as she got closer. Gilda’s flight was interrupted by a bunch of pegasi in blue flight suits.

“Stop right there!” the leader said. While they all had on matching uniforms, this one was clearly a mare with a two-toned orange mane. “Under the orders of Princess Cadence, the skies are to be clear at all times. Please make your way to one of the evacuation centers and wait for the crisis to end.”

Gilda gave the Wonderbolts her meanest look but said nothing. She flew to the ground and waited for them to fly away. Once she was sure they were gone, she moved quickly towards the castle. As Gilda got closer, she couldn’t help but notice that it was getting harder to breathe and stay conscious. She had no idea what was causing this pressure but she was certain it was coming from the castle.

“Just a peek,” she whispered to herself as she approached the castle gate.


**********Canterlot Castle Courtyard**********


Moro studied her enemies. The three minotaurs stood at the front swords drawn and ready. The three zebras stood behind them in a strange posture she didn’t recognize. Moro crouched and readied herself to charge. 

“Got to hand it to you, Councilor,” Steel Sword said. “It went down just like you said it would.”

“Divide and conquer, King Steel,” Khalifa replied. “One of the most basic tactics. Now we should have no trouble ending this.”

“Don’t be so sure,” Moro growled as she leapt at the minotaurs. They scattered and she landed in the middle of her enemies. The zebras were quick to respond. They each threw a barrage of small knives at the timberwolf. Moro skillfully dodged most of them. The ones that hit her bounced off of her armor.  She leapt at the zebras but was pulled to the ground.  Trying to figure out what was going on, Moro tried to turn her head to look around but couldn’t move. She then noticed several thin silver lines running across her vision. The zebras took a few steps back, carrying the lines in their teeth. Moro felt the grip on her body tighten. The minotaurs all ran up to the captured timberwolf at once. They drove their swords into spaces between Moro’s armor plates. Moro stopped struggling and lie still.

“That wasn’t too difficult, now was it,” Steel Sword smirked. “This will make an excellent trophy. I just wish this creature had been worth the hunt.”

“Don’t be foolish, King Steel,” Khalifa chided. “There is no need for things to be more difficult. Just be thankful-”

All of a sudden, an explosion of power could be felt coming from the castle. The zebras and minotaurs trembled.

“Councilor, what is that?” One of the zebra guards asked.

“It feels like...Princess Luna,” Khalifa replied quietly. Everyone was silent. They couldn’t believe that any creature could call forth this much power.

“Are alicorns really this strong?” Steel Sword asked.

“It would appear-” Khalifa was once again interrupted by another explosion of power. The zebra was dumbfounded by the amount of power he was feeling. The zebras and minotaurs all dropped their guard and were completely unprepared for the third wave of power they felt. The difference was this energy felt sinister. Even the battle-hardened minotaurs had chills. Since everyone was in various states of awe, no one noticed Moro’s eyes change from green to purple. She stood up, snapping the lines that held her down and shook the swords out of her body. The minotaurs and zebras turned to face the timberwolf when they heard the swords fall to the ground.

“Who’s ready for round 2?” Moro grinned.

The zebras had no time to react as Moro closed the distance between them. She grabbed one of the zebra guards in her mouth and crushed their legs. She dropped the broken zebra and turned to the others. They quickly jumped back. Khalifa gathered his wits and started formulating a strategy.

“It was foolish of you to challenge Sasuke,” Moro said as she circled them. “He annihilates his enemies.”

“Then it appears we’ll have to put an end to him before he can retaliate,” Khalifa responded. “I’m sure the princesses can handle him.”

“I wouldn’t count on it.”

Moro closed the distance between herself and Steel Sword. As she tried to bite his neck, he quickly put up his arms to block her. Moro bit into his arms and threw him at the castle. 

“You think this is enough to beat me? I can still,” Steel Sword groaned as he hit the wall and passed out.

Steel Sword’s guards ran to his side. “We’re pulling out,” the guard said. “Mark my words, wolf. This isn’t over.” The guards picked up Steel Sword and pulled out a spell gem. In a flash of light, they were gone. 

Khalifa cursed under his breath. Even if Steel Sword was unconscious, having two minotaurs warriors would be invaluable. He would just have to make do with himself and only one of his guards. It was time to focus on the task at hand. Restraining it wouldn’t work anymore and it was too fast for direct combat. Wait, it had something blue on its underside that looked unprotected. Maybe attacking that would be enough to cripple it. Khalifa looked over to his guard and nodded twice. She understood which tactic they were going to use.

Khalifa ran directly at Moro. Moro grinned; what did she have to fear from two zebras?  She went to attack the zebra but he ducked under her. She tried to swipe at him with her claws but the other zebra had followed up with a second attack. Moro snapped at the guard and knocked the one under her away. She jumped back, unaware of what they just did.

“Unfortunately, this battle is over for you,” Khalifa said to Moro, as he threw several metal rings attached to strings at her feet.

Moro inspected the rings. She had no idea what they were but they looked almost like… Recognition spread across the timberwolf’s face as she realized what she was looking at. She tried to reach her underbelly but it was too late. Khalifa and his guard took cover as an explosion rocked the courtyard. When the dust settled the air had turned blue. Khalifa and his guard looked around for signs of the timberwolf. They saw the singed ground where she had been blown up but there was no corpse.

“Maybe when it died, it was still on fire and turned to ash,” the guard suggested.

“Even if that was true, the iron plates would still be here. We should assume it survived and is still able to fight,” Khalifa said.

“That would be a wise assumption,” they zebras heard Moro’s voice say.

The timberwolf limped through the blue mist. Khalifa could see it was missing pieces of its armor and a leg. The explosives had clearly done their job. The best part was that the blue sac underneath was fully blown apart and constantly leaking. 

“You should surrender,” Khalifa said. “You don’t look like you’re in any condition to fight. You’ve lost.”

“I may not be able to fight but it doesn’t matter. I’ve already won,” Moro smirked.

“How could you have possibly won? Your organs are strewn all over the ground, your body is falling to pieces, and your blood is leaking into the air.”

Moro sat down on her haunches and took a breath. “First timberwolves have neither blood nor organs. And my body will repair itself when I go back to the forest.”

“If this isn’t blood…” Khalifa took some of the blue substance in his hoof. He smelled it and his eyes grew wide. “We’re going. Now,” he commanded. He and his guard ran at top speed away from the castle.

Moro closed her eyes and lie down. “You’re always right. Aren’t you?” She released her summon and teleported away.


**********Canterlot Castle: Throne Room 1st POV**********


I was not doing well in this fight. Fighting two alicorns at max strength in close quarters was a terrible idea. They moved so quickly and fluidly that it was all I could do just to defend against their attacks. Celestia and Luna were a perfect combination. When one moved the other was always in the perfect position for a follow up. Their teamwork was seamless and executed seemingly without communication. I could feel the strain they were putting on Susanoo, it wouldn't last if this kept up indefinitely. Unfortunately, there was no way I could beat them while they were united like this. 

I smashed through the wall with Susanoo’s fist and jumped outside. I let Susanoo fade away to increase my mobility and give myself a chance to recover. I moved as fast as I could trying to get to the city. The alicorns easily caught up with me and kept up their attack. Luna’s chains came towards me every time I came close to a surface and Celestia’s swords weren’t far behind. They were trying to force me away from certain parts of the city and although I knew what they were doing, I couldn’t get around it. Well, not without being obvious. I still had yet to try out my new skills. I landed on a roof and faced the two alicorns. They stayed in the air and looked down at me with their glowing eyes.

“Did you really think you could win against us in our seat of power?” Celestia asked. “This is our domain.”

“And within it we are invincible,” Luna added.

“I thought I told you,” I said. “No one is invincible. There comes a time when even gods must die.”

“Is that what you want?” Celestia asked. “To kill us?”

“Of course not,” I replied. 

“Then what is your aim,” Luna asked.

“Let’s play a game,” I grinned. “You have your champions. Ponies who stand against the evils that plague this land. I’m going to collect champions of my own. I will put together a force that rivals even the elements of harmony. And I will tear apart everything you have built.”

“Why?” Celestia asked. “There’s no reason for that! Not when you helped build it yourself!”

“Clearly you’ve never played the Sims,” I taunted. “What fun is a game when everything goes right? It’s boring. So you throw adversity in the mix. Delete ladders from the pool, remove the smoke alarms and stack rugs next to the fireplace, make puddles near broken tvs, have dirty plates all around the house. You get the idea.”

“I don’t understand that reference,” Celestia said.

“You mean to cause as much trouble as possible for your own entertainment?” Luna seethed. “You’re no better than Discord.”

“I’m way better than Discord,” I fought back. “My way will make this world better Only on the brink of destruction do we evolve.”

“You’ve lost your mind,” Celestia stated dejectedly. “There is no hope for you.”

Luna nodded in solemn agreement and they both charged their magic to begin attacking again. I readied myself and chose a different strategy. I weaved some hand seals and floated off the roof. Earth Style: Lightweight Boulder Jutsu.  I charged at them with a sword covered in Amaterasu’s black flames. They flew at me and we clashed in midair. Celestia held me back with her swords while Luna tried to immobilize me with her chains. More of their perfect teamwork. Now that I had some space it was time to divide and conquer. It was time to use my new techniques. I allowed Luna’s chains to wrap around my entire body. Celestia sent all of her swords to impale my body. As they were about to make impact, my body became intangible. Kamui. 

“Did we get him?” Luna asked as she looked at my ‘impaled’ body. I could hold my intangibility for a total of five minutes so I wasn’t too worried about materialising with swords ripping me apart.

“Wait for a second, Luna,” Celestia said cautiously. “Last time I got him, it was just an illusion.”

The two alicorns came close to my body and started circling me.

“I think… we just won,” Celestia said.

“We’ve finally beaten Sasuke,” Luna said. In that moment the alicorns lowered their guard and I struck. I grabbed Celestia’s horn and forced my chakra into it. I then teleported her to my Kamui dimension. While Luna was forming her shadow chains I formed Susanoo’s right arm and knocked her through the surrounding buildings.

It would take Celestia a short time to deal with my chakra. While she had my chakra in her horn, she wouldn’t be able to cast spells. That gave me time to focus on Luna. I moved through the wreckage to find her. Ponies were screaming while running aimlessly, trying to escape the battle. Luna stood up and brushed herself off. I formed Susanoo around myself and started firing giant purple arrows at her. The arrows were covered in black flames and lit up everything they came into contact with. Luna dodged the arrows while turning into mist. She tried to stop Susanoo by caging it in chains but without Celestia to back her up I easily had the strength to snap them. I was pushing Luna more and more. The fire was working in my favor; many of the ponies were trapped and Luna had to divide her attention between fighting me and saving the citizens. 

“Hey Luna, can you see it?” I called out to her.

“See what?” she asked as she continued dodging my arrows.

“The looks on their faces.”

“What about their looks?”

“They look at you the same way they look at me.” I needed her distracted and doubting herself. “They’re not thinking ‘Here comes our princess to save us’. They’re thinking ‘Which of these monsters would be the lesser of two evils’.”

Luna slowed down for only a moment and I knew I had gotten to her. I knew she could see the looks of fear on the faces of the ponies. But it wasn’t enough. I needed to exploit her some more. 

“When they look at you, they don’t see a pony who made a mistake,” I said as I continued to fire arrows at her. “All they see is the demon who tried to take everything away from them. All they see is a monster.”

“We do not care if we are not appreciated,” Luna said unconvincingly. “We only wish for our ponies to be safe and happy.”

She was trying to stay confident but Luna was falling prey to her emotions. Her calm thinking was being undermined by her own insecurities and it was weakening her abilities. She wasn’t moving nearly as fast and her chains were fading on their own. Luna solidified her body and one of my arrows ripped through her barrel. Her glowing, dark blue blood splattered everywhere. The black fire caught on her wounds drastically slowing down her healing.

“Looks like you lose this round, Luna,” I said. Surprisingly, the mare stood up and formed a defensive barrier.

“I haven’t lost yet,” she declared. In a flash of golden light Celestia returned, panting heavily.

“Where the buck did you send me? Do you have any idea how much magic it took to… Oh my Faust! Luna!” Celestia immediately teleported to her sister’s side. “Luna, just stay still.” Celestia poured her magic into Luna’s wound and forced the regeneration process to accelerate. Celestia even wrapped the fire in her magic and pulled it off of Luna’s body. I could see the sweat forming on her brow as she used some of the most powerful magic in her arsenal.

“Can you still fight?” Celestia asked her sister as she finished healing her.

“I can. What about you?” Luna replied.

Celestia’s body was already returning to normal. “Not at the same level as before. I had to teleport between dimensions to get here. And healing you drained really drained me.”

“I see,” Luna said as she walked forward. “I’m sorry but I will have to ask you to let me handle the rest of this fight.”

“Oh really, Luna,” I said with a smile. “I can see you’re not too far off from a drained state as well.”

“I have one more technique at my disposal,” Luna said.

“Oh really,” I teased. “Do tell.”

“When you were teaching us I was always envious of your strange techniques and mysterious power. So I studied it and as you know I learned how to counter some of them. But that wasn’t enough. I wanted more. When we were bound in marriage and exchanged energy, I had my first taste of it. Your power is so…. intoxicating. But it pulls at the baser parts of one’s mind and I wasn’t fully prepared. It overwhelmed me and I lost myself to its influence. That story ended with my banishment to the moon. While I was on the moon I had nothing but time. I studied that power nonstop and finally came to understand it. Then I trained. I trained until I fully mastered the gift you gave me. Now, Sasuke, let me show you what I can do.” 

Luna’s body began to glow as...CHAKRA!?! Poured forth from inside her. She stood on her hind legs as her body began to shift and morph. A dark blue light enveloped her body and covered her from my sight. When the light faded I was stunned. Standing in front of me was Luna but she was...different. Where a pony had once been standing now stood a human. At least it was mostly human. She was bipedal and had arms and hands. Her blue fur was replaced with pale white skin covered by a pitch black dress that came down to her knees. She still had a horn protruding from her head and wings on her back. The strangest thing was I couldn’t sense anything from her.

“What do you think, Sasuke,” Luna cooed. “Do you want to consummate our marriage now?”

I was dumbfounded. Luna had changed from a pony into a voluptuous woman. I nodded enthusiastically and she smiled. I was so caught up in mildly delusional fantasies that I didn’t notice her knee until it impacted the side of my head. I flew into a building and barely had time to get my bearings. Luna was after me again with chidori in her hand. I had no time to react as she ripped through my side with lightning and then kicked me back out into the street. I had a deep gash in my side; I was also pretty sure I had a concussion and broken ribs. My bloody coughs led me to believe I had severe internal bleeding. Luna was over me again smirking and still holding chidori. It was then that I noticed it for the first time. Her eyes weren’t like Nightmare Moon’s anymore. Instead they were sharingan with two tomoe. She stepped on my leg and snapped it. I cried out in pain.

“A little brutal aren’t you,” I whimpered out.

“This state makes impulse control exceptionally difficult,” Luna replied nonchalantly. "It's such a shame that I must kill my beloved."

“I can’t believe I lost so quickly,” I coughed.

“I’ve become the perfect union of our strengths,” she said. “Do not be ashamed.”

I lay in the street with Luna standing over my broken body. The high pitched chirps echoed throughout the city. I looked towards the castle and saw a bright red light ascend into the sky. I looked out over the city and I saw a blue haze rising over the buildings. All I could do was laugh.

“Giving in to the inevitability of your death has driven you to madness?” Luna asked. “I shall end your suffering.”

“No, no,” I said wiping a tear from my eye. “It’s just an inside joke. I’m ready.”

“Very well,” Luna said as she moved the lightning closer to my heart. “Do you have any last words?”

“I do have a few,” I said. I cleared my throat and said the clearest voice I could muster, “Hey, yo, Jason. Say somethin' to her. Holla at her.”

“What are you doing? Have you truly gone mad?”

I laughed. “ I got one question. How you fit all that… in them jeans?”

“What are you talking about? Where is that whistling coming from?” Luna was confused but as the music started, recognition spread across her face.

Magical resonance is a funny thing. It has many effects most of which go unnoticed by ponies during their daily life. But definitely one of its most interesting effects is the Bluegrass Daydreamer effect, so named for the mare that discovered it. You see when a magical creature sings about something they are passionate about, their internal magic starts to vibrate and spread. Other magical creatures in the vicinity will react to this vibration by having their own magic vibrate and spread. This continues until you have a whole town singing and dancing in perfect harmony. The stronger the magic of the creatures singing, the harder the effect is to resist. I may be a very laid back guy but there is one thing I am extremely passionate about. Ass. I love it. And I triggered a magical resonant effect by singing about what I love. And Luna was caught in it.

“You know what to do with that big fat butt!
wiggle, wiggle, wiggle”

I watched as she shook her now human butt and encouraged other to do the same. Soon Celestia was caught in it too. Their combined resonance quickly overwhelmed the city and ponies came out of hiding to join in the song. I watched with glee while two princesses sang about wiggling their plots and tried their best to twerk. But the song wouldn’t last forever and I was in terrible shape. So with a heavy heart, I used Kamui to teleport myself away.


**********Timberwolf Den**********


“I’m telling you, that’s what he said!”


“That’s absolutely insane. There’s no way he said that. You must have misheard.”


“I didn’t mishear anything! He’s crazy and you’re crazy for going along with him! First chance I get I’m outa here!”

“What’s going on?”  I asked as I materialised in the den. Everyone suddenly got quiet. Taking the chance to recover a bit I used the Orochimaru Style Body Replacement Technique to heal my injuries.  My soldiers were a little repulsed seeing me regurgitate my own body, but they would get over it. “So what’s with all the fuss?” I asked again.

Merlin stepped forward. “I was successful in obtaining the objects, sir.”

“Excellent,” I said. “Where’s Aoife?”

“Over here, Lord Mephisto,” her voice weakly replied.

I walked over to her and saw that she was completely covered in bandages and lying down. 

“What happened to you?” I asked.

“You left me to fight one of the best and most experienced fighters in all of the Griffon Republic! I got my ass handed to me!” she replied.

“Sorry about that,” I said sheepishly. “But you did a great job stalling her.”

Aoife grumbled something I couldn’t hear. 

“Don’t worry about your injuries,” I assured her. “We’ll get you all patched up when we go back to Laputa.”

“Now, Merlin, show me what you got,” I said excitedly.

He motioned to a large timberwolf that stood beside him and opened up its chest. A mirror, an orb covered in runes, and a statue of a heart fell out.

“And it’s not even my birthday,” I cheered. “You really got everything! I can’t tell you how excited I am!”

“Is no one really going to say anything?” Gilda shouted. “Fine then I will! What the hell were you talking about with the princesses? You want us to just be thugs causing problems? I thought this was gonna be something big! Not some third rate gang!”

“So you heard what I said,” I asked her.

“Yeah I heard it,” she screeched back.

“Remember how I told you I was going to teach you?”

“So what?”

I grinned. “Lesson one: Never take what your enemy says at face value.”

“What?” Gilda asked, her anger cooled.

“What I told the princesses did have some truth to it. I am building up a force to rival the Elements of Harmony but it's not to cause random mayhem,” I said. “But because I said it was, the princesses won’t attribute any of our actions to a larger scheme. And now that they think I’m crazy, they’ll fail to see any logic or reason behind my actions. I’ve set us up to move in the shadows with impunity. And all we have to do is cause trouble every once in a while to distract them.”

“.........wow,” Gilda whispered.

“You have to plan ahead when you have a plan as big as mine,” I said.

“And what is this grand master plan?”

Everyone leaned in close. 

“I will only reveal the parts of my plan as they become relevant or active,” I replied. Everyone groaned. “But I think you’ve all earned some trust. Gilda, you and several others I need to… recruit, will be incubators.”

“Incubators for what?” she asked.

“A power greater than you can imagine.”

“And what do you need all this power for?”

“Sorry but that’s all you get. Let’s get ready to move out!”

The Valkyries sprang into action collecting the artifacts and other treasures that had gotten during our raid. Andraste walked up to me and asked a question.

“Lord Mephisto, I’ve been meaning to ask you, what was in those blue sacs underneath the timberwolves?”

I smiled. “Nothing important to the timberwolves I assure you. Timberwolves have a special ability. It allows them to assimilate any kind of plant matter. Those sacs were just full of a special plant found in the Everfree.”

“What plant was it, sir?”

“Nothing much. It was just a joke,” I grinned.

“I’m not sure I get your meaning, sir,” Andraste said, scratching her head.

“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “Now back to work with you.”

Andraste scurried off to help with the preparations. I sensed they would be taking a while so I decided to relax in my own private dimension. I’d discovered that Kamui was a great place to relax and put a bed and a few other things in the dimension. I teleported into the dimension only to find my bed in cinders. On the desk near it there was a note. 

Now we’re even. 
Kisses, 
Celestia