//------------------------------// // Way to the Dawn // Story: Adventures of the Equestrian Ninja // by hussbek //------------------------------// Chapter 5: Way to the Dawn Mayor Mare yelled out, “Seize her! She is the only one who knows where the princess is!” Immediately a group of Pegasus in golden armor belonging to the royal guard of Princess Celestia flew in to the air and charged at Nightmare Moon. “Stand back, you foals” yelled the dark Alicorn, her eyes glowed and lightning was fired at the Pegasus putting them out of commission. She began to laugh arrogantly, “Hahahaha! Is that all you sun lovers can-“Nightmare moon didn’t finish the sentence when she received a haymaker punch by courtesy of Naruto Uzumaki in the jaw, drawing a bit of blood. “I don’t know about this plan of yours but you are going to make a lot of ponies suffer because of your selfishness so I am not going to let you do what you like,” said Naruto glaring at the evil Alicorn. “You are an interesting pony, different from the others,” said Nightmare moon while getting up from the floor. “However you must know your place which is underneath me!” she then launched a bolt of lightning which slammed into Naruto, sending him flying into the air and crashing through the wall where he fell to the ground and lost consciousness. “Naruto!” shouted the mares who went to check if he is okay while Nightmare moon once again laughed before turning into the purple mist and flying out of the town hall towards the Everfree forest in the outskirts of town. Rainbow Dash saw Twilight Sparkle run towards the library and suspected that she knows what is going on, so she followed after her with the others close behind while Rarity carries an unconscious Naruto with her magic. Twilight was using her magic to look through the books stacked in the shelves and discarding them when they do not contain the information that she is looking for. “Elements…… Elements…….. Elements…. argh! How can I stop Nightmare moon without the Elements of Harmony!?” she said while frustrated. “And just what are these Elements of Harmony?!” Rainbow Dash said bursting into the room with the other mares right behind her while Rarity laid Naruto onto the couch. “And how did you know about Nightmare moon!? You are a spy aren’t you!?” Applejack grabbed Rainbow Dash by the tail with her mouth in order to hold her back. “Simmer down, Sally. She ain’t no spy and I’m sure Naruto wouldn’t want you reacting like this,” she said, Rainbow Dash calmed down but she was visibly upset at Naruto being hurt by Nightmare Moon. “I’m sure that she knows what’s going on, don’t you Twilight?” “Before I came here, I read about the prophecy about the return of Nightmare Moon and that some mysterious artifacts called the Elements of Harmony are the only things that can stop her. But I don’t know what they look like, where to find or how to use them!” said Twilight while still looking through the remaining books until Pinkie pie spoke up. “The Elements of Harmony, a reference guide,” Pinkie read aloud from the other side of the library and was pushed away by Twilight when she ran over to confirm much to her surprise that it was there. “Where did you find it and so quickly!?” asked Twilight who was stunned that Pinkie pie found the book much sooner than she did without any problem. “It was under ‘E’!” said Pinkie bouncing in excitement which made Twilight feel embarrassed at missing something so obvious. Twilight opened the book and began to read out loud. “There are known to be six of the Elements of Harmony which are Kindness, Laughter, Loyalty, Honesty, Generosity but the sixth is unknown and their last known location was in the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters in the Everfree forest. “The Everfree forest is to the south of Ponyville and we are coming with you,” said Applejack surprising Twilight. “Wait everypony, I appreciate the gesture but this is something I should do on my own,” said Twilight, although the promise that Naruto made echoed in her mind. “No can do, Sugarcube. We ain’t letting any friend of ours go into that place alone so we’ll be sticking with ya like a caramel on an apple,” said Applejack while Pinkie pie was jabbering about the possibilities of candy apples being in the forest. “W-what about Naruto?” asked Fluttershy who was watching over the blond stallion who was still unconscious. “Well we can’t take him with us, so he’ll remain in the library so that he can recover,” said Rarity. With that the mares set off for the ancient castle to acquire the Elements of Harmony in order to defeat Nightmare Moon. When Naruto opened his eyes, he realized that he was back at dreamscape where he met Luna and the dark being. “If I am back here then that means that Princess Luna is somewhere close by, I’d better hurry and find her to check if she’s alright,” thought Naruto and galloped off in search of her. When Naruto found Luna, he was horrified to see that she was restrained with chains that seem to emit dark aura which prevents him from getting any closer to her. “Princess Luna, what is happening to you?!” asked Naruto who was still trying to get closer to the mare but to no avail. “Naruto, is that you? These chains are slowly draining my magic and sense of will, I don’t know how long I can resist but it takes control of me,” said Princess Luna, it is visibly seen that she is struggling to keep herself in control. “Damn, I can’t help her here, the only to save her is to use the Elements of Harmony to purge Nightmare moon from her body!” thought Naruto. “Princess Luna, I need you to hold on for just a little longer while I help my friend find the Elements of Harmony in order to save you and I promise you that I will definitely save you” said Naruto. When Luna looked into the blond stallion’s eyes and could see the firm resolution which gave her the hope she thought she lost years ago. “Okay, I’ll try to resist for a little longer for you to get the Elements,” said Luna. “Thank you, I am hoping that we would have a nice conservation under better conditions,” said Naruto with a foxy grin making Princess Luna blush. “And don’t worry, when Naruto Uzumaki makes a promise he always keeps it,” After saying those words, Naruto faded from the dreamscape leaving Luna to hope for his success. When Naruto woke up, he saw that he was in the library and the books were scattered about except for one book that lay open on the table. Reading through it, he figured out where she was heading to. “Knowing Twilight, she would be going to the ancient castle to find the Elements of Harmony but will have to go through the Everfree forest which is very dangerous especially at night” thought Naruto who immediately dashed out of the library and jumped to the roof of the tallest building. Closing his eyes, Naruto channeled chakra to them before opening them to reveal that they were glowing. Naruto called this technique the Aura sight which allows him to see far distance as well as see the aura of any living being. Looking In the direction of the forest, Naruto picked up a trace of Twilight’s aura as well as that of five other ponies with her. “It seems like Applejack and the others followed her to help and this can’t be coincidence since there are six mares and six Elements of Harmony but I better catch up before they go in too deep,” thought Naruto before jumping off the roof. Landing on the floor, Naruto took a running position and channeled chakra to his hooves till they emitted white aura. “Ready, GO!!!!” (I couldn’t resist using the Sentai Go-Busters catchphrase) and took off leaving a small crater behind in his wake. Music start: Sonic Unleashed OST; Jungle joyride-Day Galloping through the Evertree forest, Naruto using his free running skills to the fullest to dart through the trees while evading any hostiles that come in his way, then he reached a cliff where he jumped off and used the Terra Drift to descend on the cliff wall while swerving left and right to avoid the rocks jutting out,. Continuing along the way, Naruto saw a manticore sleeping peacefully and knew that Fluttershy’s kindness calmed it down and continued on his way. When he reached a river, Naruto saw a serpent admiring his reflection and noticed that one of part of his moustache had a familiar color. “It must be Rare’s tail, she must have cut it and given to him in order to cheer him up, she is really the most generous pony I’ve ever met,” Naruto thought fondly before jumping over the river and moving along. As he drew close, a pack of Timberwolves jumped into his path intending to attack. “Get out of my way!!!” shouted Naruto, running faster to create a white barrier and slammed into the wolves, sending them flying into the air. He kept on moving until he finally caught up with the mares who were standing at the end of a bridge. Music End “Naruto!? What are you doing here, I thought you were unconscious!?” asked Twilight who was surprised to see him here. “Well I have always been known to heal fast and I still intend to keep the promise I made,” said Naruto. “Where’s Dash? I don’t see her here,” “She’s at the other end of the bridge tying the other end for us to cross,” said Rarity who looked a bit down and Naruto knew why and thought of how to cheer her up after all this. After crossing the bridge, Rainbow Dash was surprised as well as happy to see Naruto. “Whoa Naruto!? How did you get here so fast?” asked Rainbow Dash. “What would you expect from the fastest pony on land Dash?” said Naruto grinning to which she smiled sheepishly. “Let’s get moving, we are almost at the castle,” said Twilight but before she could take a step, a large purple mist materialized in front of them and grotesque forms of black ponies appeared. “These must be the offshoots of Nightmare moon’s dark magic” thought Twilight, she was about to tell the others to retreat when Naruto stepped forward. “I’ll take these guys on!” said Naruto who took a pouncing position. “But Naruto, this is different from when you were fighting the Timberwolves!” said Applejack with a worried look. “That’s because I didn’t go all out on those wolves but with these guys, I might have to get a little serious and I’ll explain everything to you when all this is all over,” said Naruto. “What do you mea-“ Twilight began to ask but stopped when she saw Naruto release a white aura from his body. “What is this!? It feels like magic but at the same time it doesn’t,” she thought as the other mares looked on in surprise while pinkie pie was excited “Naruto is glowing like a sun, this calls for a party when we get back!” “Kosei no Ha! Battle stance!!” Naruto called out, a sea blue glaive appeared on his back glowing brightly as if happy at being summoned after being so long dormant. Naruto turned to look at the dark ponies and grinned widely. “It’s SHOWTIME!!!” then he dashed towards them. Music start: Naruto Original Soundtrack; Strong and Strike Naruto began forming a chakra arm to grab one of the dark ponies and flinging it into the air and raised his fore hoof “Chakra bullet!” a white rune appeared and released a white orb which sped to the target and slammed into the pony, destroying. He quickly flipped over the next target while channeling chakra to his tail “*Chakra tail whip!” it glowed white before stretching and wounding itself around the pony, Naruto proceeded to lift it and slam it into the dark pony coming in from his left and dashed towards them “Glaive joust!” and rammed them with the glaive covered with chakra at high speed causing them to dissipate. “Who taught you guys how to fight?” Naruto taunted making three of the dark ponies charge at him, Naruto knocked one back with a double kick and unleashed a 5 hit combo with his glaive on another. He then formed chakra claws at his front hooves and unleashed a flurry of slashes on the third before finishing up with a cross slash causing to disappear. Naruto spun around and used a chakra tendril to grab the pony “Get over here!!” (I’ll borrow a line from Scorpion) and pulled it in. Channeling chakra to his horn “Chakra horn thrust!” rammed it into the pony’s chest making it fade away. Soon Naruto was surrounded by the remaining four but he didn’t look worried. “Time for the climax!” said Naruto as the Kosei no Ha glowed brightly. “*Stellar gear change; Chakram!” then it faded to reveal a three pointed cyclone blade with curved edges on his back (Aquila from DmC: Devil May Cry but a bit larger than normal) “Take this! Chakram cyclone!” then he used a chakra tendril to throw the chakram which flew in an orbit, striking all of the dark ponies before returning to his back and reverting to the glaive. Naruto smirked “Heh, show’s over,” Music End After making sure that there no more enemies around with his Aura sight, Naruto was approached by the mares. “Naruto, you were so amazing when you fought those baddies,” said Pinkie Pie while hugging the stallion “Indeed, the way you fought was truly beautiful and artistic,” said Rarity with a look of admiration. “I-I am glad that you didn’t get hurt,” said Fluttershy who was trying to hide her blush with her mane. "So that’s how you fought the Timberwolves back then,” said Applejack with a look of understanding. "AHA! I knew that you were holding back in our race but I can’t blame you since I was also not going all out either, we’ll have race soon but this time we’re going all out!” said Rainbow Dash with a grin. "What kind of energy was that? I’ve never seen anything like it!” said Twilight who had a look of curiosity. Naruto smiled at the mares “Like I said before, I’ll explain everything after we defeat Nightmare Moon,” he said and got a nod from them, then led the way to the castle. When they got to the castle and entered inside. Naruto used his Aura sight and sensed different auras within the castle. “I sense the potent energy of the Elements to the right while I sense Nightmare Moon at the top of the castle,” said Naruto after ending his technique. “So what do we do then Naruto?” asked Rarity, feeling that he is suited for the leadership role. “I’ll go face Nightmare moon while you and the others go and get the Elements,” said Naruto, the mares looked at him in surprise. “Naruto, I don’t think I like this plan of yours, you could get killed fighting against her,” said Applejack with the others nodding in agreement. “Don’t worry, I intend to stall her so as to give you time to find the Elements and think of a way to use them,” said Naruto, but they didn’t look convinced. “How about this? After all this is over, I spend a whole day with each of you,” “Okay then, since we know that you always keep your promises no matter what then we’ll go with your plan, just don’t do anything stupid,” said Rarity. “Sure thing, and Twilight remember that you not alone in this,” said Naruto leaving the mare deep in thought. Soon they went their separate ways, with the mares going through a door on the right and Naruto galloping up the stairs to the top of the castle. Reaching the top, Naruto came face to face with Nightmare moon who stood in the throne room. “Looks like this pony still hasn’t learnt his lesson” said Nightmare moon with a look of haughtiness to which Naruto smirked at. “Well that time I underestimated you, but this time I’m gonna buck you off your high horse” Naruto taunted which worked as Nightmare moon looked at him with anger in her eyes. “You will pay for your insolence with your life!” she said angrily releasing dark magic from her but was stunned when she saw Naruto release a white aura from his body. “Kosei no Ha! Battle stance” Naruto called out summoning the glaive once before looking at Nightmare moon “It’s SHOWTIME!!!” dashed towards her. Music start: Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 OST; Boss battle-Mephiles Nightmare moon fired bolts of lightning which Naruto darted left and right to avoid, he leapt at her and spun to use a Chakra tail whip to attack but she dodged by flying into the air. “Grovel before me, foolish pony!” yelled the dark mare, releasing a shower of meteorites upon the ninja, Naruto quickly fired a barrage of chakra projectiles at the incoming meteorites destroying all of them much to the mare’s surprise. “Where did he get this power?! It doesn’t feel like magic but something else,” she thought but quickly had to dodge when Naruto threw his chakram at her, barely clipping her mane. “Try to avoid this!” Nightmare moon shouted out, releasing another shower of meteorites only that they are much bigger than the first one. Thinking quickly Naruto formed two large chakra arms and began to pummel at the meteorites, breaking them into many pieces before forming two chakra tendrils to wrap around the last one, he swung it round before sending it back at the Alicorn landing a hit (Think of Spiderman’s hammer throw). Nightmare moon got up and charged at Naruto with her horn glowing with a dark aura and he responded in kind with his Chakra horn thrust with both sides clashing and being knocked back by the ensuing explosion from the two energy. “You are an interesting pony, why don’t you join me and together we shall rule over Equestria,” said Nightmare moon, trying to tempt the ninja. “Thanks for the offer, but I’m happy with what I currently have,” said Naruto while sticking his tongue at the mare. “How dare you refuse my offer!!” shouted Nightmare moon who then released a beam of black magic at Naruto. Knowing that there is no way that he could this attack, Naruto called out to his glaive “*Stellar gear change; Shield!” the glaive glowed brightly and faded to reveal a red shield with the symbol of a white maelstrom, the shield immediately hovered in front of Naruto and deflected the attack. Naruto smiled as he got an idea to use a technique and got ready to execute it. When the smoke cleared, Nightmare moon to find the ninja only to see no trace of him. Then she heard a sound and looked up to see Naruto diving towards her with hoof that formed a chakra hand and was holding a spinning orb of energy. “Rasengan!” Naruto called out his attack before slamming into her and sent her crashing into a wall. “I will not lose to a pony like you!” Nightmare moon yelled out releasing the largest amount of aura that she has. “Whoa I don’t think Luna has much time left so I have to hurry. I guess I would have to use that” thought Naruto, he began to channel his chakra from within himself before raising his head to the sky and yelling out “Chakra burst mode!!!!” Immediately, his body seemed to explode with white aura creating a pillar of light that could be seen from a far distance. When it died down, it revealed Naruto to have changed physically, the color of his mane and tail had changed to white and had become longer and flowing in the wind, his eyes are glowing with a white aura and the shield had reverted to the glaive but this time there were two that hovered in midair by his sides (Like Sora’s keyblades in Final form but in parallel) “Now then let’s continue from where we left off” said Naruto dashing towards Nightmare moon. Nightmare moon wasn’t exactly having the night of her life as she is constantly launching her attacks at the enigma and only getting a few hits in while he is laying the pressure on her with his. The evil Alicorn unleashed black orbs that surrounded Naruto to strike him down, but he spun with his two glaives “Glaive windstorm” destroying all of them before they could make contact. “Wait could he be delaying me so as to let those mares get their hooves on the Elements!? I won’t let them succeed!!” thought Nightmare Moon before transforming into purple mist and flying off. “Damn! She figured out the plan, I gotta get to the others fast!!” thought Naruto before running after her. Music end. Meanwhile, Twilight and the others had found the Elements and was focusing her magic on them trying to find the spark needed to activate them. She continued trying to do so when Nightmare mare busted in knocking them all back to the other side of the room. “I won’t let you use the Elements against me!!” shouted Nightmare moon launching a bolt of lightning at the orbs, shattering them into pieces. “No!! The Elements of Harmony!” Twilight cried out. “HAHAHAHA!!! With the Elements destroyed, the night will last forever!!” laughed Nightmare Moon. Twilight was about to fall into despair when the voice of Naruto rang inside her head “You are not alone,” and she turned to look at the mares before standing and glared at Nightmare Moon with determination in her eyes. “You think you have destroyed the Elements of Harmony? You are wrong, for the spirits of the Elements are right here!" “What!!!” shouted Nightmare Moon with fear in her voice. Music start: Naruto Shippuden OST; Douten “Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of Honesty!” “Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of Kindness!” “Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of Laughter!” “Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with meaningful gift, represents the spirit of Generosity!” “And Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart’s desire, represents the spirit of Loyalty!” The broken shards began to glow and flew to their respective owners. “The spirits of the five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us!" Nightmare Moon took a step back in fear but still spoke up to hide it “But you still don’t have the sixth Element! The spark didn’t work!” “But it did” said Twilight “a different kind 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” turning to look at her friends “the spark that ignited inside me when I realized that you all” then looking at Nightmare Moon “are my friends!” A bright light shone above drawing everyponies attention to see an orb which is revealed to be the sixth Element of Harmony as it descended and hovered above Twilight’s head. “You see Nightmare Moon, when the Elements are ignited by the spark… The spark that resides in us all, it creates the sixth Element. The Element… of Magic!” The shards glowed brightly and transformed into golden necklaces with gems resembling their respective owners’ cutie mark and the orb transformed into a tiara with Twilight’s cutie mark on it before settling on her head. Nightmare Moon tried to attack with a bolt of lightning, but it was deflected by a white projectile which was fired by Naruto who landed front the mares surprising them with his current appearance. “You!? Just who are you!?” she shouted, Naruto smirked and declared in a loud voice. “I am Naruto Uzumaki, former ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village, Former container of the nine tailed fox!” as he said those words, a glow appeared on his flank and faded to reveal the mark of a white vortex and soon after the necklaces as well as Twilight’s tiara glowed and specks of lights came out of them. They floated to Naruto and formed another necklace with a gem bearing the image of his newly acquired cutie mark, he heard a voice in his head and smiled before continuing “And I, who strive for love and salvation, represent the spirit of Purity! Now it’s time for the climax!!” Naruto levitated above the mares and held up his front hooves where a rune containing the colors of the Elements of Harmony. The magic of the Element bearers gathered at the rune before Naruto took aim at Nightmare moon and called out the attack “Take this! Harmony blast!” before firing a rainbow colored beam at the Alicorn who cried out in dismay. When Naruto landed on the ground, he reverted back to normal and chuckled “Heh, shows over,” before fainting along with the others. When he woke up, Naruto saw that the mares are waking up as well and turned to where Nightmare moon was to see a familiar Alicorn on the floor. Naruto quickly galloped over to check if she is alright. “Princess Luna, are you okay?” asked Naruto, nudging her awake. “Naruto? Naruto!!” said Luna before getting up and hugging the blond stallion much to his embarrassment. “I told you that I would definite save after all I promised,” said Naruto while blushing from the close contact with the princess while the mares felt a bit jealous at the display. Suddenly a bright light appeared from one of the windows, everypony looked to see the sun finally rise on the sun, and the light changed its form to reveal a tall and slender white pony. She is an Alicorn with a coat of pure white and mane and tail with the colors of the rainbow different from Rainbow Dash’s, she wears a golden collar with a purple gem embedded in it and a golden crown. She has a cutie mark of the sun on her flank. Realizing who she is, Naruto bowed down along with the other mares while Twilight approached her happily. “Princess Celestia!” said Twilight joyfully while hugging the Alicorn. Naruto stood by Luna who looked happy as well as worried. “I believe that is Princess Celestia, your older sister?” Naruto asked Luna who nodded. “You shouldn’t be worried about what happened back then because I’m sure she understands,” “Princess Luna,” said Celestia as she approached Luna. Luna hesitated but walked up to her sister after receiving encouragement from Naruto. “It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this,” smiling gently “time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister. Will you accept my friendship?” Hearing this this, Luna teared up and hugged Celestia “I am so sorry! I missed you big sister!” Celestia also teared up as she embraced her sister “I missed you too”. Naruto smiled gently at the scene and thought of how it would be when he and Scootaloo become family. Celestia turned to Naruto and the mares. “I wish to thank you all for saving my sister especially you” said Celestia looking at Naruto. “It’s nothing really, I mean I promised to help her,” said Naruto rubbing the back of his head before giving the white Alicorn a foxy grin which she thought to be cute. “My, aren’t you a modest pony, what is your name?” asked princess Celestia. “My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I am the new bearer of the Element of Purity” said Naruto, Celestia was surprised at hearing of a new Element. “I think we should return to Ponyville to check on everything then I’ll tell you my story,” with that, everypony was transported to Ponyville with Celestia’s magic.