• Published 18th Apr 2016
  • 2,898 Views, 94 Comments

A Tale of Tails, Sunsets and Burned Bridges - Ozone31



16 Years prior to the events of EG, a peaceful night in Canterlot is interrupted by the arrival of the Nine Tailed Fox. Where did he come from? Why can't he remember anything? And what's in store for him and his Jinchuuriki, Sunset Shimmer?

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I Don't Want To Fight You... Part 2

(Third Person POV)

The two Tailed Beasts in human form launched forward, closing the gap between them in an instant and moving to strike. Gyuki swung first and, in his beaten and weary state, Kurama was unable to dodge in time - taking the punch straight in the cheek. The hit was accompanied by a powerful shock wave and a slight electrical charge filled the air. But, despite the power of the attack, Kurama was unmoved. With a fist still firmly placed on his face, he swung a hook straight into his foe's side - a second, rather warm shock wave filling the air as it landed.

Gyuki was sent skidding back a few feet, but otherwise seemed unfazed as Kurama charged in again. The charge was met with another punch, which the Demon Fox Spirit, again, took straight in the side of the face. Once more he continued his own assault unabashed, retaliating with another hook - this time sending it straight to his opponent's jaw. This time, Gyuki gained air, spiralling away for several yards before landing, just about, on his feet. The Fox was barrelling back at him again when he looked up-

"Stop!" he growled as he brought his arm across his chest to catch his enemy's punch, stopping him dead this time. Triumphantly he raised the other arm and brought its fist crashing down against the back of Kurama's head. He was forced onto one knee by the first hit, while the second drove his face into the sand. Gyuki grinned as he raised his fist to strike a third time, pleased at the situation he'd caught the other Tailed Beast in.

"No, YOU!" Kurama roared, loosing his other fist in a straight punch into the other man's gut. The Eight Tails once again was sent tearing down the beach, his grip lost on his opponent when the shot into his solar plexus left his body temporarily paralysed. But he still kept his footing, eventually coming to a stop a hundred or so yards from the focus of his anger.

"STOP!!" he said again, this time at a far greater volume and with significantly less patience. Why does this always happen?! he internally despaired as he watched the other monster rise from the ground and fix him with a, frankly, rather bored look. That same damn look he always gives me. "Is this not exciting enough for you?!" he thundered, his fury barely hiding the utter defeat he felt. "AM I STILL NOT WORTH EVERYTHING YOU HAVE?!"

Kurama's look of general indifference broke a little at that, creasing into a confused stare. He remained silent, however, keeping his curiosity internal. This only infuriated the other man further.

"THIS IS A FIGHT TO THE DEATH! AT LEAST ACT LIKE IT IS!" Gyuki's howl shook the very air, before he launched himself down the beach at the shorter man. The Fox responded in kind, setting off to meet the storming Octo-bull with an Earth shaking kick off. So that's what this is about he thought as he flew through the air towards the moving mountain that was his opponent, a certain calmness settling over his mind as everything came into perspective.

He recalled his brief conversation with The Voice in the darkness and his birth into the other world. When he was dropped into Canterlot all those years ago, he had been consumed by rage - blind anger at anything and everything he saw. This was the entity he called Kyuubi, a conscious manifestation of all of his anger, hatred and fury.

You have a 'Kyuubi' of your own, don't you Benedictus? 'Hachibi' is in control of you now. It was all clear to him now. The Voice had dropped his friend here, and placed this Hachibi at the helm - an entity born of jealousy, frustration and feelings of inadequacy. "I want you to fight me seriously!" images of the past flashed in his mind's eye as they closed on one another, giving him the answer he needed to end this madness. I guess Day Break was right, I really need to take a look at those memory-tree things when this is over.

The Eight-Tails was coming in fully guarded, summoning a cloak of lighting around his right arm and raising his left arm up to protect his face and upper body from retaliation. Kurama, on the other hand, was coming in completely open - his right fist raised and ready to punch, while his left simply remained at his side.

"DIE!" the larger man roared, planting his foot and throwing all of his weight and strength into his punch. It covered the mere few feet of distance that separated them in moments, quickly honing in on his weakened foe's uncovered face. "THIS IS WHAT YOU GET FOR UNDERESTIMATING ME FOR ALL THESE YEARS!!" his last victorious cry came with his electrified attack precious millimetres from impact - split seconds from the victory he'd been yearning for ever since he'd met the hot tempered boy.

But, as he stood on the cusp - the precipice - of achieving his childhood goal, something happened that he just couldn't believe. Time seemed to slow around them, as he watched Kurama tilt his head off to one side and out of the path of the encroaching strike. Then the typically bored, tired and overall apathetic look that regularly adorned the Fox's face disappeared - hardening into a fierce glare. His dulled, emerald-green eyes flashed bright before changing colour entirely to a fiery red.

"You're right, old friend." Kurama said quietly, a touch of feral heat edging into his voice as he suddenly surged forward. Weaving inside his opponent's arm, the furious arcs of lighting desperately clawing at his face as he leaned into his own counter strike. His right arm swung back further as he clenched his left fist and brought it in close to his side. He planted his right foot hard into the ground and in a blinding flurry of movement - sent his left fist flying straight in under Eight-Tails' arm and into his exposed side. "Play time is over now."

A resounding *CRUNCH* echoed around the surrounding area, signalling the immediate failure of his ribs to stand against the force of impact. The girls positioned at the beach car park winced collectively, feeling the sound run through their bodies almost as if they were the ones who'd been hit. The force of the punch was even sufficient enough to lift the solid, block-like frame of Hachibi's human body clean off the ground, although not enough to send him tumbling away. The suddenly airborne Tailed-Beast let out a snarling cough as he left the ground, desperately holding back a cry of pain as his bones buckled.

"Damn..." he coughed out, the metallic taste of blood filling his mouth as the intense fires of despair and defiance flooded his mind. "No! I refuse to beaten by such a cheap trick!" as those pained words left his lips, he threw his left arm out wide - sending a blinding current of electricity charging through it and preparing to strike back. "I WON'T BE BEATEN BY SUCH A WEAK PUNCH!"

"I know you won't." the Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit stated firmly, his eyes still burning crimson and gaze set in a powerful, determined scowl. "But that's because..." as he spoke, his right hand - still balled into a tight fist - began to steam in the cool night air. "I HAVEN'T PUT MY BACK INTO IT YET!"


Xeno-Terra, Some Sixteen Years Ago
(Kurama/Oscar's POV)

I steadily rose to my feet, dusting myself off after a particularly patience-testing spar with Benedictus - scowling when I discovered a sizeable burn in the shoulder pad of my Academy blazer. I was less miffed about the damage itself and more annoyed about the grilling I was gonna get for it upon arriving at the Academy.

"Seriously dude?!" I'd woken up early that day to humour a request my friend had made of me the day before; to fight him, no holds barred, no holding back. But hold back I did, as I always did. "Just because I'm durable enough to take lightning bolts, doesn't mean that my clothes are!" I exclaimed exasperatedly at him as he rose from where he'd been kneeling on the ground, recovering from the gut punch that I'd used to end the bout.

"Dammit, Oscar!" he shouted at me, giving me a full glare when he'd risen enough for his eyes to be visible from under under his mop of messy, brown hair. I couldn't help but be shocked, not by the shout or the glare, but by the small tears forming at the corners of his eyes. I didn't hit him that hard, did I? I thought, a wave of fear washing through my body as I pondered the possibility.

"Are you okay?" I asked hurriedly, rushing up to my best friend and attempting to check him over. "I didn't over do it, did I?! Anything broken?! Internal bleeding?! Ruptured organs?!!!"

"NO, Oscar!" he harshly batted my hand away and began to climb up the grassy incline that bordered the field we'd been fighting in. "You didn't over do it. And that's the problem."

"... huh?" was all I could manage as my brain attempted to comprehend what my ears had just heard. "Sooo... you want ruptured organs..?" I'd often been called a very dense person, by many people and this moment was a fine example of their opinion being justified - since, looking back, that was obviously not what he wanted.

"I want you to fight me seriously! Why do you think I said, repeatedly, that you shouldn't hold back?!" he yelled from the road at the top of the bank, before stomping off in the direction of the town. I quickly took off after him, spluttering weak retorts as I went;

"I-I was... being... serious..." was all I could manage by the time I'd caught up with him. As I did reach him he stopped dead in his tracks and turned sharply, glowering down at me from his several inches of additional height. It wasn't a threatening sight in itself, I'd stood up to people almost twice my height before then, but the fact that Benedictus was annoyed was something to be, at the very least, aware of. "... ish..."

In response to my less than convincing defence, he simply huffed and turned away - walking off to sit back on the grass bank. I joined him, seeing as the Sky Barge to the Academy wouldn't be arriving for another two hours and I had time to kill before the sun rose and my family woke up. That and I cared deeply about my friend and wanted to help ease his troubles, of course. He didn't speak when I took a seat next to him, instead he continued to stare at the horizon - where the clouds were sheathed in a distinct golden glow, foreshadowing the sun's immanent arrival.

"So I didn't get serious... like I promised..." I began awkwardly, revving the motor on my addled brain as hard as possible, attempting to coax some better words out of it than that. His feedback on my opener was appropriate, a solid glare and a;

"Try again."

"Okay, what do you expect from a 'serious fight'?"

"I expect you to be coming at me with red eyes and flaming fists! I expect you to act like you're fighting me for real! I expect to be fighting the 'Red Terror', not Oscar - the kid who has no interest in DOING ANYTHING!!" his final out burst did cause me to flinch a bit, leaning away from him as he flailed his arms about and threw his feelings at me like a sock full of change.

"I... see." my reply was very lacklustre in comparison, coming out hollow and quiet in comparison to my friend's seething, emotional shouts.

I'd lost my fire - it had gone out years ago, blown out by the harsh rigours of life. And with it, went my powers. I could no longer summon a cloak of flames to cover my arms or light a stove with my bare hands. I couldn't even warm my hands with my power anymore - it had left me completely. And serious fights were part of the reason.

"You know my fire is dangerous." I said flatly, leaning back in the grass to stare at the portion of the sky above that was still mostly dark. I hadn't told anyone that my fire had gone out, at first it was to maintain my 'Tough Kid' image, but after a while I started hiding it to stop others from worrying. I hated being fussed over. "Or don't you remember when I burned down a corn field and hospitalised three people?"

"But-" Benedictus started, standing up to get back into my line of sight and attempting to argue - but I waved him off in a nonchalant fashion, desperately trying to get him to drop the topic.

"And my eyes only go red when I'm mad. Ya know, on the verge of bashing someone's head in levels of mad."

"I need to prove something to myself, Oscar!" he eventually yelled losing his cool yet again, opening his mind and heart to spill his thoughts and feelings into the world. "Pretty much my entire Academy life, you've been standing up FOR me! I've always been too weak or too placid to defend myself and I'm sick of it! To prove to myself that I'm not worthless, I need to face you at your best!"

"And win?"

"Not necessarily... I just need to see how I do. I've got a pretty good idea of where everyone stands when compared to you, so how long I can stay standing and what I can do in return will help me to... to..." he trailed off, seemingly either losing his train of thought or he'd run out of words to best express it. I rose to my feet slowly and with a lethargic sigh, the weight of the waking world already pressing heavily on me, despite the fact it wasn't even seven in the morning yet.

"I'm not gonna use my fire against you." I asserted, fixing him dead in the eyes with a steely look. "The phrase 'Don't play with fire was invented for a reason, ya know." he seemed to sag a bit at that, but I didn't give him a chance to complain. "However, if you can do better than me in the exam today - then, and only then, I will give you a full on fight. Red eyes and everything."

"What?! That's bull!" he exclaimed, although his expression clearly brightened a bit at the prospect of getting another chance to brawl it out. "And I thought you said you only got red eyed when you're mad?"

"Hey, if you can beat me in a Tornadic Language paper that's plenty enough reason to be annoyed with you, considering it's what I'm meant to be good at." I laughed, clapping him firmly on the shoulder in an attempt to get the feeling to spread. It worked and soon enough he was laughing along with me, as we made our way back onto the road and prepared to split ways - him heading back to his home in Gale's Town and me to mine on the forest outskirts. "And 'sides, life has given me plenty to be annoyed about recently anyway."

"So, see ya on the barge?" he asked, his typical friendly and upbeat personality shining back through.

"Well, I haven't miraculously sprouted wings recently... sooooo yes."


"YOU WANT MY FIRE?!" I roared, my fist catching alight and casting a halo of light across my vision while the chakra that was holding my form together began to wane. Planting my left foot hard, while pushing off my right, I began to lunge in for my final strike.

My transformed best friend attempted to stop me, throwing his left arm forward and launching a lighting bolt straight into my chest. The pain was excruciating, wracking and consuming my body in terrible contortions - leaving me lightly smoking and bleeding from my nose. But I pressed onward, undeterred.

"YOU WANT SERIOUS?! YOU WANT TO KNOW WHERE YOU STAND?!" I hurled my fist at him, pitching it into his gut and letting my fire run rampant. But I didn't completely extend my arm.

"PHOENIX-!!!" at the moment of impact, I pushed off once again with my right foot throwing my whole body over and forward. As I leaned in, my arm folded back - maintaining its position but altering its angle of attack downwards.

"DRIVER!!" I yelled, completing my strike with an earthshaking downward punch, the roaring flame surrounding my arm exploded and evolved into a raging inferno that all but completely consumed my vision. Hachibi was planted firmly into the bedrock below the beach while the sand around us turned to glass under the heat. The air pressure from the punch created great whipping storms of grit and pebbles, the flames incinerated the surrounding trees and the force of the ground collision shook the entire town from top to bottom.

"You're one of the strongest people I've ever met." as I said those words, I felt as if a great weight had been suddenly removed from my shoulders. I suppose I should have told him that a while ago... was all I could force out of my brain as reasoning - before my body gave out entirely and I was plunged into darkness for the third time that fortnight.


(Third Person POV)

It took a grand total of only thirty seconds for Kurama to land his two devastating blows on Gyuki and Sunset had found herself unable to move or look away as the brief melee unfolded. Or at least that was the case until the after effects of the last hit kicked in. She, along with all of her companions, was blown off her feet by the huge blast of searing air erupting forth from the mighty column of fire that sprang up from the impact zone. She kept her eyes on the mighty spectacle for as long as she could, marvelled by its bestial ferocity and stunned by its destructive beauty. It twisted and writhed in the air like a frenzied predator, snapping at the dark sky and clouds above as if it were trying to strike them down.

But before long she was forced to shut her eyes as the heat became even more intense and as a barrage of sand and soot was thrown against her. She reeled away from the onslaught as she continued to tumble through the air, eventually coming to a stumbling landing on the soft sand some two hundred yards from where she had been standing. She ended up laying flat on her back and staring at the late evening sky, the column of raging heat having already made its leave - leaving only the faint glow of a few smouldering trees to cast dim illumination onto the surrounding area. All she could manage was to stare dumbly at the flickering stars as her friends started landing around her, with "oofs" and "ouchs" as they thudded down onto the relatively soft sand. A particularly heavy sounding *thud* indicated the arrival of someone close to Sunset and after only a few seconds of silence a distinctive country accented voice intoned flatly;

"Welp... at least Ah'm not wet 'nymore."

"Yeah..." the fiery-haired teen agreed, sitting up slowly and quickly observing the calamity around her before turning to look at the farm girl laying near her. AppleJack was wearing a dusty, brown long-coat over her typical attire, to protect her damp self from the chills. Her famous stetson had been displaced from her head by the blast, but just as Sunset was about to go search for it for her, she spotted it hanging from a nearby signpost. "Found your hat." she chuckled a bit and pointed out the vagabond hat.

"Ah'll... grab it in a sec." the middle Apple child groaned as she sat up and rubbed her aching neck, shaking some sand out her hair before standing up. She turned to face the Jinchuuriki and offered her a hand up, but she maintained a straight serious face as she did so. "First, we need ta talk 'bout what in the hay jus' happened."

"Girls!" Rarity called out from nearby, her voice riddled with distress. When Sunset and AJ looked over, both then had to immediately averted their gaze as their eyes clapped sight on the young fashionista sitting stark naked in the sand. "I appear to have misplaced my towel..."

"Oh crud. Here Rarity, have mah coat." AppleJack quickly offered, dashing over to her exposed friend and draping the old item over her. The ex-Equestrian smiled as she watched the normally stoic apple farmer helping her friend while completely flushed and trying not to look at her modesty. She was about to go over to help cover the alabaster skinned girl when she felt something poking her shoulder. She turned and instantly went red as a beet when she caught sight of the also towel-less Rainbow Dash. The young athlete chuckled nervously as she looked up at the form of the girl she had hated only a few weeks ago.

"Hehe... think you could spare a jacket?" Sunset Shimmer wasted no time in removing her leather jacket and quickly enclosed her upper body in it. Unfortunately it was far too short to cover all of her friend's 'assets', so she quickly ushered her over to Vinyl's car, dug out her far longer winter puffer coat and hung that over her as well.

"Feeling better?" she asked the multi-coloured teen, offering her a sincere smile - which still felt a bit alien on her face even now. Dash nodded, returning the smile with a small grin but not saying anything just yet. "Are you sure Rainbow? I don't want to walk away thinking you're okay, just to find out tomorrow you got hypothermia or frostbite or something."

"... I-" the cyan coloured girl began, struggling with words as a battle of expressions on her face symbolised the war of thoughts being waged in her mind. Sunset cocked a curious eyebrow as she watched the human Element of Loyalty physically fight herself to speak her mind. "I guess this means we owe ya two now." she eventually sighed, looking off towards the sea to avoid making eye contact with the Jinchuuriki. Sunset's only responses to that was a befuddled look and a blunt;

"Huh?"

"Well, first you literally fight yourself to protect the school. And now you've saved the entire town from another rampaging monster."

"Please." the praised teen half-scoffed-half-laughed, looking off at the not so distant Ponyville wistfully. "What happened at the school was my fault to begin with, I was fixing my own mistake and deserve no praise for it. And I didn't really do anything here... It was Kurama who stopped the Eight-Tails, all I did was get in his way." Rainbow was silent for a short while after that, staring rather blankly at the reformed side of the monster she'd known from before. Then, inexplicably, a wide grin suddenly split her face.

"I guess that makes us even then."

"It... does?" Sunset blinked at the athletic teen, more than a little bit surprised. Rainbow had, by far, been the one to give her the widest birth following the 'incident' - all but avoiding her completely. Not that she blamed her for that, especially considering how often she'd used her feminine appeal to manipulate the male athletes to obey her every whim.

"Yep." Rainbow continued to grin, seemingly unabashed by the past and by the fact that she was standing around in naught but a pair of coats on a beach in the early hours of the night, a stark change when compared to how she was acting before. She'd perked right back up from meek and trembling to her normal self in less than ten seconds flat. "Means I don't have to hold back now."

"Hold... back?" Sunset asked slowly, stumbling around mentally trying to track down the other teen's train of thought - failing of course.

"From here on out I'm gonna challenge you to something everyday!"

"H-Huh?" What in the heck is she talking about?!

"Listen, I'm gonna level with ya here." Rainbow finally began her explanation, clapping both hands firmly onto the other girl's shoulders. "After AJ... maybe, you're probably the most physically fit person I know - you can jump clear onto the roofs of building's for cryin' out loud! So, ever since the Fall Formal, I've been dying to compete with ya!"

"I... see. So... why are you waiting until now to talk to me about this? Ya know, instead of literally any other time in the last week?"

"Twilight said to take it easy on you." the multicoloured athlete said bluntly, clearly clueless as to what the otherworldly princess had meant when she'd said that. "I normally wouldn't listen, but since ya saved... everything I know, I figured I would and gave ya some space." Sunset had spent past the week killing for more positive interaction, a chance to maybe redeem herself in a few eyes, and as it turned out Rainbow had been keeping herself from doing exactly that.

+Funny how the world works+ a deep voice rumbled within her skull, that she failed to notice as Rainbow brought her face within inches of Sunset's and grinned fanatically.

"But now we're officially even. First thing after school tomorrow, you and me, on the running track."

"It's Saturday tomorrow Rainbow." came Shimmer's level response, although her deadpan expression soon broke under the force of the smile that was trying to break onto her face.

"Even better!" Rainbow grinned, throwing her arms out wide - accidentally throwing off the coats as she did so, exposing her to the cool sea breezes again. She instantly drooped and curled into herself, both to prevent as much heat loss as possible, but also to cover her modesty.

Seems that even the infinitely confident Rainbow Dash isn't immune to embarrassment. Sunset thought to herself, re-enclosing her new 'rival' in the coats once more and standing her up."How about we leave it until Monday, Rainbow? I'm kinda sore... everywhere at the moment."

"Yeah... so... Monday after school?"

"Sure thing. I think it would be best if you got in the car now, before you freeze."

"That'd probably be smart, huh?" the athlete chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck and going to open the door to Vinyl's car. "Oh, wait a sec. My friends call me Dash, 'Rainbow' is kinda... too obvious... if ya get what I mean."

"R-right. Right! Okay, so Monday then, Dash?"

"Monday, and be prepared to be amazed by my shear awesomeness."

Satisfied with that, the fiery teen smiled at her official friend before she looked back in the direction of the other girls, seeing AJ and Fluttershy huddled around and supporting the all but stark Rarity back to Maud's car. The two Pie sisters were far from the others, crouching around on the sand not too far from the edge of the crater made by Kurama's punch. Maud was using a chunk of tree bark to prod at a piece of the sand glass created by the heat - muttering about chemical compositions and impact forces.

"What're ya thinking sis?" Pinkie asked, her voice unusually calm and quiet as her mind processed things seriously for the first time since moving off her parents' 'Rock Farm'.

"I think..." the dour teen began, rising to her full height and throwing her prodding instrument away. "You've made some rather dangerous friends Pinkie."


(Kurama's POV)

A tense silence filled the air as I stood in the back yard of Luna's home, with the woman herself lancing a dragon-slaying scowl into me. The ride back here had been fairly uneventful, with the only conversations being had were a brief one about who should drive Vinyl's car while she was unconscious (Applejack) and a very one-sided one where Sunset all but insisted that the other girls stay over here for the night as a form of apology.

Luna had absolutely no objections, even before we told her the whole story, she was adamant that no student of hers would be turned away on such a cold Autumn night. This by no means meant that she was happy about what had happened - in fact, at the moment, I'd say she looks down right livid.

"Anything to say for yourself?" she hissed, her fury barely contained behind her grinding teeth.

"Only that I'm sorry for what happened and that this sorta thing will happen again." I sighed, leaning against the cool brick of the house's exterior. While this body was completely injury free and stocked full of chakra from within the seal, my mind was still worn out to the point where just holding myself upright was a chore. Apparently one that I couldn't do, even with the wall's help, resulting in me slumping down it with all the grace of a landslide. Luna didn't take this as a reason to relent however, leaning her face in right on down to my level - leaving her baleful glare precious inches away from my own face.

"Care to run that by me again?" she said in the classic 'calm voiced teacher' routine, her even tone a complete contrast with her internal rage. It failed to have the effect she desired though, as instead of withering into a stammering mess under it I simply sighed again before meeting her gaze steadily and spoke without falter.

"It's pretty clear to me that I'm not the only person from my world to be sent here. There are nine Tailed Beasts of Legend and I don't believe that whatever sent us here is gonna stop at just two."

"How can you be sure it's not just a coincidence?"

"Because that's not how Legends work."

Author's Note:

Me: *Punches fists in the air* Fricking finally!

Pinkie: I'll say, this took you over a year.

Me: And 49 attempts and a full rewrite...

Pinkie: Are you pleased with it though?

Me: ... Yes

Naruto Is the property of Masashi Kishimoto
and
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic the owned by Lauren Faust and Hasbro

(Hehehe, did anyone else spot the pair of accidental puns? :derpytongue2:)