Hello, everybody, and welcome to another chapter of The Trials of Destiny! I will address a quick point I feel the need to clarify. If you aren't already aware, Nightmare will, yes, be a recurring character. Her personality and motivations are sorely underdeveloped, and her potential as a character is bar almost none in MLP, because we get to see her for all of three or four episodes out of the nearly two hundred we now have, and the only reason she exists is to introduce the Elements of Harmony and Princess Luna. Not even just villains, but any character that is one-and-done deserves more attention.
Also, I haven't had any reviews regarding it yet, but I hope everybody liked how I handled Luna's introduction into the story. As a character who is initially ignorant of the passage of time and was sealed away only at the very beginning of an era of true peace, the tendencies bred and mastered through having to fight through multiple wars would be the first thing on her mind when dealing with a country-level threat.
That having been said, enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 15: Kink in the Plan
Sunday, April 19, CCY 3381, Afternoon
Nightmare stretched her arms as she rose out of the bed Celestia and Luna had given her to stay in while Equestria's finest searched for whatever was using her power without her permission. "I think I'm in the mood for some breakfast. What to get, I wonder?"
Nightmare was startled by an Essence Clone of Naruto phasing into existence, leaning against the wall. "Just let me know and I'll pass it along to the chef."
"Holy heavens, why must you do that? Clones enough are a bit overwhelming, I don't need you popping into existence like you were there the whole time." Nightmare grumbled as she grabbed a magical comb and began combing her hair as she got out of her bed.
"Celestia ordered the Boss to. She and Luna both think that if this force that is recklessly using the leftover traces of your magic realizes you're not only no longer trapped in the Moon, but out over a year earlier than expected, then whatever is at the head of this operation will figure they must personally deal with it. Which is also why Celestia doesn't want you leaving Canterlot or the castle for the time being." Nightmare got ready to grumble. "Don't. We've been over this three times already. Strategically speaking, it's a very useful tactic. Especially since Celestia and the Captain are using their pull to specifically let certain people in… less than savory positions know of the situation while making sure they keep tight-lipped with regards to the populace at large, they're casting a line into the water they're one hundred percent sure these wannabe criminals will take. And while I don't like keeping people held anywhere against their will, especially with what the Boss went through as a child, in this circumstance, it's necessary. You said it yourself, you won't condone wanton violence and outright murder, and I see it the same way. I don't know what you've had to do, but I've very nearly had blood on my own hands more times than I care to count, and the last thing I want to happen for anyone is to see them die, sacrificed for a needless desire for power that will only cause everything to repeat. All intelligent life on my entire planet is gone because of that cycle, and it's not something I want to see, ever again."
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Naruto cringed as the memories of the Fourth War hit him like a speeding train. He took a moment to force them back down. There was no use dwelling on the past now. He'd admitted to his defeat and made peace with the life he'd left behind. Now it was time to move forward with the lessons he'd learned.
Nightmare sighed, running a hand through her now flowing hair as she looked out the window. "You know… I know how you feel. There are many unsavory things I've done. I've actually existed for hundreds of thousands of years, since the days of the bygone ages where magic was a myth to most of the races of the world. And in all of that time, I believed no intelligent life should have access to the magic, for fear they'd destroy themselves with that power. As a sentient mass of magic myself, I was able to pull strings like no one and nothing else could, but somewhere along the way, I lost sight of my goal and turned into the very monster I was trying to prevent. When we were fighting those changelings and their queen a few days ago, it brought everything full-circle. I saw in that queen, before her death, the same qualities that turned Luna against her own sister, and the same qualities that you say caused the extinction of an entire species, and it put it into perspective.
"It made me realize, for the first time in forever, that while my goal might have at some point been noble, the methods I used to keep myself on that track were farthest from it. And now, looking at the state of the world in this new age, in the thousand years since Luna and I were sent, as one, to the Moon to pay for crimes only one of us committed, I see I was wrong. It takes a different kind of touch, a delicate one, to guide any species toward its brightest future, and it takes the very symbols of unity Celestia defeated me with to preserve that balance and peace once it has been attained." Nightmare turned around, an almost unnoticeable smile on her face, before she walked to the closet next to the wall and opened it, revealing the armored outfit that she had been wearing when Naruto and Hagoromo encountered her on the surface of the Moon. "I suppose it is time to finally recover the vast pools of magic and many years I spent crafting this armor. After all, tools of war are not needed in times of peace, are they?" Nightmare turned to the clone. "If the real Naruto will not allow me to leave, then at least make yourself unnoticeable or whatever it is you do. Undoing the many years of work I spent crafting these will take quite a while."
The clone nodded before using Transparent Escape to make itself invisible.
"Alright, now that we've carefully leaked some of the information we need to flush these culprits out, what am I going to do? I can't very well stand around. My senseis have decided I need to start training on my own, so no time can be wasted." Naruto inquired, sitting next to Celestia at a table in her private quarters. Hagoromo, Hamura, Žiara and Shining Armor sat beside them.
Celestia picked up her cup of herbal tea and took a small sip, then set the cup back on its ornamental plate. "You should be able to train with your clones, as Hagoromo has informed me, correct?"
"That was what I was planning on doing. And I need to test something, too. Hagoromo-sensei and I have firmly established that whatever about my particular set of eyes is special, it allows me to use one-use moves, such as Izanagi, with no apparent drawbacks, so I need to look into making a type of clone that transfers all of the benefits of training when it dispels, and the Essence Clones seem to already have that, to an extent." Naruto took a sip of the water in the tall glass next to him.
"And while Naruto resumes his training solo, my brother and I must resolve an issue on our own world. Rinnegan and Tenseigan combined allow the users the ability to traverse the Convergence freely and knowingly, so we must return to our world and investigate the remnants of our clan." Hagoromo stated with finality, as if he had already known this would come to be, despite the fact that, until a few months ago, no one was aware Hamura existed in this timeline.
Celestia nodded and hmm'd in thought. "In that case, Naruto, Žiara, can I trust you to deal with any potential intruders? I must make a trip to Griffonstone myself, regarding a border dispute issue of the utmost importance."
"Of course, Celestia. It is of no consequence. Besides, Luna is not quite yet ready to resume her duties as the Night Princess, so I will need someone capable of aiding the citizens of Canterlot and Equestria in the meantime."
"Thank you, Žiara. In that case, I will inform the residents of Canterlot that you will act as Princess in my stead, while I leave to resolve this." Celestia flexed her wings as she stood up out of the chair. "I don't think I ever thanked you for correcting the issue of this planet's… physical dilemma. My power and control of my magic have grown much because I can now focus more of it toward understanding and mastering my abilities."
"No problem. I knew something was off about the planet's motion when we were on the Moon training Naruto, so I needed to set it back in its proper revolution. Honestly, I'm still not sure how it managed to completely cease movement in the middle of space, and for so long. I guess you can count yourselves lucky Earth here is the only planet in this system, otherwise the complete stoppage would have caused catastrophic destruction worldwide." Žiara said as Celestia took off from the platform outside. The others walked outside, and Hagoromo turned around, casting a chakra-enhanced version of the same spell that locked the door when not in use.
"Well, Žiara-kun, can you open a portal to Shinigami-sama's realm? I let him know yesterday I would be training with Hashirama and Tobirama, so I should probably get to it."
Žiara nodded. "Of course, Naruto-kun. Just be careful you-"
"Don't anger Shinigami-sama, I know. I've been close to death before, but I'm not that suicidal." Naruto chuckled as he walked through the portal to the Realm of Judgment, the portal snapping closed behind him.
Žiara chuckled herself, before turning to fly toward the bottom level of the castle, where the throne room was. "I'm going to begin my duties as the stand-in now, so make sure you let the Captain here know if something come up regarding the Nightmare impostors." Shining waved himself before teleporting to the throne room.
Hamura chuckled. "Feels just like it did when we left our home to check out the Tree."
Hagoromo nodded. "That it does. Now, we should be on our way. You told me before that your descendant, Toneri, has important information to share with us."
Hamura nodded. Both brothers then formed the ram seal, and a portal to Convergence opened up for them to step through, the path to their version of Earth already highlighted. "By the way, how exactly are we going to know when the curious idiots take the bait?"
"Naruto, Shining, Minato and Jiraiya personally saw to that."
"Dammit, how could I have been fooled?! Nightmare Moon never came back, did she!? You just used that information to lure us into a trap!" The pony known only by the single name Umbra complained. "I'm a master of the shadows! No one should have been able to catch me even if I was found out!"
Of course, there wasn't much one could do inside of a dungeon cell buried two kilometers into Mount Canter, one that blocked all access to magic, to boot.
"I'll ask you again, and I don't need to warn you what's going to happen if you don't start talking and stop jabbering like a five-year-old that just lost their favorite toy." Minato snickered quietly at Jiraiya's roundabout way of gathering intelligence. Jiraiya briefly cast a venomous glare over his shoulder. "Minato, shut it before I shut it for you. This is business." Minato raised his hands in surrender, walking out of the cell to keep Jiraiya from hearing him quietly laughing.
Jiraiya's method of getting information included not restraining the victim whatsoever. Dominance theory, as he was fully aware of, combined with his own not-inconsiderate strength as a shinobi, meant that most of what got dragged into these situations would try to escape him. He would then force the information out of his victim by ruthlessly showing them he was objectively superior to them in every way possible.
Which was exactly what happened, as Umbra tried to make a bolt for it the second he saw a momentary distraction. Jiraiya's response was an underpowered Rasengan to the gut that sent Umbra flying into the back wall, gasping for breath and holding his stomach in pain.
"How many times have I told you this? You're going to keep getting up, and every single time, I'm going to knock you right back down. This will continue until you tell me what I need to know. That's all there is to it. I'm even in good with the actual Death God, so not even death will grant you escape from me." Which wasn't true, but Umbra didn't need to know that. The more broken Jiraiya's victim, the better.
Umbra shook with barely concealed rage for a few moments, before throwing what looked like a needle at Jiraiya. Got you now, you old coot! Manchineel sap! Even the slightest contact will kill!
What the trapped unicorn wasn't expecting was for Jiraiya's hair to suddenly grow ten feet in length, the ten feet to turn into a shield of hair in front of him and then completely disconnect from the rest of his hair, and for the needle to get stopped right in its tracks, bouncing off the mass of falling hair with a loud, echoing ping sound like it had just met solid steel.
"Cute, kid. You're not the first to try getting an assassination attempt under my nose, and you certainly won't be the last. You're not getting out of this, no matter what you try."
A smoke bomb hidden in Umbra's pocket went off, and Jiraiya sighed in frustration as his arm lashed out and grabbed the collar of Umbra's high-neck shirt, slamming the unicorn into the magically-reinforced concrete floor of the cell with enough force to crack it. "Start talking before I really have to make this hurt." He sweatdropped as he looked at Umbra's now mashed face. Multiple teeth had been dislodged entirely from the unicorn's mouth and blood was starting to pool around the crack in the ground. "Well, drat. Didn't know the dungeon could take that much punishment." Jiraiya flipped a quick series of ANBU signals, and the Essence Clone of Naruto that had been standing by for assistance dissolved into thin air to let the real Naruto that backup was required.
On the same ground that the Fourth War had been fought on, Hagoromo and Hamura stood. A hundred feet away, Madara Uchiha, both Rinnegan active, glared at them. "Hamura, head to the Moon and discuss what is necessary with Toneri. I shall handle this." Hamura nodded before summoning a portal to the Moon and immediately hopping into it before the portal closed.
Madara dashed forward at blazing speeds to hop into the portal, but was stopped by a barrier of invisible chakra that Hagoromo summoned with his Rinnegan. "So, another descendant of my foolish older child wishes to cause more bloodshed. It seems the very ideals I tried to instill in the world have long since faded. Very well, you shall have your fight, one-sided though it may be. I care not that the Divine Tree sought to bring you back to the world of the living. I will rectify that issue permanently."
"One-sided for me. You see, I am Madara-"
"Uchiha, I know who you are. Naruto Otsutsuki is my distant descendant, and has told me much about the strife you caused this world in recent history. Cease the pointless banter and attempt to battle me."
Madara growled in rage and summoned several Wood Clones, who then sunk into the ground or dispersed to flank Hagoromo, who simply raised an eyebrow. Those clones that tried to ambush Hagoromo quickly found themselves sapped of their chakra, as clones of Hagoromo used the Preta Path to absorb their chakra. Hagoromo soon started deflecting various elemental jutsu with casual swings of his staff. Hamura just arrived on the Moon. I estimate they will be finished with the business we came here for within the hour. In the meantime, I should probably deal with this result of my failure.
Madara's clones were immediately dispelled, and Madara buried seven hundred meters into the side of a mountain three kilometers away, when Hagoromo decided it was time to get serious. Before Madara had any time to react, Hagoromo simply appeared next to him, slamming him upward with his staff, completely destroying the mountain Madara had found himself in a fleeting moment ago.
Madara stopped and glared at the Moon. Hagoromo didn't bother to stop him. "Infinite Tsukuyomi!"
"Now, it seems the Otsutsuki are trying to make a move on the world. I've been deflecting their attempts, but it won't be long before-" Hamura and Toneri's conversation was cut short and both suddenly formed a joint ram seal to cast a chakra barrier on the surface of the Moon. "-they decide to become more bold in their attempts. I won't be able to hold them off for long, Hamura-sama."
Hamura nodded. "That's all I need to hear there. Now, what about the other tasks I gave you?" he asked, like a failed attempt at planetary subjugation didn't just happen and everything was normal.
"AAAGGGHHHH!" Madara screamed in agony as the Rinne Sharingan eye was forcefully ripped out of its socket and immediately sealed away, before he fell onto the ground, most of his power drained.
Hagoromo calmly walked up to the downed Uchiha and activated one of the… more unsavory powers of the Rinnegan as he placed his hand on Madara's skull. Human Path. Soul Siphon.
Madara stood no chance against Hagoromo's wisdom and experience, and the soulless body of one of the most feared shinobi in history fell to the ground without another word. Three tomoe disappeared from each of Hagoromo's Rinnegan as he activated the Fifth Edict of Existence and instantly appeared before the Shinigami.
"Lady Ice, Umbra has been captured! What shall we do?" A grunt stood before Frosty Ice as he kneeled and delivered news of Umbra's capture.
Frosty snapped a cold gaze at the grunt. "For now, nothing. Umbra is a reliable asset, and he will not talk. He would sooner die. We shall wait out the Princesses and these unknown factors that call themselves humans." Frosty turned off the projection of a frozen wasteland she had pulled up on the screen, before turning to the grunt. "You are dismissed." The grunt heard the finality in her voice and immediately ran for the hills.
Frosty chuckled coldly to herself. "They always run for the hills the moment I get serious." She turned back to the screen and a projection of Celestia appeared. "Just you wait, Celestia! I shall empower Nightmare Moon to have her break out of her imprisonment, and with her newfound power, no one will be able to stop her!" The woman began cackling madly, though no one was around to hear her thanks to the soundproofed underground walls.
Naruto Otsutsuki
STR: 71 (+7) STA: 90 (+3) INT: 80 (+17) DUR: 77 (+2)CHA: 100
Score/Rank: 409 [+29] (B Rank)
New Feats: None
New Abilities: None
Hagoromo Otsutsuki
STR: 90 (+2)STA: 95 (+1)INT: 100DUR: 83CHA: 80 (+5)
Score/Rank: 438 [+8] (Low A Rank)
New Feats: None
New Abilities: None
Hamura Otsutsuki
STR: 89 (+2) STA: 93 (+3) INT: 100 DUR: 86 CHA: 100 (+5)
Score/Rank: 465 [+10] (A Rank)
New Feats: None
New Abilities: None
Žiara
STR: 89 (+4)STA: 91 (+9)INT: 100 (+6) DUR: 92 (+6)CHA: 93 (+18)
Score/Rank: 453 [+43] (A Rank)
New Feats: None
New Abilities: None
Princess Celestia
STR: 56 (+8)STA: 34 (+17)INT: 74 (+4)DUR: 41 (+9)CHA: 100 (+10)
Score/Rank: 305 [+48] (Low C Rank)
New Feats: None
New Abilities: None
Princess Luna
STR: 65 STA: 52 INT: 73 DUR: 71 CHA: 58
Score/Rank: 319 (Low C Rank)
Notable Feats: Defeated Discord, Sent Tirek to Tartarus, Sealed Sombra, Former Wielder of the Elements of Harmony
Notable Abilities: Mind Magic Mastery
Nightmare Moon
STR: 69 STA: 57 INT: 72 DUR: 51 CHA: 38
Score/Rank: 287 (High D Rank)
Notable Feats: None Known
Notable Abilities: Dark Magic Mastery
Shining Armor
STR: 48 (+3) STA: 52 (+4) INT: 60 (+4) DUR: 49 (+6) CHA: 90 (+23)
Score/Rank: 299 [+40] (High D Rank)
New Feats: None
New Abilities: None
Human Path: Soul Siphon: Also called the Human Path: Soul Extraction. A technique granted to users of the Rinnegan that allows the user to directly obtain information from a victim's mind. This also kills the victim. Those who have fallen victim to this technique are still susceptible to Outer Path: Heavenly Rebirth.
Fifth Edict of Existence: One of the ancient Eleven Edicts that govern all of existence. This Edict governs the universe's spacetime properties, and allows the user to instantaneously move to any point in known space. Larger distances require more power to reach. Requires mastery of the Ninth Edict of Infinity.
And that's a wrap! Hope you all enjoyed! Not much to say here, so I'll see you all in Chapter 16!