Chapter 19- A Council of the Princesses
Me: Alright, it's time to continue the story! I don't own the rights to Naruto Shippuden or My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
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I awoke the next morning in extreme pain. The pain killers that the doctors had given me had worn off and I could feel each of my muscles screaming with pain. My face broke out in a cold sweat as I tried to resist screaming from the pain. My body was covered in bandages, even around my hands and fingers. I was in so much pain that I couldn't move at all; and I'm sure doing so would only cause the pain to grow much more unbearable. I took a deep breath in and slowly let it out; repeating the process as I tried to work through the pain. When I had mustered enough courage, I shifted my weight and sat up; wincing with pain as I did so. I painfully swung my legs over the side of the bed and, after a few seconds, pushed myself onto my feet. I slowly made my way to the window, my face sweating from the strenuous act of even standing up. I clung to the rail of the bed for as long as I could before I had to let go to move forward. When I did so, I nearly fell face-first into the concrete wall just beneath the window. I managed to catch myself on the windowsill, however, and use all of my strength to pull myself up to a standing position.
"Honestly, why are you going through this much trouble just to look out of the window?" I heard a voice ask from behind. I looked over my shoulder and saw none other than Itachi standing in the doorway.
"How long have you been there?" I asked him.
"Long enough," He replied stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. He walked over to me and placed his hand on my shoulder. As he did so a wave of pain shot from the spot.
"If you really want to get around that badly, then you might have an easier time if you take these." He said as he presented me with a small box. It was no bigger than the palm of his hand. I took the box and opened it, seeing three small spheres within it.
"These are special food-pills that were given to me by Tsunade. They have special healing properties from a rare herb that she has managed to liquify and use for the filling of these pills. You should be healed within a few minutes when you eat one." He explained.
"Are you serious? Such a medicine exists?" I asked in astonishment. He nodded.
I looked to the tiny brown spheres in my palm and gently picked one up using two fingers. I hesitated for a brief second before popping the sphere into my mouth and biting down on it. As soon as I had done that, a wave of bitterness spread over my tongue and I recoiled.
"Oh, I forgot to mention," Itachi said upon witnessing my reaction to the pill. "They're a bit bitter."
"Thanks for telling me now," I choked out. He chuckled and sat on the hospital bed that I had been occupying.
"Don't use too many of those; there aren't a whole lot of them left." He warned.
"Right; like I'd ever joyfully endulge on these pitiful things again." I said as I looked disdainfully at the pills in my hand.
"Anyway, go ahead and put your cloak back on. We've got an important meeting with the Council of Princesses." He said.
"Council of Princesses?" I asked as I placed the pills in my pocket. He nodded.
"We've been requested to meet with Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, and Princess Twilight." He replied.
"I see," I said. I walked over to the door, which held my cloak on a small coatrack attached to the back. I pulled my cloak off of the coatrack and slipped my arms into the sleeves; amazed at how freely I could move.
"These pills work wonders," I said in awe. He nodded and stood to his feet.
"Come on, we don't want to be late."
I nodded. He opened the door and stepped through it. I followed him and closed the door behind me.
"Wait, Itachi, what about my ritual?" I asked him as we walked down the whitewashed hallways.
"Don't worry, you'll be able to perform your ritual after the meeting." He replied not looking back.
We rushed out of the hospital, and suprisingly we weren't stopped by the doctors or nurses. We continued on a fast pace until we finally reached Twilght's house. Itachi knocked on the door and a few seconds later Twilight answered it.
"Good, you're here." She said with a sigh of relief.
"Let's go," Itachi said to her with a simple nod. She nodded back and we all were teleported in a flash of white light.
We reappeared in a room that I assumed was in the Royal Castle, though I had no idea of its location within said castle. In this room, there was a large table that took up a large portion of the room's space. It wasn't round like the one before, though it did have curved edges. The walls of this room were much easier on the eyes, painted a wonderful shade of blue. On the wall opposite me, there was a large blackboard that appeared to have a map of Equestria drawn down over it. There were three others in the room besides Twilight, Itachi, and I. Two of them I knew, Celestia and Luna, though I didn't know the third. She was a light-pink pony, a shade of pink even lighter than Pinkie Pie. She too had wings and a horn, though these were hued with purple that seemed to fade in at the tangent point. She had violet-colored eyes and wore a small crown behind her horn. Her mane was a mixture of three colors: purple, magenta, and a pale shade of yellow.
"Ah, you're all here, good." Celestia said when she noticed that we had appeared in the room. She sat in the middle of the three; Luna sat to her right and the mare I hadn't seen before sat to her left.
"Please, sit down. We have much to discuss." Luna urged with a wave of her hoof.
She gestured to the empty chairs that sat adjacent to the three mares. Itachi took his seat next to Luna, Twilight took her spot next to the mystery mare, and I sat next to Itachi.
"Right, now that everyone's settled, let's get down to business." Celestia said with a very serious tone in her voice.
"What's this about?" I asked; my curiosity getting the best of me.
"I'm sorry to pull you out of recovery so soon after the incident, however, this is very urgent. We fear that Discord may be planning to use Vinyl's power for something." Celestia answered.
"Vinyl? You mean the mare that was abducted yesterday?" I asked. Celestia nodded.
"What would he need with her?" Twilight asked.
"You see, Vinyl very recently became an Alicorn. Her magical power is in a very unstable state right now, and as such, Discord must be planning to use this period to extract as much power from her as he can." Celestia answered.
"Do we have any idea where he is?" I asked. Luna shook her head.
"Even with my tracking abilities, I'm not able to pin-point Discord's exact location; especially since he appears to be constantly on the move." Luna said.
"Do we know where he's going, and how fast? If I knew that, I could make a plan to intercept him-"
"That wouldn't work. Yes, you would have several advantages over him in an ambush, however, you are also ill-equipped to face Discord. He's utterly unpredictable, capable of nearly anything." The mystery mare interjected. I stared at her blankly for a few seconds.
"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Cadance; I'm one of the three Major Princesses." She introduced.
"Ah, okay. Well, perhaps you're right. If that's the case, then how are we going to defeat him?" I asked.
"Luna and I have decided that you are free to practice any tactics needed to take down Discord. We aren't sure what you're capable of, though we are certain that eventually you will reach a point in which you can defeat Discord." Celestia replied.
"Alright, but that doesn't tell me what tactics I can use," I said.
"That's just the thing, we aren't sure of any tactics that are capable of taking out Discord. Since he's utterly unpredictable, any tactic that we come up with will almost certainly fail." Cadance said.
"Then what are we going to do?" I asked.
"Expect the unexpected," Itachi replied. Everyone in the room turned to look at him.
"What are you talking about?" I asked him.
"Tid, you've done this before. All shinobis have. You aren't sure what the enemy is capable of, you have no idea of their power, their style of attack, defense, or any of the crucial data. You aren't even sure where they are. Then, you prepare for several different scenarios, all relying on different variables. With the right training and preparation, we could devise a nearly fool-proof plan for defeating even Discord." He replied.
"That could actually work," Twilight said with her hoof to her chin. Celestia nodded.
"Yes, it could. The trouble is, we don't know what Discord is planning, or when he's planning to do it. In fact, we don't even know if he's even after Vinyl's magic in the first place. He might've kidnapped her just for a bit of fun." She said.
"Celestia," I said leaning forward and placing one arm on the table. She looked at me. "If you give me three months, I can make sure that we have adequate power to stop Discord. Assuming the best-case scenario, we'll be able to defeat Discord with little to no casualties." I said. She stared into my eyes for a few minutes, completely silent. Then, she smiled.
"Right, go ahead then. If you feel the need to use any of my citizens to help you, save for taking their lives, I'll gladly lend their power to you." Celestia said.
"Thank you Celestia, but that won't be necessary. In fact, I've already picked out my fighting force." I said. Itachi glanced at me.
"Oh? And whom might they be?" Luna asked.
"Itachi, Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and myself." I answered. Cadance and Twilight appeared to be shocked, but Celestia, Luna, and Itachi each smiled.
"Very well then, you have my permission." She said. I nodded.
"Thank you very much," I said to her. She nodded back to me.
"Pardon me, but don't you want Celestia and I to assist you? We're more than capable of providing a helping hand," Luna offered.
"I'm sorry, Princess Luna, but you have to stay in a protected area. In my world, our main mission was to ensure the safety of the Fuedal Lords, which would be you three." I rejected. She remained silent for a while, crossing her arms and closing her eyes.
"Alright, we'll stay back here. However, if you need our assistance, you know where to find us." She said finally. I nodded to her.
"Is there anything else we need to discuss?" Celestia asked. I shook my head, fairly certain I had everything I needed from them. She nodded to me.
"Right, then this meeting is officially adjourned." She said. Twilight, Itachi, and I all stood nearly simultaneously and Twilight showed us out of the room. I noticed that Cadance, Luna, and Celestia all stayed in the room even after we left.
"Is there a reason why they didn't come out with us?" I asked Twilight.
"They're probably going to discuss a plan of action for the future, in case everything doesn't go according to plan," She replied.
"As in, if we fail," I said. She nodded.
"Pretty much, but you can understand where they're coming from, can't you?"
"Of course I can, my village practically invented those tactics. It's the smartest thing they could do, trust me." I replied. She nodded once more.
It was then that I had the time to take in my surroundings. We had stepped into a long metallic hallway that stretched for quite some distance. At the far end of the hallway, I could make out a red-neon exit sign that hung above the door.
"So, why are we in this hallway? Couldn't we just teleport back home?" I asked Twilight as we were walking. She shook her head.
"That room is impossible to teleport out of; it's made of a special material that allows you to teleport inside, but once you're inside, your magic is nullified. You can certainly try to use magic in there, but it won't work... Unless you're a goddess or something like that." She added.
"Ah, that makes sense," I said. She nodded once more and we continued to walk in silence.
Eventually we stepped out of the hallway and into what appeared to be the main lobby of the Royal Castle. Twilight turned to us and used her magic to teleport us all back to her home. When we reappeared I looked around for something, though I wasn't sure exactly what. Twilight began to walk toward the kitchen.
"Why don't you two sit down, we need to discuss something." She said.
Her tone wasn't what I had heard from her before: it sounded cold and distant. I glanced at Itachi and then back to Twilight just as she disappeared into the kitchen. Itachi and I walked to the table that we had sat at before and took our place on the same side of the table. After a few minutes, Twilight came back into the room with a tray that held three cups of steaming tea. She set the tray down and took her seat across the table from us. She didn't look at us, not at first, but sat with her face buried in her hooves.
"Is everything alright, Twilight?" I asked her.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine." She replied taking her face out of her hooves for a brief moment before setting it back into them.
"You don't look alright, Twilight." I said to her.
"I said I'm fine!" She shouted slamming both of her hooves on the table. The force of the impact nearly knocked over the cups of tea. She stared in shock of her actions.
"I'm so sorry guys, I just... I haven't gotten much sleep lately." She apologized.
"Why is that?" Itachi asked.
"Spike." She replied.
"Spike?" I asked.
"Yes. He's been trying to convince me that- never mind. Anyway, we need to talk." She said.
"About?"
"How are we going to be of any help to you? I mean, we don't have our Elements of Harmony anymore." She said.
"I believe I can train you all to be of some practical use in a fight against Discord," I replied.
"Really? You think I could actually help you in a fight?" She asked. I nodded.
"You have to remember, Twilight, there are more ways to win a battle than through brute force; you of all peo- ponies, should know that." I said. She remained silent for a few moments. She took a cup of tea using her magic, set it before her, blew on it gently and then took a sip.
"You're right," She said finally. I nodded and also took a cup of tea. I blew on it and took a sip.
"What kind of combat do you think I'd be good at?" She asked after a few seconds.
"Hmm, that's a good question. You're incredibly intellegent, so maybe strategies would be your strong suit." I offered. She seemed to ponder this for a moment before shaking her head.
"No, I'd need at least a day's-notice to come up with anything good." She said.
"Right, then perhaps you'd like to take on medical ninjutsu." I offered.
"Medical ninjutsu?" She asked. I nodded. Itachi looked at me.
"You're right, she could be a great medical ninja," He said. I nodded.
"What's medical ninjutsu?" Twilight asked.
"Medical ninjutsu is a form of ninjutsu used to heal others. It's not at all based on your combat skills, so you wouldn't have to physically fight anyone. It's useful because with a medical ninja, we could save one of our own from a dire situation." I said. She seemed to ponder this for a moment as well.
"I suppose I could do that. Is it easy to learn?" She asked.
"Not particularly. However, I think you'd be able to make great use of it. You'd be able to develop some skills in it in the three months that we've been given to prepare for this fight." I said. She nodded as I said this to her, taking in each bit of information.
"Where could I learn it from?" She asked.
"I could possibly pull some strings and get you a few books that detail everything you need to know about it. It's not much, but it'll get you started at least. The rest is up to you." I replied. She nodded.
"Right, I would greatly appreciate that." She said. I nodded and took another sip of my tea. Twilight did the same and set her cup down in front of her.
"So, what about the others? What could they do?" Twilight asked.
"I haven't given much thought to them as of yet, but give me a few days. I'll think of something, I'm sure." I replied. She nodded.
"I think that's all we have to discuss for now," Twilight said after a few minutes of silence.
"Right. In that case, Itachi and I will be on our way." I replied. She nodded. Itachi and I stood, thanked Twilight for her hospitality, and then promptly walked out of the front door, closing it behind us.
"Are you sure you can find a way to train the others?" He asked when we had moved out of earshot of Twilight's house.
"Yes, I'm sure. I know I can help the others to utilize the powers hidden within them. For most of them, it's just a matter of teaching them how to use ninjutsu." I replied.
"Yes, but they have no hands." He pointed out.
"You're right. The tricky part will be figuring out how to deal with that little problem." I said. He nodded.
"Don't worry, I'll figure it out eventually." I said after a few seconds of silence.
"I'm sure you will. I'm just not sure if you'll be able to figure it out in time for us to make use of it." He said. I shrugged.
"If that's the case, then why don't you train them to use taijutsu? That'll be helpful, at least." I said. He nodded.
"That sounds good to me."
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Me: Right, that was interesting, no?
Tid: Gah, how am I supposed to train ponies to fight?
Me: I don't know, but you'll figure it out, I'm sure.
Tid: Oh yeah, thanks.
Me: Hey, I'm not here to spoil anything. Anyway, hope you all liked the chapter! Stay tuned for more great content! See ya next time!