Chapter 53- Betrayal from a Friend?
Me: Ooh I've got something good planned for this chapter!
Tid: Oh no, that doesn't sound good.
Me: Trust me, it's gonna be great!
Tid: I'm not so sure. We don't own the rights to Naruto Shippuden or My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
I rushed over to Twilight's house as quickly as I could. I knocked furiously on her door and she answered it a few seconds later rubbing her eyes. "Tid? What are you doing here?" She asked. "Listen Twilight, I need you to gather up the others. There's some important news I need to tell you all." I said. She nodded. "Where are we going to meet?" She asked. "I'm going to need to tell Princess Celestia about this as well, so probably Canterlot Castle." I said. She nodded once more and teleported. I headed to the castle in Canterlot as fast as I could. I got there in a few minutes and entered. I walked into the throne room just as Twilight and the others appeared. "Whoa, what's going on?" Celestia asked. "Ask Tid, he's the one who called us here." Twilight replied. Everyone looked at me. "I have very important news." I said. They all waited anxiously. "It appears we don't have as much time as we thought." I said. "What do you mean?" Twilight asked. "Nightmare Moon told me moments ago that she will be returning on October 31st." I said. "Why?" Rainbow Dash asked. I looked at Twilight and Celestia, and thought they knew exactly why. "Because October 31st is Nightmare Night; the night when Nightmare Moon is strongest." Celestia said.
The others gasped. "Are you serious?" I asked. She nodded. I clenched my fists. This was very bad news. Not only did we have less time than I thought, we also were going up against Nightmare Moon at her strongest; which put us in a very bad spot. I looked at Princess Celestia. "Celestia, would it be possible to increase our military strength by a substantial amount in a short amount of time?" I asked. "I don't think so, although I'd have to check with Shining Armor on that one." She replied. "Please do, I need to know right away. At our current level, we could never hope to defeat Nightmare Moon." I said. The others said nothing for they knew I was right. "Alright, I'll let you know if I find out anything." She said. I nodded. "What do we do?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Continue with your training as usual until further notice." I replied. They nodded and Twilight teleported them away. "Celestia, I'm sorry but I have yet another request to ask of you." I said. "I have a feeling I know what that is." She said. "You do?" I asked. She nodded. "You're going to ask me to train you, correct?" I nodded. She smiled. "To be honest, I'm not sure how much I could even teach you. You have great power already, and I think you haven't shown me everything that you can do." She said. "You're right, I haven't shown you everything, but your power is greater than mine, of that I'm certain. I'm certain you can teach me something, or at the very least help me increase my power. Besides, you know Nightmare a Moon better than anyone. You must know of her strengths and weaknesses. So please, I ask you one last time; please train me." She stared at me for a while and I stared back. "Alright, but you owe me one." She said smiling. "Great! Thank you so much!" I said. "You're welcome. I'll let you know when we start." She said. I nodded and she teleported me to Rarity's house.
I looked around the house and saw the front door open. I walked outside and saw a blur of red and black dart past me so fast I was almost knocked over by the wind it generated. I looked at where it was going and saw a tree about to fall on top of me. I held out my arms and caught the tree, using an incredible amount of strength to keep it from crashing into Rarity's house. I opened the First Gate and pushed the tree backward and it fell with a crash. I looked around for what had caused the tree to fall and saw Rarity training. She was knocking over trees one-by-one, expertly combining her Path powers with her combat expertise to elegantly take down trees. I was surprised at how powerful she was. She eventually took a break, panting heavily. I walked over to her. "I see you're training hard." I said. She looked at me. "I only felt the need to improve myself, you know, to support you in the final battle." She said still panting. "Don't push yourself too hard now. Why don't you take a little break?" I asked. "Nonsense, if I want to catch up to you, I'll have to push myself to my limits." She said. "But you can't possibly hope to achieve that if you collapse and have to spend time in recovery." I said. She thought about it for a moment. "Oh alright, I guess you're right. After all, you probably know much more about this than I do." She said. "Trust me, I've been there. Why don't I get you something to drink?" I asked. "That sounds lovely." She said. I nodded and went back into the house. I grabbed a bowl from the cupboard and began preparing a special brew my mother had shown me how to make when I was younger. It used common ingredients and worked wonders. Whenever I drank it I always felt stronger and more energized. I reached into the cupboard and pulled out an apple. I held it over the bowl and split it in two, letting the juice drip into the drink. I set the apple down and began to stir, turning the liquid from a green color to a clear color. I smiled at its completion.
I walked out with the brew in a cup for Rarity. I walked up to her and she took the drink using her magic to levitate the cup to her mouth. We sat down on the ground and looked at the fallen trees. "My, my, I have to say this drink is absolutely marvelous! Wherever did you learn to make it?" She asked. "My mother taught me when I was young. She used to make it all the time after I came back from training." I said. "That's a wonderful thing to remember." She said smiling. "Yeah, it's one of the few memories I have of her. We didn't spend a whole lot of time together." I said. "Oh? Why not?" She asked. "I just didn't see her that often. I was always out training with my father. Hell, when I didn't have a mission or school, we'd always be out in the forest, sometimes for days at a time." I said. She gave me a look. "What?" I asked. "Tid, I understand your training is important to you, but you should've spent more time with your mother." She said. I looked at the ground. "Yeah, you're right. I should have spent more time with my mother. The time I did spend with her, however, was invaluable." I said. Rarity wrapped her arm around me. "It's alright, Tid." She said. I wrapped my arm around her and smiled. At that moment the barrier around Ponyville began to flicker. "Twilight must've started her training." I said watching it. "What are we going to do when the barrier gives out?" She asked. I noticed she said when, not if; she knew as well as I did that barrier wouldn't hold. To be honest, I still didn't have a solution to that; but I couldn't tell her that. "Don't worry, I've got it covered." I lied. She smiled. I stood up and helped her do the same. "Alright, I guess I'll leave you to your training. Let me know if you need anything." I said. I began walking away. "Tid, wait." She said. I stopped and turned around. "Yes?" I asked. "I hope this isn't too much to ask, but would you be so kind as to help me with my training?" She asked. I considered it. Rarity wanted me to train her. I suppose it would be better than her having no trainer at all. "If you really want me to, then yes." I said. "You will?" She asked; her eyes shining with joy. "Yes. However, I must warn you that this training won't be easy." I said. "Oh I'd hardly expect so. I do enjoy a challenge." She said. I smiled. She was going to turn out to be a great pony. "Fine, we'll get started tomorrow." I said. She nodded and we went back into the house.
I woke up early the next morning. I left the house before Rarity woke up and took a stroll through the Everfree Forest. I walked down a path I had traveled countless times before. I entered the very same clearing I had entered every day for my ritual. It seemed so dark and unwelcoming due to the atmosphere of the rest of the forest. I looked up and saw a cloudy sky. It looked as though a storm was brewing. I drew in a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before exhaling. The air had a certain taste to it, one I had learned to love. The wind blew, blowing my cloak around my legs. I walked over to a tree and put my hand on it, feeling the bark beneath my fingers. The sky darkened and lightning flashed. I held out my hand, expecting to feel the cold rain fall, but it never did. Instead the clouds turned darker and darker, until they were almost black. I watched in curiosity. I knew Nightmare Moon wasn't going to appear before me; not when she herself had things to do. I did feel a fluctuation in the power level in Ponyville, but it was sporadically raising and falling. I watched as lightning struck a tree a few yards away. It was at that moment that I heard the sound of a stick breaking behind me and I turned around to face the source. A few seconds later Rarity walked out into the clearing. "Oh, it's you." I said. She nodded. "I didn't expect you to be up this early." I said. At that moment Spike appeared right next to her. "Spike? What are you doing here?" I asked him. "Tid, there's something I've been meaning to tell you." Rarity said. "What is it?" I asked. "Spike and I..." She began. She looked at him and wrapped her arm around him. "Are dating." She finished. I flinched in surprise. "What?!" I asked. "Yeah, you had your chance, buddy. Now it's my time to shine." Spike said with a smirk. I shook my head; it had to be a trick, an illusion of some kind. Then it hit me. I activated my Mangekyou Rinnegan, but immediately regretted it. "How? This isn't possible!" I said, refusing to believe what I saw. Their energy patterns matched perfectly with what I had recorded. There was no doubt about it, they were the real deal. I sank to my knees. "No... Why? Why would you do this to me?" I asked. "Let's face it, Tid; you were never the right one for me." She said.
I slammed my fist on the ground. They laughed. "Come on, my love, let's go." Rarity said. I watched as they kissed. I yelled with rage. I stood and ran at them. They looked at me and I jumped into the air, preparing a fierce kick. They dodged it and the ground shook and cracked. The sky darkened even more and lightning flashed, silhouetting me against the blinding light. I clasped my hands together and chains erupted from the ground around them. They weaved and dodged through them (well, Rarity did, Spike only clung to her back). My rage was clouding my judgment. Even if she did dump me, I still loved her. I hesitated and in a second Rarity was in front of me. She punched me in the face and I was sent flying through a tree. I landed on my feet and blocked her next attack. I punched her in the face, holding back some force, and she flew a short distance away from me. She landed and grinned, wiping the blood from her mouth. "You'll have to put more effort into it to defeat me!" She said. I scowled. It appeared she wasn't going to let me defeat her without causing serious damage. I jumped and brought my leg down on her. She was crushed into the ground, along with Spike. I jumped away from them just as Rarity rose to her feet. "Is that all you've got? And you wonder why I left you." She said. I clenched my fist. "I've heard enough!" I shouted as I punched her with all of my might. She was sent flying again, and this time she was unable to land on her feet. She hit the ground with a thud, knocking Spike off of her back. She went along the ground for a while, creating a trench as she went. She eventually stopped and Spike ran to her side. I turned around and ran; tears flowing down my face. I didn't know where I was running to; I just ran. Far away from that place.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Me: Well, that was interesting. Favorite, follow, and leave a review! See ya later!